stencil ideas

Recently, I've been asked where in the world we find all these great stencils?? Just in case there was anyone else wondering the same thing, I decided to just do a post about it. First, let me assure you of one thing. You could not possibly live in an area with less cool stuff available than I do. So those of us who do not have excellent supplies available to us or can't spend the money or don't want to: we have to use our imaginations. Imagine that!

Here is a list of great sources for finding/making stencils.

1. In my humble opinion, the best stencils are the ones you make yourself. Thankfully, there are lots of ways to do this including what I described in my recent post which is basically how to make a stencil out of a photograph.
2. Clipart - The million-and-one clipart collections are great and many of them have copyright free images or images you can use in your art as long as you don't mass produce them. If you don't have one of these collections, there is tons of clipart online. So, search for flowers, birds, trees, or whatever and chose images which might make good stencils. Bold images with fewer details are best. Remember you are only concerned with the contour of the image. It doesn't matter what the image itself looks like because you are just using the form of it. Once you've done a few of these you'll know exactly what to look for. Next, save the image, size it to fit your project, and print it out on cardstock, a cut down file folder or even a transparency. Use a fine exacto knife with a new blade to cut along the outline of the image. After printing the image, you can also transfer the image to your chosen surface to cut out if you don't want to run it through your printer. Remember you can use both the positive and negative images as stencils so don't throw anything away!
3. Rubber and foam stamps - Simply stamp your image onto your cardstock and cut it out with an exacto knife. You don't have to cut out every detail. If the image is too small, scan it, resize it in Photoshop, then print and cut out. Foam stamps work perfectly. Note: many rubber stamp companies that have angel policies for use of their images in work for sale do not include mechanical or digital manipulation of the image. You will need to check with the individual stamp vendor before using these in art for sale.
4. Patterned paper - I used to cut out individual designs from patterned paper a lot when I scrapbooked and I always kept the paper with the negative image to use as a stencil later. I keep a bag full of these.
5. Making a repeated pattern - I haven't done this myself, so I can't tell you how to do it, but I know that you can take a clipart or stamped image and make it into a repeating pattern in Photoshop, so instead of one bird, you have a page of birds. If anyone knows how to do it, I'd love to know!
6. Home decorating stores - Stenciling is popular in home decor and you can find larger and more ornate stencils at home decorating stores, some paint stores, and even the home department in a general store like Walmart or Target.
7. Look around you - Things you might already have that make great stencils: paper doilies, sequin waste, lace, plastic mesh bags that fruit sometimes comes in, leaves & dried flowers, punched shapes, filmstrip, anything that has holes in it--keep your eyes open!
8. Online - Google "free stencils" and you will find sites with printable stencils for you to download. There are artists who make stencils and post them for you to enjoy although how you can use them in your own work varies so check the Read Me file for details.
9. Heidi Swapp masks - For some silly reason, this feels like giving away my big juicy secret, but Heidi Swapp masks are some of my favorite stencils. Actually, a mask is just the opposite of a stencil as it covers the positive instead of negative space. She has some wonderful floral designs, etc. Whenever the new scrapbooking products come out after the first of the year, I Google "Heidi Swapp masks" to find an online store that has all of them in stock and then I buy them up. Sometimes it is hard to find them all in one place, but keep looking. This last line she released had a wonderful branch and bird image that I love. Some of the early line was cheesy but there are great ones too. As long as you are looking up Heidi Swapp products, check out the Ghost shapes, frames, and alphabets. They also work great as stencils and give you lots of flexibility in their placement.
10. Everywhere else - sometimes you can find great stencils at boring old craft stores. Just keep checking around and keep an open mind.

These should get you started or maybe even keep you busy for a long time. And Michelle Ward had even more cool ideas here.

And since I can't have a post without a picture. I'll leave you with my 6 year old's latest artwork. This morning he woke up needing paper cups, plates, napkins to make weapons. I guess inspiration hit in the middle of the night. Anyway, this is what he came up with. Isn't it fabulous?? The cup thing is a pirate hook. The plate fits on his hand like a puppet but he hasn't decided on a name for it yet.

 

Comments

[Janet]

Now why in the heck didn't I think of some of these things myself!?!?! But since I didn't, thanks for all the ideas and how-tos. Love your son's pirate hook. He's creative like his mama.

[Felicia]

Excellent advice :)