Last Updated on October 21, 2020 by Keri
Stencils are such a great way to get creative in your Bullet Journal, even if you don’t consider yourself to be very artistic! You can find a wide variety of designs, and they are very easy to use!
Stencils can also come in really handy if you find yourself short on time, but you still want to create really pretty layouts! With endless options of different box sizes, checklists and more, you can create a really functional spread in very little time!
Today, I am going to show you how to get started with stencils in your Bullet Journal! The possibilities are endless, but I hope this will give you some inspiration to get creative with stencils!
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Stencil Possibilities
You can get a stencil for almost anything! Here is a quick breakdown of what you will find in my favorite stencil pack!
- Boxes
- Banners
- Arrows
- Checklists
- Icons
- Flowers
- Letters
- Numbers
And more!
The best part of stencils is being able to combine all of these different elements together to create something unique!
My personal favorite stencil pack comes with 20 different sheets, and you get a wide variety of options! Everything from different banners to doodles to letters! It costs less than $10 USD, which is a very affordable way to discover if you like stencils!
Creating Layouts
When it comes to designing my layouts with stencils, I like to come up with a layout design first. My layouts are always changing, just depending on what kind of mood I am in, so I will shuffle through my 20 Pack of Stencils that I got on Amazon to see what catches my attention!
I will look for a combination of boxes, banners, icons, checklists, and whatever else I may want to include! The 20 pack I use also has some stencils with some pretty embellishments that I may try to include here and there!
On this layout, I wanted to add some banners for the days of the week. I found a small banner design that I liked and using the small tip on my Tombow Dual Brush Pen, I colored the banners in so that they were all black.
Next, I used a white gel pen to write in the days of the week on the banners.
This picture was taken before I filled in any of my weekly to-do lists, but I used one of the checkbox rows found on those stencils to create a to-do list for myself every day!
On this budget layout, I used a rectangle stencil to draw out my weekly expense trackers!
Because the stencils are already designed, and I didn’t have to measure anything out, I was able to create that entire spread in less than 15 minutes!
It added some functionality to the spread, as well as some simple separation from the other elements of the spread.
Doodling With Stencils
I am going to tell you a little secret!
A lot of the layouts that you see on Instagram or Pinterest are created with the help of stamps and stencils. So don’t ever feel like you are cheating!
There are so many different ways to combine the different elements you will find within your stencils packs. First, let’s take a look at some of the ways to combine the boxes with some of the banners and embellishments found in this 20 Pack of Bullet Journal Stencils!
The best way to draw these designs is to start with your banners or embellishments, and then connect the box to it once it is done!
You can get stencils with a wide variety of shapes! I really like using these shapes to create unique headers, or as a place to include a quote!
If you love to use banners but are not great at drawing them, then this stencil set is sure to please! There are so many banner designs, and they all come in different sizes as variations! There wasn’t enough room on this page of my journal to even include them all!
Arrows are another fun doodle to include in your Bullet Journal, and these stencils contain ALOT of them!
Lettering With Stencils
The stencil pack that I have only has one lettering style on it, but there are several stencil packs available for purchase with lots of cute alphabet styles! This is perfect if you don’t want to do any hand lettering, but want to add some variety to your headers!
This pack of stencils also comes with some of the basic stencils which is great if you are more eager to stencil your letters than your designs and icons!
Drawing Your Habit Tracker
Drawing habit trackers every month can get a little bit tedious. This Bullet Journal habit tracker stencil will help you create your monthly tracker quick and easy!
Additional Tips For Using Stencils
To get the best results with stencils, you need to keep a couple of things in mind! These are just some best practices that I like to use!
- Make sure you have a lot of elbow room! You are going to mess up if your elbow hits something in the process of tracing the stencil.
- Use your non-drawing hand to hold down the stencil. Especially where the stencil gets thin! The worst is when you’re tracing one of the squares near the edge of the stencil, so just be careful!
- If you are using clear stencils, be sure to work with good lighting. It will be harder to see where your pen is going with the clear stencils.
- Take your time! The faster you go, the more likely you are to mess it up.
Do you use stencils in your Bullet Journal? What are your thoughts on them? Let me know in the comments below!
Until next time!
