The one basic rule in stencilling is to use very little paint. You can either use a brush or sponge applicator. A soft sponge or sea sponge can also be used for a nice effect.

Your brush or spouncer needs to be slightly smaller than half the diameter of the design. For fabric painting a brush generally works best. Spouncers are better left to wood and card as they are not really firm enough to apply paint to fabric

Hold the brush upright and rapidly tap on the colour. This creates a stippled effect.
	Use a rubbing motion, working from the outside of the stencil in towards the centre.
Working from the outside toward the centre, rub the colour in a circular motion and leave the centre
	Beginning with a light colour, and slowly add multiple other colours to create a natural shaded look.

Tips and Hints for better stencilling

Again, it can only be stressed to use VERY LITTLE paint. If you tap the brush on a spare bit of card first, this will help remove excess paint.

Practise on scrap card/material/paper first to eliminate mistakes and get an idea of what the finished design will look like.

Use masking tape to attach your stencil to you chosen project this will keep the stencil stable whilst your tapping away. Take care when removing bot the stencil and tape as you may smudge your design.

If you have a design that is too small but you have access to a photocopier or scanner, you can enlarge the design and carefully cut it out using a craft knife. We have blank stencil plastic for sale on our online store and it's easy to transfer the design onto the plastic.

Ideas for what to stencil on!

Apart from making your own gift cards, wrapping paper, posters etc the list is endless, but here are a few ideas to get you started. Use your imagination and create wonderful new gifts, home projects and even get started selling at those fetes, fundraisers and craft fairs.

You can make really great cushion covers by stencilling your chosen design onto plain white/cream material. Choose a fabric border that matches your stencil colours and finish of the square by sewing the border on.

Another idea for using fabric is to make neat little pouch bags from either calico or cotton. These are great for all those little gifts and can be run up in not time. Start early for Christmas and give neat novel gifts!

I have also made really unique pictures using stencils. I chose a design that matched in with my colour/room scheme and stencilled away. Framing them was real easy, as I had already chosen a plain frame. If you chose a wide picture frame, you could even continue the design onto the frame, giving it an even more unique look.

How about making your own fat quarters for patchwork? You'd be surprised at how many stencils are great to use for this. I have made many using the following stencils: Pigs, seahorses, hearts, dolls, tulips, gumleaf, Celtic designs, Chickens, fish, the list is really endless and the only limit is your imagination. You will need to choose a fairly small stencil design so that the quarter is in proportion.

Design your own photo album cover - really effective if you are into scrap booking and memories.

Stencil Instructions by Mandy Tanner from Blue Edge Crafts, where you can find lots of stencils of different shapes and sizes!Check it out today click on the banner below to visit their website and online store!

Blue Edge Crafts Mandy Tanner
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www.blueedgecrafts.com.au