Freezer Paper Stenciling

Arrr, it be National Talk Like a Pirate Day!! I hope ye be takin' advantage of this here holiday! :) I considered writing this entire tutorial in pirate, but then I decided against it. It would be a little too hard to read wouldn't it?

I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday! I got to spend the weekend at my parent's house watching chick flicks, visiting art museums in D.C., eating my favorite foods and watching Big Bang Theory! This will make a little more sense in a little bit. On with the tutorial!

Freezer paper stenciling is a lot of fun and super easy to do! I can think of so many more things I'm going to do with this simple technique! To get started, you will need...

• Freezer paper (this can be found in large grocery stores by the aluminum foil and wax paper)
• Article of clothing to be stenciled
• Stencil (an image of what you want on your clothes)
• Pencil for tracing
• Bleach or fabric paint
• Scissors
• Craft knife
• Iron/ironing board
• Thick piece of cardboard

I created this image in Word using word art and shapes for my stencil. I then traced it onto a large piece freezer paper on the paper side. The waxy side is what's going to be ironed onto your clothes so make sure you're tracing on the paper side!

The hardest part is just cutting out the stencil (this is where the craft knife comes in very handy!)

Once I got my letters cut out, I cut out the "negative" of the starburst.

Stencil cut out!

Using a DRY iron (no steam, no starch, no nothing!) pre-iron your fabric.

Then, still using a dry iron on medium heat, gently iron your stencil on, waxy side down. If it doesn't adhere easily, slowly increase heat until it does. Smooth out any wrinkles and make sure all edges of your stencil are iron on. Don't burn your paper!

Since I had a bunch of letters to iron on, I used my stencil to see where they all needed to go.

I re-ironed my stencil to make sure it was nice and stuck.

I stuck my thick piece of cardboard inside my shirt so the bleach wouldn't bleed through and ruin my creation! You can also use fabric paint for this, just follow the directions on the bottle.

I sprayed away with my water/bleach bottle. This will slightly unstick the stencil, so make sure if you're using bleach you're working on a flat surface.

Wait and wait and wait...and it will start to change!

Get really impatient and blow dry your shirt.

When it's fully dry, carefully peel off your stencil. If you're using fabric paint, don't let it dry fully, just let it set, otherwise it will stick and be a pain to remove.

And show off your totally personalized shirt! I love how the bleach made it slightly pink and little white! I was going to touch it up with a little bit of fabric paint, but I thought it turned out great!

What does this have to do with The Big Bang Theory? Well, my favorite character, Sheldon, says "bazinga." So what better way to dress up for a marathon of BBT? :) BAZINGA!!

I hope you try out this technique, it's super easy and such a great way to personalize your clothes to make them more you! And make sure to check out my "link parties" tab to see where I'm linking this up!