A chance remark on Facebook led me to this technique of creating a DIY stencil. Though I’m sure many people know of it, the procedure was new to me, but oh, so easy.

The first order of business was to take cardstock and soak the sheets in a light layer of olive oil for at least 24 hours. I put two sheets in one of Dan the Man’s sheetpans, spread olive oil over both sides of the papers, and let them soak for a day. I then used paper towels to eliminate as much of the excess oil as possible. The thickness of the cardstock coupled with the saturated oil seems to make the stencil extra durable.

I then used a craft knife to cut out my patterns. It took a little bit of elbow grease, but I was successful with the patterns I wanted to create. I think scissors would do the trick, too, for many stencil patterns.

 

It worked like a charm! Now on to make some more….