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Stencils are great ways to create special effects in many different art or crafts projects; personalizing articles with names and numbers, decorating windows for the holidays, adding interest and uniqueness to scrapbook projects and photo albums.

First select your theme or design. Holidays, birthdays, seasons, sports, etc..

One of the best places to find designs for cutting stencils is the kids department of a craft shop. The designs in beginners coloring books are simple and basic shapes. Unless you are great are at drawing or an artist, this will save you loads of time and frustration. I've also used leaves, pet paw prints and cookie cutters for patterns. I glued the leaves to the paper to make them easier to trace. Paw prints are easy, just use non-toxic water-based paint and press against your pet's paw (cats, dogs are my only experience here - but maybe you could do it with birds or lizards - give it a try). Cookie cutters are among the easiest to use and come in many themes and patterns. Rubber stamps are also helpful and easy to use.

I use poster board or mat board to make stencils, it's heavy enough to hold up under multiple uses but not too heavy to cut through easily. There are plastic sheets available, but I'm cheap and always have scraps of poster board around. If you haven't cut stencils before, practice on a plaint sheet of printer paper first.

An Exacto knife is easiest for cutting intricate designs. They are sold in a kit with several blades which you can change. Craft stores, hardware stores or chain discount stores all carry them.

It's often hard to find the right size for your stencil, but you can scan your design into a computer and make it larger or smaller. Many programs for this are available for free on line. If you need a very large stencil, cut out each part on separate pieces of paper and do each section separately. If you're doing a large apple or one shape, cut out sections that can be stenciled together in sections and then dab paint over any lines or voids that happen.

Patterns that are drawn free-hand are often more interesting and easier to do than you might think. Flower, leaves, stars, moons, and many shapes are fairly easy and will add your own special flair, so give it a try. Slight imperfections often make a project more appealing than a perfect shape. Make background or filler stencils like a page of small squares, circles or stars of various sizes to add interest around your major design.

After your stencil is completed, play with various paints or inks and use sponges, stencil brushes or markers as each will give you a different look. Use painters tape (blue making tape) to hold your stencil in place on paper or a glue stick on fabric or other hard surfaces.

Use several colors and stencil sections of your project with shades of the same color or contrasting colors for a more interesting approach. Red, yellow orange; sky blue and aqua, purple, pink and yellow or green look great. Let each color dry between layers so they won't run together as you can get a muddy look this way - unless that's what you want.

Have fun with them , for instance sprinkle some glitter on the paint while it's still wet, I'm sure you'll come up with all sorts of creative ideas once you get started!

Learn more about this author, Pat Merewether.
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