Post #2 in our "Wondering What You Need to Cut Cookie Stencils?" Series

This is part 2 of the What Do You Need to Cut Cookie Stencils? Series!

In the first post of the series, I discussed some of the most important things you need when you decide to start cutting stencils. If you missed it, be sure to check it out here, so you can decide which machine and cutting mats you'd like before you get started.

In this post, we will be discussing traditional stencils materials and tools you can use when cutting your cookie stencils.  Traditional stencils are made from food-grade plastic type materials. There are also a few tools you can grab to help out with your stencil cutting. Although these tools are nice to have, they are not needed to begin! 

Let's start with the traditional stencil materials you'll need.

 1. Food Safe Stencil Materials  

To make traditional cookie stencils(the kind that has images or words that need bridges added and also background stencils), you need a food grade plastic type material. This plastic is durable and safe to use on your cookies. The Grafix Food Safe stencil material is amazing! I love it! It is my cookie pic on the packaging. That is how much I love it! They sell both the thinner 005 mil and the thicker 0075 mil. It is perfect for cookie stencils. It is translucent, so you can see through it very well, but it is not transparent. There are 25 sheets in a package. That equals 100 stencils if you made no mistakes, which probably won't happen, but still, if you cut 80 successfully, that means each stencil costs approx 26 cents(at the time of writing this blog post) if you are cutting from the .0075 material!!  Yes! I said approx 26 cents per stencil and even less if prices of the materials drop or you are cutting from the .005 material!! **Note: I prefer cutting the heavier .0075 on my Cricut and the thinner .005 on my Silhouette Cameo. 

2. Scraper

When you remove your cut stencil from the mat, there will be little bits of stencil material that get left behind. I'm going to share one of my favorite tips with you that will help you get rid of those bits quickly and easily! There are several fancy mat scrapers available out there but all you really need is a bench scraper. And here's the best news, you can find it at the dollar store! I explain everything you need to know about using the bench scraper (including how to do it safely) HERE.

Nice to Have

The following tools are nice to have, however, you will be able to work without them. Some of these just make things simpler as you advance your cookie stencil designing skills. 

3. Tool Set 

While a tool set isn't necessary to get started with stencil cutting, it is really nice to have! Anything that makes our cookie decorating simpler makes me happy. 

4. Storage for Your Stencils

You can certainly start cutting and using stencils without a storage system. Eventually, however, you will have a nice big stack of stencils that will need a permanent home. Your storage system doesn't need to be complex or expensive! My favorite method uses plastic bins with dividers that I designed, sketched, and cut using my cutting machines. I have a whole post that details what you need and includes step-by-step instructions on how to design and cut your own cookie storage dividers for both Silhoutte and Cricut machines. 

I hope that this information helps get you started on your cookie stencil journey. Designing and cutting your own cookie stencils is so fun and rewarding! One more thing that I think is very nice to have is a membership in The Colorful Cookie Club where I teach you everything you need to know about your cutting machine and using it to create your own cookie stencils! There are already more than 350 video tutorials available to you when you join the club and more are added all the time. We also have a members only Facebook group where you can get answers to all of your stencil designing questions. And, I do a LIVE Q & A tutorial session every week! Club members also get access to tons of FREE digital downloads for stencils that are ready to cut, so you can get started right away! Join nearly 650 other cookiers who are in our amazing club and have fun with us! We hope to see you there soon!

*Next up will be silk screen stencil materials and tools that you will need to get the job done and a few tips and tricks to help you :0) After that, I will cover the software for the Cricut and Cameo cutting machines.

*some of these items may be affiliate links... this just means we may receive a small percentage of the sale for sharing the products with our customers. But your price will be the same :0)