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Today I’m going to show you how to make DIY reusable stencils with your Cricut cutting machine. If you want to know how to make vinyl stencils with your Cricut be sure to see my post here.
Reusable stencils are great for stenciling furniture, floors, walls, and anywhere you want to paint the same design multiple times.
But instead of being limited to stencils that are available for sale, you can make your very own. Which means the possibilities are endless!
Plus I have four designs you’re more than welcome to use. See the bottom of this post for all the details on swiping them.
Let’s get to it.
DON’T FORGET TO PIN IT
Supplies Needed To Make Reusable Stencils
- Stencil Sheets OR
- Laminator and Laminating Sheets
- A way to cut your stencils (I Use a Cricut Explore)
- Elmers Adhesive Spray
- Sponge for Painting (I Love These)
- A design to stencil. I have four you can use available in my Resource Library -details are at the bottom of this post
Best Material For Reusable Stencils
So you can buy handy dandy reusable stencil sheets made out of mylar. They come in 6 mil thickness and worked very well with the Cricut and with painting.
Or you can try laminate sheets. I was on Pinterest one day and saw a Silhouette blogger made stencils with laminate sheets. I thought this was genius so I dug out my laminator and gave it a try for myself.
After I figured out the correct settings for Cricut it worked like a charm.
Using Laminate Sheets
If you have a laminator just load an empty laminate pocket into your machine and let it do its thing. I started with the 3 mil laminating sheets, they also come in 5 mil.
For the 3 mil size set your Cricut to cut cardstock. For the 5 mil you’ll want to set the dial to custom and choose posterboard from the menu.
Use the strong grip mat to cut the stencil.
Need help with Design Space and using your Cricut? If you’re feeling overwhelmed with it all check out Conquer your Cricut -The Ultimate Guide to using your Cricut Cutting Machine here. You’ll find step by step tutorials for both PC and iPhone/iPad including troubleshooting tips.
Using Mylar Stencil Sheets
If you don’t have a laminator no worries, you can order the blank stencil sheets on Amazon. They are 6 mil sheets so they will be more durable than laminating sheets anyway.
Set your Cricut cut dial to custom and choose posterboard from the custom menu. Be sure to use the strong grip cutting map or a standard grip that is still really sticky.
Using Your DIY Reusable Stencils
So after the stencils are cut, be sure to pull the mat off of the stencil so it doesn’t curl up. And now we’re ready to paint!
I used Elmers spray adhesive with my stencil. This really helps keep the stencil in place while you’re painting. And you can easily remove it when you are done. Plus you can reposition it to the next spot and stick it down again a few times before it needs re-sprayed.
So this is my mess up picture. I don’t recommend spraying with one hand while trying to take a picture with the other hand lol. I sprayed waaay too much adhesive here. The result was the adhesive glue stuck to my project and I had to scrape it off.
It all worked out, but I don’t want you to do that. It really does just take a very thin coat of the spray adhesive and it will stay put.
After the adhesive dries (it only takes a minute) position your stencil on your project and smooth it down. You want to make sure there aren’t any areas popped up where you are going to paint. I just went over once or twice with my hand and it was good to go.
Painting Reusable Stencils
So now we’re ready to paint! Painting is my favorite =)
The best way to paint with reusable stencils is to use a sponge. You don’t want a lot of paint on it either, so it’s probably going to take two coats.
Even though we have an adhesive on the back, reusable stencils will bleed easier than vinyl stencils. My favorite way to do this is with a makeup sponge. They don’t absorb too much paint and they are super easy to use. Just dab in the paint and dab onto your stencil.
After you paint the entire stencil, where you started should be dry so you can do the second coat right away. When you’re happy with the paint coverage simply pull the stencil up and place it in the next position.
You should be able to reposition about 5 times before needing to respray the back.
The project I am working on is a small table top. Here it is after I finished stenciling it.
Finding an Image to Make a Stencil
You can turn any SVG file into a stencil. Keep in mind when cutting a reusable stencil, the design is going to cut like it would on paper. And that’s a bit different than using vinyl.
That means centers of letters, windows, or anything that’s inside something else will not be there after its cut. That’s just something to think about when you are picking your design.
The easiest fastest way to make a reusable stencil with words is to use a font that’s made for it….. like this one.
If you are not sure how to change an image into a stencil in design space see my post here. All you really need to do is add the box around your image. I list all of the steps in that post if you need help with it.
And I have four designs you can totally use for your stencils! I used the yellow one for my table top.
I did not include the box around the images in these designs in case someone wants to use them for other purposes besides stenciling. But you can easily add it in your design software, see the post I linked above for instructions.
Swipe My Reusable Stencil Designs SVG File
I keep all of my SVG designs plus printables and plans in a resource library that I created exclusively for subscribers to my weekly newsletter. When you sign up for the newsletter you will be given the password and the link, plus it will be immediately emailed to you.
