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You are here: Home / Home Ideas / DIY and Craft / How To Make A Stencil Without Owning An Expensive Cutting Machine

How To Make A Stencil Without Owning An Expensive Cutting Machine

DIY and Craft

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As the trend to DIY and upcycle old furniture continues more and more does the popularity of stenciling furniture increase. If you’re wanting to stencil some furniture, take on an upcycle project or even stencil a feature wall, then today’s tutorial on how to make a stencil will help you make stencils of all sorts in no time and with minimal craft supplies!

You do not need to own a stencil cutting machine such as a Cricut machine to make your own stencil for your next project. In fact, designing and learning to create your own stencil will not only allow you full creative control but it can cost far less than purchasing individual stencils or a stencil cutting machine.

Read on to learn how to make stencils and some great and free online tools you can use to help make the process easier for you.

Learn how to make a stencil without needing a fancycutting machine. This is a great tutorial for all levels. Create great stencilling projects in a few easy steps. It really is simple to create you own DIY stencil!

The benefits of owning a cutting machine are amazing. I’m not saying these machines aren’t fabulous, they truly are! But this tutorial is designed for you if you can’t afford to purchase a stencil machine or you simply want to try and learn how to create a stencil and this great technique.

How to make a stencil – DIY stencil letters

Let me start at the beginning. I recently embarked on an upcycle project that saw me turn an old unused stool that was ready for the dump into something totally different. To my own surprise, I put my creative hat on and converted this old useless stool into a beautiful, rustic/farmhouse DIY Lazy Susan.

I knew I wanted to create some diy stencil letters for it because after hours of searching and failing to find what I was looking for, I just knew I had to make them myself.

This made it very difficult for me to find something pre-made. So I decided to teach myself how to make letter stencils to save me time and get my project completed as soon as I could.

This DIY stencil method is very convenient, though it does require a little bit more work. I find it to be really fun and I think you will also once I teach you how to make your own stencil letters as well!

Read on to learn how to make your own stencil.

Don’t get me wrong, I would LOVE to own a beautiful silhouette cutting machine, but unfortunately, it just isn’t in my budget at the moment. So the next best thing is to make a stencil all on my own.

If you have one of these gorgeous machines, you’re very lucky! And this tutorial isn’t for you. But if you do not own a Cricut machine then this is the easiest way to make stencils that I have tried.

I recently used this stenciling technique on my DIY Lazy Susan. I made it from an old, unloved stool and I absolutely LOVE how it turned out.

Rustic DIY Lazy Susan turnable

My stencil making method is simple, you just have to know what to do. In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to make a text stencil in photoshop. You can also play around with patterns but for this tutorial, we are using text only.

I’m using Photoshop CS4 in this tutorial (a total dinosaur I know, but it’s what I currently have!) haha.

Note that if you don’t know photoshop it’s ok, you can still make your own stencil no worries.

You can also make your own stencils online free by using websites such as;  PicMoney, Canva and a lot of other free online tools.

Let’s get started with our DIY stencil making tutorial!

How To Make Stencil Letters

Step 1

Open up photoshop, click on file and create a few file. It will bring you to a box like the one below. Name your file.

How To Make A Stencil (without owning a fancy and expensive machine!)

Step 2

Choose the paper size you want. I chose international paper (A4) for my project as it was small but if you want to make a really large stensil just choose custom and enter the dimensions.

 

How To Make A Stencil (without owning a fancy and expensive machine!)

 

Step 3

Once your file is open, choose T for Text as shown below. Choose your Font. I have chosen one of my favorite fonts for this tutorial called Stencil STD! This is a great font for creating industrial, rustic stencil writing. If you don’t have a great selection and would like some nice fonts you can download free fonts at DaFont or if you’re looking for something more specific or original you can purchase gorgeous fonts and graphics at one of my favorite places online Creative Market. I tell you, I can spend hours looking around on this website! It’s the best. 

How To Make A Stencil (without owning a fancy and expensive machine!)

Step 4

Add your words and play around with the design. It’s fun and quite easy.

How To Make A Stencil (without owning a fancy and expensive machine!)

Step 5

Once you have the words and font you want, print and get ready to make your stencil. My printer had run out of black ink and I didn’t realize, so this is the color my printed my words out, but it doesn’t matter.

How To Make A Stencil (without owning a fancy and expensive machine!)

Using an X-Acto knife, slowly cut out the letters on a cutting matt so you do not damage your table or work surface. I love my X-Acto knife, I find this to be the best way to cut stencils manually as it is such a sharp little knife and you can get around all corners easily.

