Stenciling

I thought I'd try a little stenciling before making this green t shirt.  Tonight, I cut out the shirt and pinned some seams.  I'll probably get it sewn up during naptime or after the boys' bedtime tomorrow.  Here's a little recap of my first stenciling process:

I drew the bamboo picture freehand, based on some pictures I found online.  For the stencil, I used a file folder.  I taped it onto a cutting mat (a rotary cutter mat for quilting) and taped my drawing on top.  

I used a razor to cut through both layers of paper...

leaving me with my folder stencil.

I used a stiff, short paintbrush and regular fabric paint, being careful not to slant the brush and get paint underneath the stencil.

I also taped the stencil to the fabric to make sure it didn't shift.  Here is the stencil, painted over.

and, voila!  My painted fabric.

I think it turned out well for my first attempt.  It's a pretty subtle effect, which I was going for.  We'll see how it looks made up in the shirt tomorrow.