Face painting stencils take any face painting design to another level of wow! They can be used on their own or over a simple background or rainbow for a super quick and easy face paint. Or they can be one part of a more complete design, adding intricacy, efficiency and accuracy to any design, while cutting crucial minutes off the time taken per person.

Face painting stencils really come into their own when you load your sponge from a split-cake - whether a rainbow or a blend of realistic colours - and use this with the stencil to create a multi-coloured silhouette - something that would take an hour or forever to create free-hand! Some designs will look even better if you then outline in black (after taking stencil off) - as easy as tracing. Then add any other details like eyes and highlights, a smattering of glitter, and it will look like a work of art for a couple of minutes work!

Usage Tips:

• Can be cleaned with baby-wipes, soap & water, or alcohol.
• Can be used with paint, temporary tattoo ink or dry powders.
• Use a sponge or spouncer to apply the paint. Spouncers are small, round sponges ideal for small stencils as it's easier then to keep within the borders of the stencil.
• To create a 3-D effect apply one colour, allow to dry, then apply second colour with the stencil slightly to one side, higher or lower.
• Get creative and try combining more than one stencil into a design for extra wow factor.
• For stencils that have a number of designs or parts close together, you can hold a small piece of blank plastic/mylar over the parts you don't want used. You can buy an A4 blank sheet of mylar and cut it into smaller pieces for this purpose.

To avoid the paint bleeding or smudging:

• Make sure the base coat of paint is dry before stencilling over the top
• Hold the stencil firmly against the skin. For a larger stencil, walk your fingers around the stencil to press it flat against the skin close to where you are sponging.
• Apply a small amount of creamy, not watery paint
• Use with professional ‘cake’ face paint (eg. TAG Body Art) so that you can ensure it’s not too runny
• Dab, don't wipe or brush the paint on
• Clean & dry the stencil between uses

To clean the stencil:

• You can wipe it clean with a ‘baby wipe’. Be careful not to snag pointy bits. I like to sandwich the stencil between two wet wipes, or even two dry tissues, laying it all on a flat surface. I lay my whole hand on top and gently rub back and forth a little. It doesn’t take much.
• Alternatively, you can run it under a tap and simply wipe the paint off with your fingers and the water. A little soap can help too. Then blot gently with a dry cloth.
• When you’re on the job and really pressed for time, you can often get away with simply blotting the paint on the stencil dry between uses, if you’re re-using it with the same colour.
• If you find a stencil becomes stained with colour that soap or a wet wipe won’t remove, try an antibacterial wipe

For more ideas on using stencils in your face painting designs see this page.