Most versatile stencils to have

I am thinking of doing more are stenciling with my cards. I am thinking that stenciling will help me not rely on dies as much, allow me to get more into inking, which I like to do.

Not really what you asked for, and I really haven't done much stenciling myself, but I have something I've learned about stencils. They are easily creased and formed out of shape. I finally bought a 12x12 album to keep my stencils in so they stay flat and protected. They nicely fit inside protector sheets. I have a whole organization system for them, but the important thing is keeping them safe.

I like basic background stamps, like textures or walls. Things for some playing with different medias, but for inking, I would think florals and butterflies would give you great coloring options. Maybe look through the Gallery, putting "stencils" in the gallery search to see what types look the most interesting to you. Have fun! It sounds like the beginning of a new skill that will add some pow-factor to your cards.

I would think background stencils work nicely and when I stencil, I use those the most. I have gotten some with small dots, stars, hearts. Also just bought a cloud/mountain stencil.

Thanks. I did order some with small dots, one has a variety of sizes of small stars - none of the star sizes scattered on that stencil is large at all, I ordered a set of 3 pine tree backgrounds. The mountain and cloud stencils make sense as one that would be used often. Never thought of that. I already had a couple large flower, but never used them.

I can't live without stencils. Seriously. Just can't. If you have a die cutting machine of any kind, you can make your own disposable stencil too - especially if you want a large space to double- or triple-stencil patterns. Like @gluemore girl I think background stencils are essential. I'm into the layered stencil scenes now but only have a few; Altenew's mountain and lake one is my absolute favorite (makes me look artistic!). The Tim Holtz line of stencils are awesome too - I just started using my shifter stencils again (easier to do tidy multi-color stenciling). Oh! And you just have to use texture paste with your stencils....oooooh! I use my distress ink pads to tint the paste or use white paste and spray ink.

I love background stencils also. I'm thinking brick walls, hanging ivy, rain drops, birds, plants and water. I think you can turn a cloud stencil upside down to get a rolling hill effect (depending on the stencil of course). Have fun.

I love background stencils too. The ones I have been using lately are the illusion twist (Altenew) and the Photoplay 2 piece leaves. I have dots, bricks, hexagons and more.

Thanks. I checked my star stencil and it really is not very good. The larger ones are really too large and they are too far apart. With the larger ones being too large, I could not move it and stencil again because the larger ones stenciled over the smaller ones, no matter where they were moved it. I will have to look for one that has multi-sized stars, but smaller than the larger ones on my current stencil.

I'll preface this with that I am an intermediate stamper ink person. I own several kinds of inks as well. I love CP inks but the are very juicy so personally would not recommend hers for stenciling. I love them for stamping images and sentiments. TH makes distress inks and distress oxide inks. The oxides take longer ( not that long). I just did a make and take class with oxide inks and it was a beautiful effect when I spritzed a bit of water onto it. I use his inks for the most part when stenciling, as you can start as light as you want and continue to deepen the color as you go. I have the sponge daubers but also like the newer soft velvet like daubers with the handles.

Thanks. I was wondering about Catherine Pooler's being too juicy. I was not sure because I do not know exactly how juicy they should be. Great to know.

I use whatever ink is closest though, most of the time, it's my oxide and distress inks. I am also a lazy stenciler and use my PicketFence life-changing brush (the lookalikes work fine or stencil brush). I find the brush easier for getting into the nooks & crannies on the more intricate dies. I also will use a makeup sponge, cotton ball, my finger (yes, I am that lazy), dauber, sponge etc. If you have a juicy pad, use a brush then tap off excess ink inside the lid or on plastic/glass...you can use the left over ink to make coordinating splatters (add a spritz of water).

I use a combination of inks with my stencils. I agree that the CP inks are a bit juicy for stenciling - though I did just use one on a card but it was only 2 leaves out of all of them. I use TH Distress inks or Archival inks (minis). I used the Archival minis just recently on some cards.

Here are a recent one using Archival

If your inks are too juicy, just touch your dauber to a paper towel first, then use it to stencil. If your just starting out, I recommend the Tim Holtz Distress or Oxide inks. The oxides are a hybrid ink which will take a minute or two to dry, but the results are worth the effort.

Here some of my favorite projects where I used stencils

I have another question. When you put the pastes and gels with stencils on the cardstock, doesn't crack when the cardstock bends? It isn't like it is on something permanently stiff like wood or thick plastic.

Hmmm… I never tried bending my projects - you can't fold them but a little bending doesn't seem to hurt. It also depends on how heavy-handed you are (the thicker the stencil layers, the more likely it's going to be less flexible).

My examples were done on a heavy weight smooth cardstock that I got from Hobby Lobby. It does depend on how wet your medium is - gels, watercolors would cause some warping.