I know it’s been a while between episodes, but Covid and lockdown have kept me extra busy with the shop. I’m excited to be back … thanks for tuning in!  Today, let’s talk about one of the oldest, most used, versatile and affordable pieces of kit that you can have in your crafting stash - stencils. Stencils are, essentially, a tool that helps you create a design quickly and easily by masking off the areas where you don’t want to apply your ink, paint or medium. There are lots of different sizes, shapes and types of stencils. You can buy them or make them, and there are a few different materials that are commonly used. These days, commercial crafting stencils are a thin flexible plastic, but you can make your own using specialty stencil plastic, acetate, a fused laminator pouch, cardboard or paper. You can cut them by hand or use a die-cutting machine using your dies, or a more sophisticated electronic cutting machine like the Scan N Cut, where you could scan any print or hand-drawn image then cut. Alternatively you could use a machine like the Silhouette or Cricut using an SVG file (and I will link to my favourite SVG file resource in the show notes). When creating your own stencil the most important thing to remember is that the openings of the design need to be bridged. There can’t be any loose pieces … the whole thing needs to be joined as one piece. LINKS Creative Fabrica SVG files Planner goodies Tia’s Pretty Creations (planner stencils) Stencils in my shop Flying animals with Balloons stamp set Layering Stencils Shifter Stencils Edge Stencils Planner Addicts Australia Facebook group Pink & Main Blending Brushes Altenew Blending Brushes Honey Bee Stamps Blending Brush i-Crafter, I-Brush mini brushes The Stamp Market Blending Brushes Make It By Marko Brush Buddies Purple low tack tape Embroidery monogram technique Hero Arts, Unicorn White pigment ink pad Cookie stencil TikTok video Mary Polanco Blending Brush comparison video Jennifer McGuire stencilling technique video Gina K Transfer Gel Duo video