How To Make A Stencil (without owning a fancy and expensive machine!)

Step 6

Once you have cut out your stencil you’re ready to start stenciling! And that’s how to make a letter stencil. It’s really as simple as that!

You can do this with so many words and you can also replicate this technique with images as well. Find vectors graphics you love, print them out and cut the outline out and start stenciling! This is my go-to method when I do not have time to source stencils or when I can’t find what I want. See how my DIY Lazy Susan turned out after I stenciled it with the words “Tea, Coffee, Wine”!

You can download a copy of the free stencil printable I made here.

How To Make A Stencil (without owning a fancy and expensive machine!)

I hope you found today’s quick stencil tutorial on how to make stencils helpful! Let me know what you think in comments and if you would use this technique?

Don’t have time or patience to make your own stencil? Here are some cheap letter stencils I recommend.

TOP STENCIL PICKS


Love this DIY Stencil idea? Pin this post for later!

Learn how to make a stencil with this easy to follow DIY stencil tutorial. Have fun creating this project. Stencil letters or other intricate designs on to wood, fabric, whatever you like!

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How to transfer images using chalk paint

This is an easy image transfer technique tutorial for any graphic transfers on to furniture. Use chalk paint to transfer your images. The finish is fabulous.

Ikea Tarva Dresser Makeover

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Comments

  1. Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled says

    December 13, 2016 at 5:24 pm

    Thanks for the tutorial! I don’t own a “fancy cutting machine” either so I always feel limited when I see so many fun projects.

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      January 5, 2017 at 10:13 pm

      I feel the same Victoria but with signs I think you can definitely get away with this method 🙂

      Reply
  2. Claire says

    December 13, 2016 at 5:51 pm

    I don’t own a fancy cutting machine and don’t plan to get one either. This looks really good how you have done your stencils. I will be pinning for later. Thanks for the great tutorial.

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      January 5, 2017 at 10:12 pm

      Thanks Claire! Yes, it’s so easy to do and great when you have large projects.

      Reply
  3. Anika says

    December 13, 2016 at 9:14 pm

    Great tutorial!! I feel limited a lot of times with not owning a cutting machine either and resort to tracing and painting. I am not sure if I can ever cut so perfectly like you have!! But will definitely try next time 🙂

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      January 5, 2017 at 10:12 pm

      Yeah, I sometimes wonder about a cutting Machine Anika, but this works for me for now 🙂

      Reply
  4. nancy feeney says

    January 3, 2017 at 8:42 pm

    I ordered a fun sign to display in my kitchen but found it was sold out. Your stenciling tutorial is just what I need to make my own sign. Thanks so much

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      January 5, 2017 at 9:57 pm

      Hi Nancy, I’m so glad you have found it helpful! You’re very welcome and good luck. Feel free to share your finished product with me on facebook. Would love to see what you create! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Habiba says

    February 21, 2017 at 8:37 pm

    Thank you so much for this post! I’ll definitely give it a go with a doormat I am planning to stencil on.

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      March 20, 2017 at 11:51 pm

      You’re welcome Habiba! A doormat will be a great stencil project! I’m considering doing out doormat also!

      Reply
  6. Linda says

    March 4, 2017 at 4:06 pm

    What kind of paper did you use for he stencil?

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      March 7, 2017 at 9:32 pm

      Hi Linda, just basic printing paper that you can pop in your printer! Very easy and nothing fancy. 😉

      Reply
  7. Pastels & Macarons says

    May 16, 2017 at 1:20 pm

    Thanks for including my tutorial Anika. xx

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Easy DIY Personalized Doormat - Anika's DIY Life says:
    May 16, 2017 at 2:28 am

    […] a premade letter stencil or create your own monogram stencil like I did. Maria tells you exactly how to make a stencil without a cutting machine. It is fairly quick and […]

    Reply
  2. Industrial DIY Bulletin Board - From a Repurposed Window • Grillo Designs says:
    August 26, 2017 at 1:42 pm

    […] style touch (FYI, you don’t always have to buy your stencils. You can make your own too. Here’s a great tutorial from my friend Maria over at Pastels and Macarons on how to do […]

    Reply

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welcome, i'm maria

Hi there! Welcome to Pastels & Macarons! Most of the time you'll find me creating, caring for my two toddler boys, socializing or dreaming of my next project! I'm definitely a creative type and I love sharing it all with you right here. Join me as I share crafts, DIYs, recipes, home inspiration, travel stories and fun printables for you and your kids!

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