Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Stencil 101 Book Review

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Stencil 101 by Ed Roth is one of those books that encourages you to tear out its pages. It contains 25 reusable stencils on glossy cardstock. And the very day it came in the mail my son was already pulling out the stencils and using them on a wooden case that was just screaming out for customization. And, hey, if something passes the teen boy test for coolness it must be pretty special. And he must be somebody special, too, because I let him use the book before I did.

I know it’s been said so many times that it’s ridiculous but really… these aren’t your granny’s stencils. You won’t find any English ivy or country geese here. We’re talking muscle cars and luchadores.

a journal page using a couple of the stencils

At the beginning is a brief history of stenciling and then a nice chapter on the basic stuff needed to get started. Then the author shows several projects using the stencils in the book. I wanted the book just for my journal pages but now I’m thinking my kitchen cabinets need an edgier look to them.



click for detail

The book has a nice expandable pocket in the back to keep your used stencils in. As I mentioned earlier the stencils are on cardstock, glossy on both sides so you can flip them either way. They should hold up to many many sprays. Even after you pull out the stencil there is a page left in the book that shows the design so you can still flip through the book to know what designs you have without digging them all out of the pocket. Or if it came down to it and you lost your stencil and were too cheap to buy another you could scan the image and cut another.

Speaking of buying stencils, Ed has lots of them available at his website, Stencil 1. He also has his own line of spray inks. And don’t forget to check out the awesome how-to videos while you’re there.

7 comments:

Marie S said...

Very cool! I want one. Off to check it out!

michelle allen said...

this book looks amazing! there must be some trick to cutting stencils I don't know about, it always kills my hands! thanks for the book review.

Mandy said...

Oooo. This was in my wish list, but now I think I'll need to just move it to the cart!

Nikki Hartline said...

I love my Dover book Flower stencil and Celtic stencil. I've used the Celtic on my walls, and as background for cards I've made. I'll look for this. I know how to cut my own - but it's always easier to use someone else's.

Ariana said...

I really want to try and make my OWN stencils. Maybe today is the day!

Anonymous said...

i have heard good things about this book ... looks interesting

juliebstudio said...

You are one busy lady! This looks great, Michelle Ward brought me over to the stencil side of art and this looks like just the thing to inspire me to do more in my journaling. Thanks so much for the review.
Julie B.