To join the tribe and grab your stencil designs plus all my other files simply fill out the form below.
Debby says
June 18, 2018 at 12:07 pmVery easy to follow directions/tips and great SVG files to use. So glad I happened on the this site!
Chris says
June 20, 2018 at 1:32 pmThanks Debby!
Danna says
June 21, 2018 at 9:31 pmGlad I found this because I waste so much of the cricut vinyl stencil. I love your directions. They are very easy to understand. Thank you.
Chris says
June 21, 2018 at 9:48 pmAwe Thanks Dana!
Lenore says
July 9, 2018 at 8:33 pmThanks, that was super informative. I appreciate the tute.
Rossi says
September 11, 2018 at 11:05 pmThanks so much for all the info, I’m waiting on my stencil sheets!
Linda says
September 22, 2018 at 12:37 amDo you need a special blade to cut the stencils? or will the one that comes with the machine work?
Chris says
September 22, 2018 at 8:49 amNo special blade, the one that comes with the machine will cut it.
Jackie says
December 16, 2018 at 5:21 pmIt depends on the thickness. I bought the only blanks I could find at Michael’s and needed the deep cut blade and housing on magnetic sheet 0.6mm setting to cut through nicely. Once I did that, my stencils turned out great!
gigles says
October 5, 2018 at 11:51 amDid you use the knife blade for this or just the regular blades that come with the matching?
Chris says
October 5, 2018 at 2:50 pmJust the regular blade that came with the machine.
Nanalene says
November 5, 2018 at 7:01 amWhat setting should I use for the cut? Can you share the customized setting, if it’s needed?
Chris says
November 5, 2018 at 12:15 pmYep it’s listed. The thicker ones, around 6 mil use the custom setting and select posterboard. And on the thinner sheets like 3 mil the cardstck setting worked fine.
Angela Arndt says
December 3, 2018 at 1:56 pmCan you use 10 mil mylar with the cricut maker
Kat says
January 9, 2019 at 8:42 amThis is helpful thank you – excited to try. Can you get larger stencil sheets – or is this the only size?
Chris says
January 9, 2019 at 11:17 amYes, you can even buy it in rolls. here are some of the options https://amzn.to/2RDzUWn
Barbara Dameron says
January 28, 2019 at 2:31 pmDo you clean them and how to keep reusing them?
Chris says
January 28, 2019 at 3:39 pmYes. You can clean them with warm water and soap and save them until you need to use them again.
Debbie says
February 15, 2019 at 2:24 pmIf I make a stencil with words, how do I keep the insides of some of the letters, so that they look correct?
Chris says
February 15, 2019 at 7:12 pmHi Debbie! The easiest way is to use a stencil font like I mentioned in the post.
Kristi says
March 1, 2019 at 11:47 amHey there. Do you laminate the sheets first?
Chris says
March 1, 2019 at 12:01 pmIf you are buying the mylar stencil sheets, you don’t need to laminate them.
Jenny says
March 17, 2019 at 3:52 pmDo you laminate your sheet before or after cutting?
Chris says
March 20, 2019 at 12:01 pmHi Jenny! I don’t actually laminate the stencil sheet. But you can use laminate sheets in place of stencil sheets. In that case you would run plain laminate sheets through your laminator and then cut them.
Maria says
March 20, 2019 at 10:08 amThank you for the information. I have a question that is somewhat related. I purchased a stencil that I used for my kitchen backslash. I have to go around several different corners and don’t want to cut the stencil since the areas are all different. Is there a way to duplicate this stencil using a cricuit and then print it on something that is thinner like mylar so that it is easier to bend and I can also cut without destroying the original.
Chris says
March 20, 2019 at 11:50 amYou would have to have a way to get the design of your stencil into design space. You can try taking a picture with a plain high contrasting background and see if it’s workable with design space when you upload it. You could also try converting the photograph to an SVG
Stephanie Huber says
April 9, 2019 at 8:53 pmi would love the free files. thank you!
Sarah says
May 22, 2019 at 1:05 pmCan you use these stencils and the adhesive spray to paint on fabric? Would it work just as well?
Chris says
May 24, 2019 at 11:13 amYes they will work on fabric. I don’t think I would use the adhesive spray, it could leave a residue on fabric, Painters tape around the edges should hold it in place or you can try a freezer paper stencil which also works really well for fabric. https://dailydoseofdiy.com/freezer-paper-stencils-diy/
Patty says
June 9, 2019 at 9:43 amI want to try using a reusable template on a coir doormat, could I use spray paint.? It very time consuming and difficult to cover the mat using a sponge / brush.
Chris says
June 12, 2019 at 1:39 pmI would think spray paint would work. Light strokes, probably at least 2-3 layers. If you get a lot of paint on it, that’s when it will bleed.