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Stencil 5 ways – Confetti Background

Hey there! Recently I have been trying to broaden my craft stash by making my own crafting tools – one in particular are stencils! Here I am going to show you how to stencil 5 ways to create some stylish and modern cards. If you don’t have all mediums I have used today, hopefully you will still find one that you can use for your next project. And if you own a silhouette machine, well I have also included the cut file for free for this confetti background, at the end of the post for you to download!

Materials used for the Stencil 5 ways project cards:

  • Pigment ink
  • Distress Oxide
  • Versmark Ink
  • Embossing powder – in this project I used Papermania Copper, and WOW Silver, Black glint and Opaque Bright White
  • Tonic Nuvo Mousse – Colour used here is pure platinum
  • Glimmer paste – I used Imagination Crafts Sparkle Medium Black Stars
  • Palette Knife
  • Baby wipes or bowl of soapy water
  • Low tack tape 
  • Non-stick craft mat
  • Blending tool or make-up sponge
  • Heat gun
  • Kraft paper 
  • Card bases measuring at 5″ 1/2 X 4″ 1/4
  • Sentiment stamps and die cuts
  • Acrylic blocks
  • Double sided tape
  • Foam tape
  • Liquid adhesive – I used ‘Quickie Glue’ Pen for ease.
  • Scraps of contrasting card/ glitter card-stock
  • Glitter washi tape
  • Wooden heart

Stencil 5 ways Project - Card 1, Pigment Ink:

I adhered the kraft paper to the non-stick kraft mat with the low tack tape. It is important that the paper is adhered down so it doesn’t move when you apply your medium through the stencil, otherwise it could smudge. I the used the tape to adhere the stencil over the top. 

To apply  the pigment ink through the stencil I used make up sponge in a dabbing motion. 

Once you have a good even coverage, make sure you wash your stencil with a baby wipe after you have removed it. 

Once the background was drying, I finished this card by heat embossing a sentiment on vellum and mounting this onto the background. I use washi tape to add interest and detail on top of the background and to add contrast between the kraft paper and black card base. The background was foam mounted on to the base to give dimension. 

Stencil 5 ways Project - Card 2, Distress Oxide:

Apply your paper to your mat once again with your stencil tape down over the top. This time I used a blending tool to apply the distress oxide. I love how distress oxide comes out on kraft paper and card. It has a lovely opacity and chalk like finish to it which works well with Kraft. 

Make sure you wipe you stencil down with a baby wipe afterwards. 

I applied more distress oxide to small scraps of paper and mounted this onto the backgroud. This brought out the colour of the background even further and linked into the sentiment. I off set the sentiment to one side using the scraps of paper as a focal point. For the ‘happy’ sentiment, I die cut the word 3 times and adhered the words together with the Quickie Glue pen. Along with foam mounting the smaller sentiment, this helped to give dimension to the card. The smaller sentiment was heat embossed with white powder. 

Stencil 5 ways Project - Card 3, Embossing powder:

Before overlaying your stencil, you may wish to treat your paper with an anti-static tool to prevent powder from sticking to areas you don’t wish it too. Once ready and with the stencil taped over the top, I applied versamark through the stencil with a sponge in a dabbing motion. When all areas had been covered, I applied Copper embossing powder all over and heat set this. 

Make sure you wipe you stencil down with a baby wipe. 

To complete this card, I embossed the sentiment on vellum in the same colour. I mounted this onto the background and used contrasting card scraps and glitter card stock to add detail and interest. 

Stencil 5 ways Project - Card 4, Tonic Nuvo Mousse:

To apply tonic nuvo Mousse through the stencil, you only need to use a small amount on a spatula and smooth it across the stencil. Make sure you stencil is tape down well to prevent it from smudging underneath. You only need to use a small amount of paste, so use you knife to scrape the excess off the stencil and back into the pot. After I had gotten a nice smooth and even coverage I remove the stencil straight away and cleaned it in soapy water.

I allowed to dry for 10-15 minutes. It doesn’t take long to dry, but this can vary depending on how thick you apply the mousse. 

To finish this card off, I applied differing thickness of glitter washi tape to the background. If you don’t have different thickness of the same tape, use a craft knife and rule to make your own strips. I applied versamark and silver embossing powder to the heart and mounted this onto the background. The sentiment was heat embossed in Black Glint. The background was foam mounted onto the card base, with a strip of matching tape underneath and with a small strip of the card base exposed. 

Stencil 5 ways Project - Card 5, Glimmer Paste:

Finally for the last card, I applied the glimmer paste over the stencil using a palette knife once more. Again, it is important that the stencil is taped down well to prevent smudging! Removed the stencil immediately and wash in soapy water. 

Allow this to dry; I gave this an hour as I had other things to do, but again, drying can vary depending on how thick you apply the medium. 

I wanted to keep the added decoration simple on this card as the glimmer paste had such a great shine in the light and didn’t want to detract from this. The sentiment was heat embossed in Black Glint with a black circle mat to create contrast with the background. This was foam mounted to give dimension. 

I hope you have enjoyed the 5 different ways of using a background stencil and perhaps have found one you want to try! I like all 5 techniques, but both the Distress oxide and Glimmer paste are my favourites. They both give such different looks, which is great!

Let me know how you get on and post a picture below or use #prettylittlebutton!

How to make your Own custom stencil:

Materials required to make a custom stencil:

  • Silhouette cameo or other electronic cutting machine
  • Studio software to design and cut your stencil – this should be linked with your cutting machine. I use Silhouette Studio as I have a Silhouette Cameo.
  • Acetate – the thickness is crucial here. To thin and it will be flimsy and move a lot when you apply your medium. Too thick and you cutting machine may not cut all the way through!

In your design software, draw a square measuring at 6″ X 6″. You can make large stencils if you wish, but a stencil this size will cover standard size cards. Use the shape tool to create your design and place inside the square. When you are happy with your stencil send it to you machine to cut. 

I used the cut settings:

Blade 10, Speed 2, Thickness 33 and double cut. 

These settings may not be suitable for the acetate you are using depending on its thickness, so make sure you do a test cut first!

Confetti Background Stencil FREE DOWNLOAD:

Click on the file below for the free Silhouette Studio file for the Confetti Background Stencil. 

*Please note this file is for personal use only. If you would like to share this file, please share the link to this blog post and not the file itself or the link to Onedrive. Please also credit Pretty Little Button.

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Till next time,

About Me

Hi, I am Verity and I live in the UK.  I love to create beautiful projects whenever I can. My main passion lies with Papercrafting, however, I will always turn my hand to a new project or craft any chance I get.

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