We’ve put together a quick guide to getting started with stencilling! We hope it helps to inspire you to try it out yourself!
Stencilling is a great way to add beautiful patterns and colours to your creations. They can be used as a great addition to your paper crafts, such as creating unique envelopes and letters, decorating journals and scrapbooks or alternatively, stencilling can be used as means of creating amazing and individual interior design, by up-cycling furniture, or even creating your own feature wall to totally change the feel of a room! Essentially, the possibilities are almost endless, and that’s why we love it.
What You’ll Need:
- Stencilling Brushes/ Sponges/ Rollers
- Low Tack Tape OR Spray Adhesive
- Sand Paper
- Paint
You can find all of your stencilling supplies here at Hochanda.
The Paints you use will depend on what you’re working with. As a general rule, if you’re stencilling onto wood, make sure to use Acrylics (Interior/Exterior as appropriate) or Enamels. When using fabrics, you can use Fabric Paints, Enamels or Interior Acrylics. Acrylics can also be used for paper and walls as well!
Some of our top tips:
Now that you have your supplies, here are our tips to get started with stencilling!
Most people like to use either a low tack tape, or adhesive spray to secure their stencil in place before beginning the paintwork. Unless you are stencilling on a wall, holding the stencil in place with some tape should do the trick!
Once the stencil is in place, apply the paint to your brush (or sponge/roller). Rule number 1 – don’t overload with paint! Try to wipe off excess before applying, as this will reduce the risk of the paint running and ruining those crisp lines, and you can go over with two or three layers to reach the desired effect.
When using a sponge of stencilling brush, apply the paint with a blotting motion and don’t drag. Once you’re feeling more confident, you can start getting creative by using different colours, brush strokes, and shadow techniques to give your pattern more depth!
When you’re finished, peel off your stencil carefully, making sure not to smudge any of your hard work! Finally, It’s important to keep your stencils and brushes clean so that they last and last. Make sure to store your stencils flat, rather than rolled as this will keep the stencil in the best condition. We recommend keeping them stored in heavy books!
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