Hot Glue Stencils- A How-to Tutorial

I was quite fascinated by the videos and posts I have seen lately on homemade Hot Glue Stencils, and after doing a little research have discovered the original idea was from Traci Bautista, and she has a walk through on her blog, if you want to check it out, just click on her name. :)
So, I shared my discovery with my sister and art friend, Beckie and she asked if I would try out the technique and write up a little tutorial on how I was able to make this technique work.
Well, it was a piece of cake!!! I really thought there would be a pretty big margin of error, and I would likely fall into that error section, but NOPE! Even I was able to do this and make it work. :)
Below is the YouTube video I created on how to make the actual stencils, and then below that I will post the pictures and info on how I used the stencils, in a couple of ways.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZAFRxkoQqY

Ok- and here is how I used my homemade Hot Glue Stencils:

First I put some newsprint down on my table, and then put two 8 1/2 X 11 inch pieces of white cardstock on top of the newsprint, and then arranged my stencils.

Then I gathered a few spray inks- the brand I have are Color Mists by www.OutsideTheMargins.com, I have had these for several years- I mean like at least 6 years, and they are still good, and have only had a minor clog, that took very little to fix. I have been quite happy with them. :)

Then I sprayed the paper with the stencils sitting on top, I wanted to use several colors, so just as a helpful hint - If you don't want brown or muddy colors, use colors that are next to each other on the color wheel, and not opposite on the color wheel - So on one side I used, green, blue and purple, and the other side I used yellow and bright pink, as seen below.

After I sprayed the ink, I removed the stencils and dropped the stencils up-side-down onto another sheet of newsprint to allow the excess spray ink to drip off.

 

While I waited to let my sprays dry, I cleaned up the stencils with a baby wipe:

Next, I wanted to add some more texture and layers, so I dug out some acrylic paint- I have many brands and kinds, it doesn't matter if it is fancy paint, or cheap paint- anything will work.

When you apply paint, you want to put it on the bottom part of the stencil. The FLAT side. Especially when using letter or word stencils, because if you don't the image will not transfer well, or your letters will be backwards. 

When you have the paint on the stencil, then press it to the paper, and make sure you get the stencil to make full contact with your paper. You may want to use a rubber brayer or a cover sheet to press down on the stencil.

Then carefully peel the stencil off your paper to reveal the painty texture.

Take your stencils to the sink, and wash them with mild soap and water to remove the paint from your stencil..

Here is a close-up of how the paper looks:

Thanks for taking the time to watch my video and read my tutorial, and give it a try for yourself! It is super easy, and the patterns are endless, just use your imagination!!! :)