The Crafter's Workshop BlogUse a stencil as a decorative edge

Hero image showing the completed decorative edged page featuring two daisies in blue and yellow shades with white and black outlines. The right edge of the page features a decorative edge down the side of the page. — Decorative edge page – 8.5″ x 5.5″ on 140 lb hot press watercolor paper

Gosh, where does the time go? It’s hard to believe this is my last post as a TCW Design Team member! The last two years have flown by in a creative, fun-filled blur of projects and posts!

The Crafter’s Workshop provided me with some product to create this project. The opinions I share are solely my own.

This post today is nothing new in the art journal scene, but it’s new for me and something I have always wanted to try. Today, I decided to use a stencil to create a decorative edge page for my summer adventures travel journal.

This is a super simple technique that really consists of one step: Using a stencil to create a decorative edge to your page:

Close up image showing the pencil and outlined stencil down the right side of the page. — A pencil was used to trace around the outside of the stencil down one edge of the page.

Step One: As shown in the image above, I started my project using a pencil which I used to trace the outside of TCW929 Felicia Daisy stencil down the right side of the page. I moved the stencil down the page to create one full image, and one partial image on the page.

Step Two: As shown in the following images, I then used a cosmetic sponge to lightly dab acrylic paint through the stencil using three different colors of acrylic paint. Notice that by overlapping the colors slightly, it creates blends and shades of additional colors.

Close up image showing the acrylic paint sponged through the stencil using a cosmetic sponge. — Acrylic paint was sponged through the stencil using a cosmetic sponge.

Three shades of acrylic paint were used to create the floral images.

Step Three: As shown in the image below, I then moved down the page and applied the paint to the partial flower at the bottom of the page.

Close up image showing the stencil and page with both flowers now being completed with the sponged acrylic paint. — The partial flower was then painted using the same technique.

Step Four: Clearly, I am not a perfect stenciler when using paint! I tend to be a little too heavy handed when applying the paint which makes it seep under the edges of the stencil, despite the fact that I dab most of the excess paint off before I begin dabbing the paint on. Later in this post I’ll show you how I correct this as best I can.

Close up image of the stenciling complete on the page. The stencil has now been removed to reveal both images with their imperfect stenciling. — Both flower images have now been stenciled imperfectly onto the page.

Close up image showing the cut edge of the page and the scissors laying next to the page. — Scissors were used to cut the traced stencil line down the right side of the page.

Step Five: As shown in the above image, I used scissors to cut just inside the pencil traced line to create the decorative right edge of the page.

Close up image showing the signo uni-ball UM-153 black acrylic paint pen laying on the page with the stencil. The pen has been used to outline the lower daisy image. — Close up image of the outlined stencil using a black fine point acrylic paint pen.

The stencil lays next to the completed page. — A black and a white signo uni-ball acrylic paint pen were used to outline the stencil images.

Angled close up shot of the page completed with the stencil and pens laying adjacent to the completed page. — A black and a white signo uni-ball acrylic paint pen were used to outline the stencil images.

Step Six: As shown in the three images above, I used acrylic paint pens to trace the stenciled image. The white paint pen was used in an effort to unsuccessfully cover up the places where I traced that I should not have (where the two flower images overlap). I’ll touch this up with white gesso later, after the paint pens have fully dried, and that way they won’t mingle and turn to the dirty grey that you see here!

The completed page shown in full. — Close up image of the completed decorative edged page.

Thank you so much for following my posts for the last two years and for all your kind comments and encouragement on my projects. It’s been a pleasure to work for The Crafter’s Workshop and I can’t wait to play with their newly released products. Happy creating!

Michaela Butterworth
The Crafter’s Workshop Design Team Member

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One thought on “Use a stencil as a decorative edge”

Dennis Smith says:

July 28, 2022 at 6:24 am

I really enjoyed reading and hopefully make a flower edge in my journal. The one problem I have with this blog is, clear photos and step by step easy to follow instructions. Many of the projects I would love to try, but there aren’t enough photos or easy to follow instructions. Thanks…Mischelle