Make your own paper stencils - Part 2

After you've done this your stencil design is ready to transfer onto your chosen stencil paper. To do this you stick your tracing paper onto your stencil paper at the outside corners using some clear tape. Then you get some charcoal stick or hard pencil and rub hard over the whole design until it is covered. Take off the tracing paper slowly and you should see your outline on your stencil paper. Get a sharp pencil or a black ink liner with a thin nib and go round the whole picture to make the lines and patterns clear.

The trick about making your own stencils is that instead of cutting out the shape, just by cutting the outside lines, you have to cut the inside of each separate piece of the design. For example you cut out each petal of the flower on the inside so that you have a hole as the shape not the paper. Then you can color in the shapes when you come to using your stencil.

The best way to do this is to use a craft knife. Try cutting with the knife a few times with simple shapes before you use your actual design. Be careful at this stage to follow your design exactly.

Once you've finished cutting your stencil is ready to use. You can make stickers, temporary tattoos, creative drawings and paintings. Use different colors to show the pieces of the design. You can use inks, paints and pencils. If you're doing a flower paint the stem green, the petals rose and yellow for the bud.

You can use this simple way to make any kind of stencil design you want. If you're just beginning try making simple stencil shapes to begin with to practice.