ONLINE ADVENT CALENDAR
By Joy St. Germain | Posted November 2, 2009 | Updated December 25, 2019
“Silently, like thoughts that come and go, the snowflakes fall, each one a gem.”
—William Hamilton Gibson
Raised stencil snowflake ornaments sparkle during the day and glow at night. They're unique, colorful and very easy to create. Decorative raised stencils (aka Dimensional or 3D stencils) aren't just for walls. You can use them to create Christmas ornaments, window decorations, wall art or holiday gifts.
They're created by pushing Stencil Paste through a heavy weight stencil. Once the stencil is dry you can decorate it with a variety of different paints, glitter or leave it unpainted. Attach some decorative ribbon for a sparkling Christmas ornament or window display.
They sparkle on the tree during the day and glow at night when backlit with Christmas lights. This is a family friendly project that your kids will love.
Tape the raised stencil down to the decorative cardstock and add a dollop of Stencil Paste.
Slowly press the Stencil Paste into the stencil being careful not to slide the cardstock.
Remove all of the tape on the side and bottom, leaving only tape on the top.
Slowly lift the stencil being carefully not to smudge.
Allow the stencil to air dry for 24 hours. This is a step that you can't speed up with a hairdryer.
Stencil Paste takes about 24 hours to air dry. When dry it's bendable, and has the texture of soft rubber. It will stick to a variety of different surfaces including walls, wood, glass, cardstock, foam and some plastics. You can make quite a few stencils from just one container of Stencil Paste. However, I always have some on hand.
“The present never ages. Each moment is like a snowflake, unique, unspoiled, unrepeatable, and can be appreciated in its surprisingness.” —Gail Sheehy
For this project I used a variety of different cardstock paper, foam and even plastic as a back ground for my Christmas decorations. Through trial and error I discovered what type of paper worked and what didn't. I found that heavier card stock (especially the glitzy, textured paper) works better because it's more durable and less likely to tear.
Of all the material I used for making Christmas ornaments I like Plaid Simply Stencils blank stencil sheets best. They can be cut to any shape that you want, stencil paste sticks to them, and Christmas lights shine through them for an added glow.
Stencils used in the following examples:
Supplies used: Simply Plaid Blank Frosted Stencil Sheet, Emerald Green, Red and Silver Extreme Glitter.
This is one of my favorite snowflakes because of the vibrant colors. It was painted with 3 different colors of Extreme Glitter on a frosty background. It sparkles during the day but, glows at night when backlit with Christmas lights.
Supplies used: Black Glittered and Textured Cardstock, Gold Twinkles Glitter.
I decided to try a gold snowflake on a black background because I like the contrast. This was painted with 3 coats of Twinkles Glitter.
Supplies used: Blue Textured Cardstock, Bright Orange Scribbles 3D paint, Shiny Black Scribbles paint, Crystal Twinkles Glitter.
I used a regular decorative painting stencil for this ornament. I applied the Stencil Paste in a thin layer because the stencil wasn't as heavy as a raised stencil. The body of the snowman sparkles with Twinkles Crystal glitter.
Supplies used: Blank sheet of Plaid stencil plastic, Green and Gold Extreme Glitter.
This is another example of Extreme glitter on plastic. Extreme Glitter covers like paint. I used 2 coats of Extreme Glitter just for added sparkle. It glows at night when backlit by Christmas lights.
Supplies used: Super Thick Foamies, Gold and Crystal Twinkles Glitter.
I tried Stencil Paste on a variety of different surfaces including Foamies. The Stencil Paste worked great on Foamies, it sticks and doesn't flake off. I used the extra thick because the thinner foamies were too flimsy for this project.
Supplies used: Blue Glittered and Textured Cardstock. Gold and Silver Twinkles Glitter.
Stencil Paste adheres well to textured cardstock. To decorate I experimented with Twinkles Glitter by itself. Twinkles is a little gooey and clumpy. It took two coats of glitter to cover the snowflake and I still had some bald spots.
Supplies used: Plaid frosted stencil sheets. Iridescent 3D Island Blue Scribbles, Sparkly Blue Glitter Glue, Orange and Black Twinkles Glitter.
This snowflake was painted with 1 layer of iridescent Island Blue Scribbles and a top layer of Sparkly Blue Glue. It sparkles during the day and glows at night when back lit with Christmas lights.
Supplies used: Glittered and Textured Cardstock, Green and Red Basics Acrylics, Emerald Green and Red Extreme Glitter.
For a deeper more vibrant color, I painted my snow flake with Basics Acrylics before I added a layer of Extreme Glitter. It gave the snowflake an even glittering finish.
Making homemade Christmas ornaments/decorations is an activity that I love. I find it relaxing to try different paints and glitters to see what works. We don't have to be in a recession to know the benefits of making homemade gifts. They're a fun, inexpensive way to show off your creativity using some supplies that you might already have around your home. Plus, every one knows that homemade gifts are the best!
©2009 Joy St. Germain. All rights reserved.
Joy St. Germain started The Wildwood Cottage out of her love for art, stenciling and crafts. She's a hands on "Do It Yourselfer" that enjoys creating new and unique crafts. ...