Now remember that in order for a design to be cut in to a "stencil" (and we are talking single stencils here and not overlays..) You must separate the elements. For instance, the leaves must be separated from the rose, the rose petals must be separated from one another. That's very important.
Place your original picture under a piece of tracing paper. Outline each of the elements with a black marker, leaving a "bridge" (open space) between elements that touch one another.
Place your traced design under a piece of glass on a table. Any glass piece will do, even a plate of glass from a picture frame.
Use a stencil burner rather than exacto knife since you will get crisper cuts and the whole process becomes much easier.
Lay the stencil burner in a dinner plate to protect the table from the heat and plug it in to heat up.
Tape your mylar plastic to the glass.
Once the stencil burner has become hot, stand directly over the top of your design (not seated or leaning off to the side as this can give you an improper perspective and the design can become slightly "skewed" as you cut it.
Gently touch the tip of the burner to one of the lines in your drawing and simply trace the lines of the design by dragging (not pushing) the stencil burner around the design lines.
Once you have completed all lines, simply un-tape the mylar and pull it up from the glass. All of the stencil openings will stick to the glass which can later be scraped off with a simple plastic scraper or razor blade.
Cutting your own designs is so easy that you will be a pro in seconds! Now you can have your own designs on your walls even in raised plaster!
We offer both 4 mil and 14 mil blank sheets of mylar for painting and plaster stencil designing. So go have fun and create one of a kind designs that are all yours!