If you've ever wanted to add a face silhouette or butterfly image to your junk journal pages but couldn't find quite the right stencil in a shop — or just didn't want to spend the money — this is how I make mine at home from scratch, using things I already had lying around.
What we cover
This tutorial walks through finding free images, tracing them onto stencil material, and cutting them out cleanly — including what to look for in an image before you start, which materials work for the stencil film, and how to use the finished stencil on journal pages.
What you'll learn
How to find usable images for stencil-making without buying anything
The key is searching specifically for public domain images — type something like "butterfly public domain" or "female face silhouette public domain" into Google, and you'll get collections you can actually use. Adding "clip art" to your search tends to give you simpler, bolder results, which are much easier to cut. If you can draw your own image, even better — it'll be entirely yours.
How to evaluate an image before you trace it
This is the thing that trips people up the most, and I learned it the hard way. The short version: you want images with bold, separate black sections — not images where the black outlines form fully closed loops. When you cut out all the black, any white area that isn't physically connected to the surrounding white will simply fall out of the stencil. That means a closed iris in an eye, or lips that meet at the corners — those sections disappear when cut. Look at the image closely before you start: if a white space is floating, surrounded entirely by black with no connection to the edges, it won't survive the cutting. Block silhouettes and line-based images where the lines don't fully enclose sections are your safest choices.
Which materials work as stencil film — and which don't
The material needs to be firm enough to hold its shape when you're stenciling but thin enough to cut cleanly with a craft knife. Here's what I've used:
- Overhead transparency film — my favourite, and I found mine in a secondhand shop. It has just the right amount of structure.
- Flat plastic packaging — the kind that comes with toys or other products, the little clear windows. Slightly harder to cut because it's a bit thicker, but it works well.
- Laminating pouches — too flimsy on their own; run them through a laminator first if this is what you have.
- Cereal box card — usable but with limitations (it won't give you the same clean, ink-resistant finish).
How to trace the image onto your stencil material
Lay your stencil film directly over the printed image and trace with a Sharpie. For block silhouette images — where you're cutting out one large black shape — use a thick Sharpie so you have a clear line to follow. For detailed line images, use a thin Sharpie. The tracing doesn't need to be perfect; once the stencil is cut and used on a page, small imperfections in the line actually don't matter at all.
How to cut the stencil correctly
Work on a cutting mat with a sharp craft knife. For line-based images — where the black is a drawn line rather than a filled silhouette — you need to cut along both edges of the line and then peel out the strip between them. One cut isn't enough; the black line needs to come away entirely to leave an open channel in the stencil. For full silhouette images, you're cutting around the outside of the solid black shape and removing it whole.
How to use the finished stencil on journal pages
Ink works better than paint on paper journal pages — it's lighter and less likely to bleed under the stencil edges. Paint can seep through, especially on thinner paper, so save it for mixed-media or art journal work where you don't mind that effect. The stenciled image makes a lovely background layer — subtle enough that you can write right over the top of it.
Tips & gotchas
Only use public domain images. It's worth saying plainly: don't trace copyrighted images for stencils you're using in your work, even for personal journals.
When you're scanning potential images, mentally check each white space inside the image. Ask: is this white area connected to the outer white area anywhere, or is it completely surrounded by black? If it's surrounded, it will fall out when you cut. I had this happen with one of my face stencils — an area inside the eye wasn't connected to anything, so when I cut the stencil, the whole section dropped out and the eye looked a bit odd. It still works, but it's not quite what I intended.
For the plastic packaging film: it is harder to cut than transparency film because it's stiffer, so be patient and make sure your knife is genuinely sharp before you start. A dull blade will drag and tear rather than slice cleanly.
Laminating pouches alone are really too flimsy to hold their shape as a stencil — they'll shift and buckle while you're working. If they're your only option, laminate something inside them first to give the sheet some body.
When cutting along a traced black line, remember you're making two passes — one along each side of the line — and then peeling the strip out. It's a small thing but easy to forget the first time, and if you only cut one line you'll find yourself wondering why the stencil isn't working.
Once you've made a few, you'll find yourself looking at Google image searches completely differently, scanning for that combination of bold lines and open, connected white space. From there the same technique works for florals, birds, trees, letters — really anything with a strong graphic quality. And because you're working from public domain sources, every stencil is something you chose and made yourself.
