Stencils

Stencils are sheets of plastic that have shapes cut out of them to allow ink, embossing paste, or other mediums to pass through and leave the design on the surface below, such as paper.

Bought stencils are mostly laser-cut, but you can also make your own stencils by cutting shapes out of plastic sheets with a knife, a cutting plotter, metal dies …

Using stencils

Stencils can be used by applying:

• ink with an ink blending tool
• embossing paste with a spatula or palette knife
• gilding wax with an ink blending tool, spatula, palette knife …

Holding a stencil down onto paper

There are a few ways to make sure your stencil doesn't shift when applying your medium through the stencil.

• hold it down with your hands: if you need to apply a small amount of ink or paste, you might be able to do it in one go. If that's the case, holding the stencil in place might be good enough.
• tape it down: by using low-tack tape, you can tape your stencil down on the back of the stencil and/or on the front edge.
• use temporary stencil spray adhesive: stencil glue is a thing, and is a low-tack, non-permanent spray adhesive. Usually, you apply the adhesive (outside or in a well-ventilated area), let it dry for a minute, and then apply the stencil to your paper. But make sure you follow the instructions on the can. Keep in mind this might leave some very lightly tacky residue on your paper. This shouldn't be a problem unless you're using embossing powder. An example of such a spray is Pixie Spray by Therm O Web.
• use a metal surface and magnets: use a metal sheet and magnets to hold down your project. It's a quick and easy method to keep your paper and your stencil in place.

Cleaning stencils

If you're using embossing paste or glitter paste, you want to clean off your stencil as soon as possible. Alternatively, you can let it soak in a tub or dish of water until you're ready to clean them. Be careful when cleaning intricate designs, so you don't bend small or thin parts of the design.

Storing stencils

Storage is always a matter of what works for you. An easy way to store stencils, is in a binder with page protectors. Inside of the page protectors, you can put a sheet of baking paper, the backing of a label sheet, or something else that's non-stick. This will ensure that stencils that have stencil adhesive applied, won't stick to the protector. Plus, if the sheet has a color, it's easier to see the design.