Reusing a Vinyl Stencil~ Tiger Striped Fleur de Lis
Most of the time vinyl stencil are used one time and then thrown away, but what if you spent a lot of time on a stencil and dont want to have to repeat the process to make 4 items?
Well there is an easy way.
I will walk you through the process of etching a vase with an intricately cut vinyl stencil and removing that stencil so I can use it again.
First- cut your stencil. ( see right)You can use an exacto, but I used the Pazzle cutter (like a cricut but I designed the image to be cut).
I will be etching a tiger striped fleur de lis on a vase... it's a Louisiana thing!
Now peel the backing from the vinyl and place it sticky side up on the table. This is an easier way to place a stencil on a glass object. It alleviate the chance of stretching out your stencil.
Place the glass vase on the stencil (instead of the other way around).
Gently roll the vase back and forth to stick the stencil down on the vase. You are only getting it positioned. You will rub the stencil down once you have it positioned properly.
Now that your stencil is positioned properly, look at it from the backside to make sure you don't see any obvious air bubbles. Sometimes it is easier to see from the backside than it is from the front. You can tell the air pockets from the areas that are stuck down because they will appear white and the stuck down vinyl will appear grey. Since we haven't rubbed down the stencil yet, alot will be grey. Now are just looking for obvious air pockets.
Now you can begin to rub down your stencil. Start with your fingers and then you can move on to using a craft stick. Burnish it down, being careful to not rip up your stencil in delicate areas.
Remember to look at it from the backside and hold it up to a light to see any obvious air pockets. You want to make sure that no air pockets lead to an open area of the stencil because the etch cream will seep under and ruin all your hard work!
At this point you will apply etch cream. Because it is a vinyl stencil I left the cream on 5 minutes. Follow the directions on your medium.
Now you will remove the etch cream and place it back into the container and wash the remaining off in the sink. With a paper towel wipe the vase off and make sure all etch cream is off the vase. Pat it dry with the stencil still on. Once it is dry you will cut a piece of clear vinyl and place on top of the stencil while it is still on the vase. Rub it on and make sure to rub down any inside areas, like the insides of letters. This design doesn't have any but all the delicate areas might otherwise rip when I pull the stencil off. The clear vinyl secures the integrity of the stencil, without warping or riping it, when we remove it.
I use the backing of the clear vinyl as the backing for the stencil once I removed it from the vase. Now I can store my stencil without it sticking to everything and my stencil will still be sticky. If your vinyle loses it sticky there is repositionable stencil glue on the market you can use.
Well there is an easy way.
I will walk you through the process of etching a vase with an intricately cut vinyl stencil and removing that stencil so I can use it again.
First- cut your stencil. ( see right)You can use an exacto, but I used the Pazzle cutter (like a cricut but I designed the image to be cut).
I will be etching a tiger striped fleur de lis on a vase... it's a Louisiana thing!
Now peel the backing from the vinyl and place it sticky side up on the table. This is an easier way to place a stencil on a glass object. It alleviate the chance of stretching out your stencil. Place the glass vase on the stencil (instead of the other way around).
Gently roll the vase back and forth to stick the stencil down on the vase. You are only getting it positioned. You will rub the stencil down once you have it positioned properly.
Now you can begin to rub down your stencil. Start with your fingers and then you can move on to using a craft stick. Burnish it down, being careful to not rip up your stencil in delicate areas. 
Remember to look at it from the backside and hold it up to a light to see any obvious air pockets. You want to make sure that no air pockets lead to an open area of the stencil because the etch cream will seep under and ruin all your hard work! At this point you will apply etch cream. Because it is a vinyl stencil I left the cream on 5 minutes. Follow the directions on your medium.
Now you will remove the etch cream and place it back into the container and wash the remaining off in the sink. With a paper towel wipe the vase off and make sure all etch cream is off the vase. Pat it dry with the stencil still on. Once it is dry you will cut a piece of clear vinyl and place on top of the stencil while it is still on the vase. Rub it on and make sure to rub down any inside areas, like the insides of letters. This design doesn't have any but all the delicate areas might otherwise rip when I pull the stencil off. The clear vinyl secures the integrity of the stencil, without warping or riping it, when we remove it.
I use the backing of the clear vinyl as the backing for the stencil once I removed it from the vase. Now I can store my stencil without it sticking to everything and my stencil will still be sticky. If your vinyle loses it sticky there is repositionable stencil glue on the market you can use.
Wa~la, here is my Tiger Striped Fleur de Lis Vase!
If anyone is interested I have these stencils for sale for $5.00! Approx. 4"
Contact me at info@createbr.com for more info.
Comments