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Monday, February 11, 2013

Make it Monday: Freezer paper stencil


Since it's the week of Valentine's Day, I thought I would bring you a heart themed tutorial for this week's Make it Monday.  I'm not super into Valentine's Day this year (as in I give all Valentine's displays in the store a 20 foot radius) but I didn't want to ignore all you happy lovebirds out there, so here we go.


1.  Supplies:
  • Plain t-shirt
  • Freezer paper
  • Exacto knife
  • Fabric paint (I used acrylic paint and an additive that turns it into fabric paint. It costs less but might turn out a bit stiffer)
  • Iron
  • Sponge paint brush

2. Trace the outline of what you want to paint onto the paper side of freezer paper (the NON-waxy side) and cut out the areas where you want paint. Remember that the stencil will be applied waxy side down. (I cheated and used a Cricut cutter machine to cut out my stencil which is why it is so intricate.  You can cut a complicated pattern by hand but it might take some practice).

3. So here is the cool part about freezer paper. Since one side is waxy, you can iron it and it will stick temporarily to the fabric. You have to make sure to iron on the paper side, or else you will get wax all over your iron. Place your cutout waxy side down on your shirt and iron quickly until it sticks but not too much to burn the paper! Then use a sponge brush to paint around the stencil. I use a sponge and dabbing motions because it is less likely to move the stencil or push paint under the edges.

4. Wait for the paint to dry and then pull off the paper stencil. Follow the instructions on the fabric paint to set it and care for it when cleaning.  Then enjoy the shirt you made!

P.S. If anyone wants to make this exact heart stencil, I can send you the file that I used just let me know in the comments that you would like it. 

Stay crafty,







5 comments:

Molly said...

Very neat! Do you own the Cricut cutter machine you used? I have never heard of such a thing!

Unknown said...

Thanks Molly! I don't have my own Cricut cutter but my mother has one that I use when I'm home and my roommate has one that I use up here. It's pretty amazing and I have used it for a lot of projects. I will make a product review post of it some time.

Anonymous said...

I've never heard of freezer paper but this looks beautiful!

Unknown said...

Freezer paper is like wax paper but it only has wax on one side and the other side is like butcher paper. It's created purpose is to wrap meat in for freezing but I love using things for their un-intended purposes! You can find freezer paper in the grocery store near the aluminum foil and ziplock bags.

Unknown said...

Cool! What a great tip about freezer paper.

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