Do you Know about Freezer Paper Yet?

Do you know about Freezer Paper yet?  If you don’t you should, especially when it comes to

Final Product framed and ready to go in my shop!
Eat your Cake

projects* that need some stencilling…When I was in art school and wanted to do uniform text I would go down to my local art store  and buy a stencil. Nice, but they were never in the style/font I wanted and I would have to choose between the ones that were available (sorta like settling for second best). Same goes with images, even more limited than text. Making your own stencils gives you so many more possibilities!  I am going to show you how it is done and then you can you take it any direction you want, because freezer paper adheres to the fabric you can make some pretty interesting shapes. All you need is a little patience, cutting out your design can take a long time but the extra effort is well worth it when you get a nice crisp image.

Freezer Paper can be found in most grocery stores, some art stores have caught on because of the versatility but sadly a lot of craft stores don’t, they want you to buy their fancy expensive stencils. It has a paper side and shining plastic side.

I should have labeled the ‘waxy’ side as plastic side.

After choosing your text, you will draw your image onto the paper side- There is no need to reverse it, I repeat there is no need to reverse it.

Using a cutting mat and an X-acto blade, cut out your letters and be sure to save the inner parts if you have any- I have part of the e & a to save.

This is where freezer paper gets amazing, because of the plastic side you can iron it directly onto your fabric and it is held in place. Did you save the inner parts? I use the text that I cut out as a template to position them correctly. I use my iron on cotton setting/no steam.

Select some fabric paint if you are using it on something washable, if not any old acrylic will do. Using a foam brush dab it onto your stencil. Avoid brushing it, thatmay cause the stencil to lift at the edges and make it bleed.

Give it a few minutes to dry, it can come off while still tacky but for the cleanest results just wait a little bit.

It is not just for text, check out what others have done with freezer paper stencils!

Chica and Jo– have a fun owl tutorial.

How about Orange– geometric tote on flickr

And then there is this Alternative to Freezer Paper if it can’t be found! By Intergalactic Galactic Galactic

*Freezer paper stencils work best on projects you can iron and don’t have too much texture. Saying that you can get way with some wood finishes, paper and fabric, nothing melty.