Today I can say that after years of watching people stencil and buying twenty-two stencils myself, I have finally for the first time ever stenciled.  And the crowd goes wild. LOL.

Stenciling always looked easy enough but there is nothing like doing it yourself. Although it was not difficult, it wasn’t the piece of cake I had anticipated either.

First, I picked the Studio Katia, Birthday Balloon Duo Stencil set to use because I decided to make a birthday shaker card for my brother.

Second, I needed to keep my cardstock from moving while I inked the stencil.  Thanks to my prior hoarding ways I had several options already on hand. Ha! I took out: Pixie Spray, Low Tack Tape, a Waffle Flower, Grip Mat, and my Waffle Flower, Stencil Mat and got started. The Pixie Spray everyone raves about tore my paper three times before I gave up on using it. I ended up using my stencil mat with the grip mat and that held the paper in place nicely.

Next, I had to decide what to use to apply the ink to the stencil, so I took out Makeup Brushes, Scrapbook.com Domed Foam Blending Sponges with the applicator handles, and Altenew’s large and small blending brushes. I liked the Scrapbook.com domed sponges the best to apply most of the ink and then the Altenew small brushes to smooth it out. That combination worked the best for me with this card.

I used masking tape over the stencil openings where I did not want ink to keep everything clean and crisp. I like the way it turned out.

I scored a piece of Acetate on all sides and then adhered all but one side to my card stenciled layer. I put in sequins and confetti before adhering the last side.  I attached the shaker pocket to the matted card front, stamped a sentiment inside and “TADA” my card was done.

Will I stencil again?  ABSOLUTELY.  I mean I do have 21 other stencils I need to use. Until next time: