How to Make a Sunflower Stencil With a Glue Gun
I just taught myself how to make a sunflower stencil with a glue gun. I learned a few things along the way and love the end result.
These sunflower stencil napkins are perfect for our family dinner party later this week! It’s easy and fun, and you can make any shape you want. Follow these steps to learn how to make a stencil with a glue gun.
sunflower stencil
Next weekend we are hosting some friends for dinner in our backyard. I chose a sunflower theme and thought it would be fun to stencil some napkins. Today I am sharing how to make a sunflower stencil with a glue gun. I had never done this before and I loved it!
Aren’t these wonderful?
I absolutely love how these came out! And the best news is that the napkins cost about $2 each! They are 20% linen and 80% cotton.
Making a stencil with a glue gun is not hard to do. There are just a few things you need to make sure you do to make it work.
First off, don’t try to make a perfect stencil. As you can see from my stencil, it is far from perfect. But I love it that way!
What You Need to Make a Stencil With a Glue Gun
Parchment paper (I always get the brand that has lines on it. It’s so much easier to work with!)
Paper or plastic plates
Hot glue gun (not the mini tip) and lots of glue sticks
Ruler
Acrylic paint
Brayer
Cloth napkins. You can also try these, these, and these.
Making the Sunflower Stencil
Originally I thought I wanted a pattern to use for my stencils. But I ended up making up the design. If you want to use a pattern, just print any design and place it under the parchment paper to use as a guide.
I did use the pattern to create the outside edge of the design.
Before you get started, it is important to know that the bottom edge of your stencil will be the side you apply the paint to and use as a stencil. That is because the glue will be flat. (So don’t worry if the stencil looks lumpy on the top as you are adding glue.) Technically, this means the stencil will print right side up so you don’t have to worry about anything printing backward.
I started making the sunflower stencil by just “painting” with the glue gun. You need to make sure your design connects to the outside edge. All of your glues lines need to connect so be sure to think about that when choosing your design.
Once I had glued the flowers, I went back and thickened any of the glue lines that were too thin. I did this by just adding more glue on top of the thin lines.
The last thing I did was create an outline all the way around the outside of my design.
This is what my sunflower stencil looked like as I was adding the glue. Once dry, take a pair of tweezers and remove all of the super-thin extra strings of glue.
You can see that the outside edges of my stencil were not straight. That was easy to fix, as all I did was cut off the uneven edge with scissors.
Here is what the bottom side of your stencil will look like. Notice how flat it is!
Using the Sunflower Stencil
I have a very important tip that you need to do before you start stenciling.
In order to prevent paint from getting everywhere, try to set up an area where you can place your napkins flat and not have to remove them until they dry. Trust me, if you don’t do this, you. will end up with paint all over your napkins! (I learned the hard way.) I used our ping pong table at the beach house!
Also, I didn’t iron them because I wanted to use the fold lines as a guide to keeping my stencil straight.
Next, mix up your paint. I wanted to use two colors so I mixed them on two different plates. Use a different paintbrush for each color.
Next, decide where you want your stencil design to go on your napkin. I chose the bottom edge.
Next, apply the paint to the FLAT side of your stencil. I painted part of the stencil orange and other parts yellow.
Carefully lay the stencil down on the napkin. Use the brayer and roll it over the stencil a few times to adhere the paint to the napkin.
If you made a thin stencil, be careful to keep the brayer flat. It will have paint on it (as will the top of the stencil!).
Don’t move the napkins until they are dry. You will have paint on your hands. A few extra paint marks don’t really matter but I love how well this system worked out.
Seal the Paint by Ironing
Technically I didn’t use fabric paint. Feel free to use it if you want. But as long as you iron the paint (after it is dry) then it should survive many launderings.
How do I know this? There is an entire section of my wardrobe with clothes stained with acrylic paint from my abstract artist painting days!
I absolutely love these napkins and I can promise you I will be making some more for this summer.
Time to get focused on the party next weekend. I have a lot to do!
Ready to make your own sunflower stencil napkins? Below is everything you need, just pop it into your basket and then let me know how yours turned out!
10″ Glue Sticks, 5 Pounds
Dual Temp Glue Gun
Linen Cotton Dinner Napkins, Set of 12
Reynolds Kitchens Parchment Paper w/SmartGrid
Hot Glue Gun
Solid White 100% Cotton Dinner Napkins, Set of 12
Acrylic Paint Set, 24 Assorted Colors
1″ Paint/Craft Brush 2 Pack
Soft Rubber Brayer, 3 Pack
Omnigrid Ruler
Hard Rubber Roller Brayer, 2 Pack
Sunbeam Classic Iron
Rubber Roller Brayer
Clear Plastic Drop Cloths (3 Pack)
Amazon Basics Scissors, Set of 3
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ABOUT LESLIE
Welcome to My 100 Year Old Home. I started my blog so I could share my passion for entertaining, décor, cooking, and crafts. You will find all this and more right here. Read more…
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I agree with the other posters....it's a great project and the finished napkins are wonderful. Thanks for sharing. :-)
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I’m now inspired to use this idea for Christmas gifts! Thank you for sharing.
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
what are your thoughts re sheen of paint and resilience? as well did you use gun on high or low?
mamy thanks for the lovely project share.