As a mixed media artist I love stencils...and I really love to create my own! They are great to use in art journals and on other crafty projects too. Today I'm going to share how I created one of the stencils I used on this mini art journal.

Follow along with each of the steps in this short video:

Supplies Needed:

• ScanNCut machine and accessories
• USB flash drive (see the compatible ones HERE)
• Stencil material
• 11" x 15" watercolor paper
• acrylic paint
• markers and pens
• letter stamps
• old book paper
• patterned paper
• sewing machine and thread
• any other embellishments you want to use
• Download the FREE cut file for this stencil HERE.

Step 1 - Create your own artwork. This can be hand drawn like I used for this project or you can use computer generated.

Step 2 - Scan the artwork into the ScanNCut using the "Scan To Cut Data" option.

Step 3 - Cut out the stencil. (Download the FREE cut file for this stencil HERE.)

Step 4 - Paint the water color paper using the stencils you created.

Step 5 - To fold and assemble the art journal, fold the paper as shown below.

Next, fold it in half and cut only on the red dash line.

Refold longwise. Holding each end, push to the middle to open up where you made the cut.

Continue to push it all the way together and then fold the left edge over to create the cover. Use adhesive to glue together the individual pages.

Step 6 - Embellish.  I jazzed up my book with bits of old book paper, bold patterned paper, some messy stitching with my sewing machine, and of course a good deal of doodling.

 I added some of my favorite art quotes to the journal to finish it off.

Sponsor: Brother International

Disclosure: I am a paid consultant for Brother International Corporation and have received a ScanNCut from Brother to evaluate. However, the opinions expressed are entirely my own and based on my use of the product.