Alphabet Stencils

It seems like alphabet stencils have come a long way. 20 years ago, or “back in the day”, you’d see curbs stenciled, or tables and chairs at the local auditorium or school stenciled with the name of the location. The really cool people used stencil letters even on garage sale signs – now those were the sales you didn’t want to miss!

Now, people use alphabet stencils everywhere! When you pull in to the mechanic’s garage for an oil change, you’ll see “Oil Change Station” stenciled over the bay. No understated sign for them!

Ok, show of hands – how many times have you seen the words “Live, Love, Laugh” on the walls of a friend’s house or a store, done in stencil letters? At any given time, you can probably think of at least 3 places with these words displayed prominently!

And why is that? Maybe it comes from the self-help era, when people would post notes to themselves to “think positive” or “believe”. Where ever it comes from, the use of alphabet stencils has virtually revolutionized home décor. People now are able to stylishly add their child’s name to the nursery wall, or their favorite sports team logo to the walls of the man-cave.

Stencil letters are actually very easy to use. You can purchase a temporary adhesive spray that leaves no residue. Just spray the back of the stencil and attach it to the wall stencils for painting where you want to paint the letter. It will stay up there just fine! Once you’ve stenciled the letter onto the wall, the stencil will peel off of the wall just fine. You can even reuse the spray adhesive several times per application!

When you stencil, remember that you don’t have to have perfectly filled in letters every time. Adhere your stencil to the wall, and then use a stencil brush to “pounce” the paint onto the wall. The stencil brush is flat across the bristles. You dip the end of the brush in paint, and then with quick poking movements you apply the paint to the wall. You have to go back and get more paint quite often, because you’re not brushing it on like you usually do when you paint a wall.

Stencil letters look really nice when you allow some of the base paint from the wall to show through. As you pounce the stencil brush on the wall, the paint will get lighter. It’s ok to let that happen – it adds to the depth and style of the letters.

If you want a really solid letter with straight, crisp lines, it will take a little more work. Adhere the stencil letters to the wall, then take a 1” paint brush and gently paint around the inside edges of the alphabet stencil, where the letters are. This will help seal the edge so there’s no bleeding underneath the stencil. Then, once that has had a chance to set up, go back and paint the inside of the letters, keeping the paint inside the alphabet stencils.

Stencil Art

Stencil Art for Your Home

Have you seen the phrase “Live, Love, Laugh” displayed in people’s homes and offices? This is a great reminder to enjoy life and appreciate the truly important thing. You can use stencil art to place this, or any other phrase on your walls and furniture! Alphabet stencils are easy to find, and don’t have to be expensive.

How to Use Alphabet Stencils

Stencil letters are easy to use. First, of course, you have to make sure the wall or furniture is clean, because you’re going to spray a temporary adhesive on the back of your stencil to hold it in place. This will make stencil art a little neater, but if the surface is dirty, the alphabet stencils won’t stick to the surface.

Centering Stencil Letters

Once you clean the wall or furniture item, say, a table top, center your phrase in the area you want to stencil. Do this by counting the number of characters, including punctuation and spaces, and dividing by 2. The number you come up with is the space you use, first. So, for instance, if you’re using the stencil letters for Live, Love, Laugh, you’ll have 17 characters. That’s 3 commas, 2 spaces, and 13 letters. 17 divided by 2 is 8.5. That means you’ll need characters 8 and 9, which are the “v” and “e” of Love. The v and e will be the first 2 stencil letters you place on the wall. Then, you work out in both directions with the rest of the letters and spaces. If you’re placing the phrase over a doorway, put the v and e over the center of the door. A table top would be the same. That way, if you have any room left over at the end of the stencil art, it will be evenly distributed on both ends of the quote. The only variable in this situation is the number of upper case letters – you’ll have to allow a little more space for the larger letters.

Places to Use Stencil Art

Wall stencils for painting in many different applications can be great for stencil art. You can find phrases of encouragement and sentiment in teacher’s lounges, board rooms and kitchens all across the U.S. You’ll see it in restaurants and department stores. For a real challenge, try stencil letters on a round coffee table. Stencil a phrase in a spiral patters from the center of the table out to the edge. You might do stencil art at the end of the phrase, and then repeat the phrase again until you reach the edge.
Other times, you may use really tall alphabet stencils around 12” to 18”, and lightly stencil your favorite words on an entire wall. Then, come back with the same words in smaller stencil letters and coordinating colors, and overlap the previously stenciled words.
You may want to stencil your children’s names on the footboards or headboards of their beds – sort of like in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Your alphabet stencil art can be a lot of fun, and make your home beautiful.

Free Printable Stencils

Stenciling is an excellent way to produce beautiful effects on your walls. Whether you’re providing pretty scenery on a concrete-block garden wall, or dressing up your dining room, free printable stencils will turn you from a painter into an artist!

When you start shopping for free printable wall stencils for painting, you’ll find everything from spray paint stencils to stencils for embroidery and iron-on transfers. There are, however, many stencils meant specifically for stenciling your walls, and will work best for this application. If you love nature, then you’ll love all of the free printable stencils available with nature themes. You can find free printable stencils with beach, ocean, forest, garden, and any other symbol or theme from nature.

How about the holidays? Whether you want to go all out and decorate the dining room with a Christmas stencil, or bring Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, or Thanksgiving to the fore, there are free printable stencils that will provide you with the perfect tools to create holiday beauty in your home. Did you know there are actually Beatrix Potter stencils? What a pretty nursery that would make! There are many more free printable stencils available to turn your little one’s nursery into a fantasy land. Sure, the baby won’t know who those adorable creatures parading round his walls, but you will! What fun parents can have recreating their own childhood memories with the help of free printable stencils of their favorite characters or themes.

You can find free printable stencils of African history. The stencil of the Nguni people has great possibilities, with the angular arrow and softness of the wave symbols. Print off these stencils, transfer the pattern to stencil material and cut it out, and you have a stencil you can use over and over again. Free printable stencils can beautify your house for nothing more than the cost of printer paper.
Even tattoos are done from stencils. You’ll find that tattoo art is finding its way into homes. It’s not unusual to see the classic wings (that you normally find on either side of a skull or heart) stenciled on either side of a little girl’s toy vanity mirror. These are available as free printable stencils! You can find just about any stencil free, and just print it off yourself.

These same stencils don’t have to be limited to use on your walls. Free printable stencils can be used in fabric painting. Print off the stencil of your choice, and create holiday sweatshirts for the whole family. Make your own slipcover for the ottoman in the man-cave, sporting the logo of your favorite team. Or, add text to the bulkhead over your kitchen cabinets. You may want to download free printable stencils of flourishes, and decorate that little section of wall over each doorway.
Free printable stencils bring art and design to your fingertips. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to stencil images and words to any surface. All you need is a great stencil, and some paint!