Anyone interested in art will surely have used a stencil while creating any work of art. While some prefer to use store-bought ones, many are eager to go an extra length by making their own stencils. And why not, if it involves only a few easy steps to get what you are precisely looking for! Actually, you can turn any font into a stencil by only using painter’s tape and wax paper. Isn’t it wonderful?! We know you must be excited to try it out. So here goes the process in detail.
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Step 1
Choose a font of your choice. Print it on paper. Using a pair of scissors, cut out the lettering! Make sure to leave a border around the lettering’s edges.
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Step 2
Take a piece of wax paper and place it below the lettering. Use tabs to secure the two ends of the lettering. It will also function as a pull tab when you would require separating the wax paper from the painter’s tape after the stencil is finished.
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Step 3
Now, slowly remove the lettering. Then, run a strip of painter’s tape around the bottom edge (base) of the wax paper and across tabs.
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Step 4
Unless the whole wax paper is covered, continue overlapping parallel strips of tape.
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Step 5
Now comes the positioning of the lettering. This process works well for making print, precursive, or cursive letter stencils.
Make sure that the painter’s tape center should hold the lettering. To secure the font, you can apply another small section of tape over its bottom. Keep on placing the tape in successive rows until and unless the lettering is fully covered.
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Step 6
Take a craft knife and start cutting through the layers of the font’s interior parts.
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Step 7
By using the tip of the knife, you have to carefully lift and extract the interior parts that you cut in the previous step.
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Step 8
Cut around the edges of the remaining letters with a pair of scissors or the craft knife.
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Step 9
Once you have completed the process of cutting out the lettering, the top layer (paper and tape) should detach from the bottom layer (wax paper and tape). Now, the bottom layer has become a stencil that has a peel-off wax paper on its back just like a sticker.
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Step 10
Turn the stencil. Remove the paper from the tape using the paper tab. Also, separate the tab.
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Step 11
To correctly space the letters, cut a second lettering printout in half along its length. Keep half of the printed document in place. Position the stencil’s bottom-half with the printout. Remove the latter and smoothen the lettering in an upward direction.
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Step 12
Take a stenciling sponge or spray paint and apply a clear coat to the entire area to seal the stencil’s edges. Let the coat dry completely. You can paint the surface with any hue of your choice. If you want, you can run your craft knife around the edges of the painter’s tape. It will prevent it from tearing when you take off the stencil. Finish the task by applying a clear coat to the entire surface.
Conclusion
So, now you can turn any lettering into a stencil by following these easy steps.
