Making your own stencils

I haven't made a stencil of my own in quite some time.

Its a super easy way to add your own design

and style into your art journaling.

All you need is some thin plastic,

(Walmart and Michael's also sell stencil blanks)

a piece of glass, an exacto knife (I use a stencil cutting tool)

some tracing paper and a black marker.

I decided to go for a diamond pattern,

and traced one from a piece of scrapbook paper I had left over.

Tip: Use a ruler for geometric objects!

After going through a couple of rows 

and realizing that my lines were uneven,

I busted out a ruler and it made it MUCH easier.

Once you've transferred the pattern onto tracing paper,

color it in/outline it with black marker.

This step is VERY important, because

otherwise you will be squinting to see the design through

the piece of glass and the plastic.

Once I colored in my pattern, it was time to cut!

Tip: Always leave space between the designs

I've made the mistake a few times 

when cutting stencils of just going to town

cutting out the outline, and forgetting that

when you make a stencil you need a little bit of plastic

to stay in between the different shapes, otherwise

it will all come out and you will be left with a big hole!

Next you put the piece of glass over the tracing paper

and the stencil film on top and cut away!

I made lots of mistakes, and my pattern

isn't perfect. This probably would have been

a better task for just a ruler and an exacto knife.

This is drafting film and really thin.

Oh well, live and learn :)

And because its on my desk, a journal page from 

The Big Journal in progress