How to Cut a Contact Paper Stencil

Contact paper stencils can be used with your own hand drawn designs or with artwork printed from your home computer. Cut stencils from contact paper to use to create t-shirt designs for holidays, special events or as a craft project for kids. Attach your contact paper stencils to fabrics or hard surface items to make hand made gifts for your friends and family.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Stencil design (hand drawn or printed from a home computer)
• White paper
• Contact paper
• Scissors or craft knife
• Tape
• Paint
• Fabric or hard surface to stencil

1. Print an image from your computer or hand draw an image onto white paper and use tape to attach to a sheet of contact paper.

2. Use scissors or a craft knife to cut along the lines of the design. Apply enough pressure to cut through the sheet of paper as well as through the contact paper beneath it.

3. Remove the white paper from the sheet of contact paper.

4. Remove the backing from the sheet of contact paper and apply to fabric or hard surface that you want to stencil.

5. Use paint appropriate for the material you are stenciling to fill in the open areas of the contact paper.

6. Allow paint to dry completely, then remove the stencil from the surface and discard.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a craft knife with a pointed blade to cut lines on detailed stencil designs. When using contact paper stencils on hard surface materials, apply a clear sealer to protect the paint from fading or chipping. Experiment with a variety of hard surface materials such as wooden plaques and ceramic tiles. Contact paper stencils can also be used for pumpkin designs for Halloween.
• Contact paper doesn't stick well to cotton fabrics and may cause the edges of the stencil to not transfer smoothly.

References

• Hands On Crafts for Kids | Stenciling