Paper punch-a-palooza 1: paper punch as stencil maker

When you use a paper punch, have you ever thought about the negative space it creates and how you might use that? No? You had better things to do like live a full and interesting life? Well, while you were off having quality time with family and gorging on Umbrian truffles, I was thinking about the negative space a paper punch left.

The donut hole, if you will.

These bits.

Christmas is coming (hooray) and so what better project to start with than these stencilled napkin ties.

So here is my first exciting way to use your paper punch: to create a stencil template

What you need:

• Masking tape/painters tape
• Greaseproof paper/baking paper
• Paper punch (duh.)
• Fabric paint/fabric texta (felt tip marker)/fabric crayon. ie, something to draw on fabric with.

What to do:

1. Lay a strip of tape along some baking paper and punch out shapes through the tape.
2. Peel your tape off the baking paper and stick  it to whatever takes your fancy.  In my case, that was sheer fabric.
3. Use fabric paint ( I like the Pebeo brand) to fill in the stencil template.
4. Allow pint to dry (or not if you’re impatient like me) and carefully peel off masking tape.

Stay tuned for the next installment in the paper punch-a-paooza series.