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Holy shit balls, you guys! Katie had a major brain fart when recording this episode and she forgot what we are recording for next week! Which is pretty dumb since next week is our big one year anniversary show. We just wanted to make sure you all knew… there will be glitter, and puppets, and more glitter. It is going to be rad to the extreme so make sure you are listening.

This week The Gals talked about stencils (which you can use for glitter related glue application… just an FYI). Sharon and Katie cover interesting ways we can use stencils; things you can make your own stencils from, and give us tips on how we can successfully use stencils (and admit that they are not super great at it as a general rule). Oddly, there is a lot of cat talk too. Perhaps some cat stencils are in order???

Katie mentioned using freezer paper (formerly known as butcher paper… when did that change?) as a great iron on stencil for fabric painting. You can also iron this on to paper, but we like it for use with fabric. When trying to upload/edit a video tutorial for you, there were just too many technical difficulties that occurred one after the other. Because she promised you a tutorial Katie stayed up late making a new example and taking photos for a little tutorial here on the blog… so here you go!

Painting Fabric Using Freezer Paper Stencil

This is freezer paper… there are actually vague instructions on the box for doing this now (didn’t use to be, but this also use to be called butcher paper so I am either dating myself or I had my last box of it for WAY too long).

I neglected to take photos of this part but it is very easy to cut this to standard 8.5 X 11” and put it in your printer. I did this as I found a font that I really liked for this example/project so I typed out what I wanted and set the font with an outline only, then printed it on the freezer paper (hint, the sample has to do with next week’s anniversary show surprise).

Once printed you can set to cutting out your stencil. I strongly recommend having a new blade in your X-Acto knife for cutting stencils as you really do want precision in this case. Also, remember to save the little bits from the center of your letters!

Simply lay out your stencil where you want it on your fabric, remembering to place the little bits that will make up the negative space inside your letters, and iron over with a dry iron on medium heat. I used craft felt for this as it was the only black fabric I had on hand. I do not recommend using this kind of fabric! The smaller paper bits did not stick well. This works much better less textured fabric (and I find natural fabrics like cotton and silk have very nice outcomes).

Once you have it ironed in place get your stippling brush (or sponges) and paint and have at it! Remember that less paint in layers works better than loading your brush up and glopping it on thickly. Working from the outside of the stencil in will help too. I did notice my stencil lifting slightly but I believe that was due to the fabric I used as I have never had this issue before.

Due to the time crunch on getting this example completed I wasn’t able to let it fully dry, you will want to let yours dry fully before removing the stencil! Once the paint has dried simply crab and edge and gently lift… the stencil comes off very easily.

Isn’t that great!?!?? Even a stencil challenged person such as myself ends up with beautiful results using this method! Check it out!

Remember if you want to see what Katie made has to do with next week’s one year anniversary show make sure to listen and come back to the blog… you will not want to miss it!

The universe is so funny sometimes (funny “odd”… it is also funny “ha-ha”, but not in this case). As Katie was editing the audio for the show yesterday her good friend, Lisa Vollrath of Ten Two Studios, posted a stencil related tutorial video. It is really great! If you want to see Lisa use stencils like a boss check out this link! https://www.patreon.com/creation?hid=1971492

If you have any ideas or tips about stencils that The Gals didn’t cover this week please email them at twoartsygals@gmail.com, they love hearing from you! Remember, next week is our 1^st anniversary show and it is going to be packed with awesome! To make sure you get that and all of our episodes updated to your listening device right away you can use the free iTunes or Stitcher apps! You can also follow our RSS feed by clicking the little orange icon here on the blog. Oh yeah, and we keep forgetting to remind you that we have a Facebook page! You can “like” us there and you will get all kinds of updates and show reminders! We are so excited for next week!!! Make sure you come back for the anniversary show and until then… make some cool shit, yo!