Get five tips for making contact paper stencils with a Silhouette. Shelf liner is great for lining shelves, but did you know it also makes a great temporary crafting stencil?
I seriously love my little cutting friend. Oh, no … not like that! I'm talking about my Silhouette Cameo. I could craft all day with this machine, but my favorite thing to do is make stencils! And you know what? I use contact paper for most of my stencils. It's cheap and works great!
5 Stencil Ideas with Contact Paper and a Silhouette
These barely scratch the surface of Silhouette possibilities. The sky is the limit with this machine, and I'm just getting started.
Pallet Signs / Ironing Board Hanger / Pillow / Crate
So far I've completed 5 simple projects, and all of them have used contact paper (aka shelf liner) as a stencil. Actually, for the "Puckett's Grocery" sign, I didn't use the adhesive paper. I used double-sided adhesive before I knew about contact paper. Thanks to the awesome reader who turned me on to a super cheap and easy stenciling solution! I'm kind of turning into a junkie.
I may or may not sit around and think up new ways to use this fabulous machine. It's just that good.
5 Tips for using Adhesive Shelf Liner and a Silhouette
Here are some helpful hints I've picked up along the way:
1. Settings. These are the settings I use every time to get a clean cut through the top sticky layer while leaving the backing intact. Make sure to de-select "cutting mat."
2. No cutting mat. I just feed the paper directly into my Cameo. It works great!
3. Keep it intact. When peeling off the backing of the contact paper, keep everything in one piece. This lets you place your stencil down without having to manually space everything out. (Update: I wrote this before I knew about the magic of transfer paper. )
4. Weed. Once you have the shelf liner in place, weed out what you don't need. "Weeding" is the Silhouette term for "taking up." Who knew they had their own lingo?? There's even a special hook for weeding.
5. Mod Podge. I paint Mod Podge around the lettering before I actually paint the letters. This way, if the adhesive paper isn't pressed down completely in some spots, the only thing that can run under the stencil is the Mod Podge, and it dries clear. This gives you the cleanest lines possible when stenciling with contact paper.
I hope these tips help you make stencils of your own!
If you need to buy a Silhouette Cameo, this bundle is a great option!
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