Feb 06, 2022

How To Make Your Own Stencil Using The Cricut

Making Stencils using your Cricut Machine is Fun and exciting! You will be amazed at how easy it is to create and transfer your designs quickly using your trusted Cricut machine! Stencils are a great way to personalize anything from walls to furniture and all crafts in between.

You can easily make a one time use stencil on a Cricut machine using any removable vinyl. It works the same way as when you are applying vinyl to a project - except you weed out the design. For example if you are making a word sign you will weed by pulling the letters out, leaving a hole where the letters are and making sure that you leave the centers of the letters in there.

The skies are the limit for creating a stencil! You can create or personalize anything using the Cricut Design Space. You can also download any SVG that you fancy! Check out HTV Labs catalogue of SVG’s here and instantly download the image!

What is A Stencil?

A stencil is a thin sheet of material – usually plastic, vinyl, or paper – with a design cut out of it. To use a stencil, lay the stencil sheet on a surface and apply paint overtop. The paint will only pass through the cut-out areas of the stencil, transferring the design to the surface.

Stencils are very versatile. Here are just a few of the different types of projects you can make with stencils:

painted wood signs
stencilled “wallpaper” and borders
painted floor and wall tiles
cookies and cake decorating
silk screen printing
glass etching

Stencilling Supplies

Here are the materials and tools you’ll need for this project

A blank surface, such as a wooden board, a t-shirt, or a wall.
Stencil Vinyl. I like using HTV Labs Adhesive Vinyl
HTV Labs Transfer Tape
Hodge Podge Glue, Helpful for a clean look
Paint or stain. For this project, I’ll be using chalk paint.
Paint Brush or sponge brush.
Cricut machine. I’ll be using a Cricut Maker, but the Explore series and Cricut Joy will also work.
Cricut weeding tool, scraper tool and brayer tool.

Steps for Making A Stencil

Design the Stencil in Cricut Design Space
Cut the stencil
Apply the stencil
Paint the stencil

Step 1: Design the Stencil

There are many ways to design a stencil. I like to create a Personalized SVG using Canva. Canva is a great platform for making and designing your very own creations. It also gives you the option to download it as a .SVG File. You could also download pre-made SVG’s using HTV Labs Catalogue of designs! They are reasonable in price and many images to choose from!

You could also use the Cricut Design Space and checkout the Access Library to upload .SVG’s from that database.

Step 2: Cut and Transfer the Stencil Vinyl

Place the vinyl onto the Cricut cutting mat. Using the brayer tool to make sure that it is flat, and smooth. Press the button to load the mat into the machine. You will need to go into the Cricut design space and send the file to your cricut machine. Here is how to do that:

Click the green “Make It” in the top right corner
On the next Prepare screen, check that your design looks correct. If so, click Continue.
On the next Make screen, click Browse All Materials and select Stencil Vinyl. Note: If you have a Cricut Explore 1 or 2, turn the Smart Dial to Custom so that you can use the Browse All Material Menu.

After that, you are ready to cut the design. When the Cricut is finished cutting, unload the mat. Now it is time to transfer your design. If your design is intricate you will need to weed the design and use transfer tape to transfer the stencil from the liner to your project surface.

Step 3: Ready to Apply Your stencil

Ready to Apply the Stencil? Here is how to do it:

First make sure your project surface is clean. Carefully place the stencil vinyl over the surface. Take special care here to make sure that is placed straight and exactly where you want it.
Use the Cricut Scraper tool to get all the bubbles out. Start in the center and work your way outward. If you are using transfer tape, you’ll follow the same procedure as noted above to get all the bubbles out. Gently peel away the transfer tape at a 45 degree angle, leaving the stencil vinyl on the project surface.

Step 4: Paint the Stencil

Now that your Stencil has been applied, it's time to paint your design. A good tip here is to start out using Hodge Podge glue. This will ensure that all of the corners will be down and will give you a nice professional finish to your project. Let it dry for 2-3 minutes. It doesn’t take long. Now you are ready to paint your design!

Let the paint dry real good before removing the Stencil. You may also want to add a clear coat to give it a nice finish!

Here is a really good youtube video that is helpful for Stencilling for the first time!

Top 5 Cricut Stencil Project Ideas

Looking for a little bit of project inspiration? Check out these cool ideas:

1. Stencilled Coasters and table Mosaic

2. Stencilled Cork Board With Flowers

3. Stencilled Signs for the home

4. Personalized Framed Art

5. Personalized Painted Wooden Boxes

Happy Crafting! If you are in need of vinyl and transfer tape, I highly recommend using HTV Labs Vinyl for your projects! It weeds amazing and it is by far better quality than any other brand on the market! We would love to see your beautiful creations! Tag us at @htvlabs to be added to our Social Media Pages!