Are you hoping to incorporate contemporary, up-to-date images of swirling historic acanthus leaves into any of your art or paper craft projects?
If so, this reusable Elegant Swirls stencil is just what you need.
The stencil measures 6 inches wide by 6 inches high, making it the ideal size to use for creating 6×6-inch scrapbooking layouts. It’s also compatible with 6×6-inch paper pads like the ones from Craft Consortium.
Craft Project Ideas for Using Altenew’s Elegant Swirls Stencil
Altenew’s Elegant Swirls stencil is one of my most frequently used stencils. I use this design to create backgrounds for bunches of different projects — typically cards, scrapbooking layouts and junk journal pages.
Use the Elegant Swirls Stencil to Create the Background on a Luxurious-Looking Christmas Card
Candy Cane Lane Christmas Card Featuring Supplies by Prima, Altenew and Ranger Industries
The Elegant Swirls stencil isn’t specifically designed to be a Christmas image, but I find that I frequently use it to make Christmas projects. That’s because I like making luxurious, elegant-looking Christmas cards and gifts.
Above, you can see a Christmas card I made using this stencil plus supplies from the “Candy Cane Lane” collection by Prima Marketing.
Life in Encino 12″x12″ Scrapbooking Layout
Life in Encino Scrapbooking Layout Feating Supplies by Altenew
This scrapbooking layout incorporates a small bit of background area I made using the Elegant Swirls stencil. I also used an alphabet stencil by Altenew, along with other Altenew craft supplies.
Additional Ideas for the Kinds of Craft Projects You Can Make Using Altenew ‘s Elegant Swirls
Stencil
The Elegant Swirls stencil is suitable for use with many craft techniques. You can use it to make patterned images to use in all of the following types of crafting activities:
- Junk journaling;
- Collage or any other mixed media art;
- Art journaling;
- Scrapbooking;
- Card making;
- Bullet journaling;
- Planning and making planner layouts;
- Backgrounds for illustrations or paintings
- Or any other art or paper craft techniques you have in mind.
- Stencil Butter by the Crafter’s Workshop;
- Stamperia’s Mix Media Art Modeling Paste;
- Pops of Color by Scrapbook.com;
- Ink: Tim Holtz’s Distress Oxide Ink is my favorite ink to use for stenciling, but you have zillions of inks to choose from;
- Acrylic paint; See also: What paint to use with stencils.
- Graphite pencils;
- Colored pencils;
- Pens;
- Markers;
- Solar Paste by Simon Hurley for Ranger Industries;
- Lunar Paste by Simon Hurley for Ranger Industries;
- Nuvo Embellishment Mousse;
- Distress Mica Spray by Tim Holtz for Ranger Industries;
- More! You have lots of additional choices besides these, but these are my current favorites.
- How to Use Stencils
- Best Bullet Journal Stencils
- Christmas Stencils
- Find more of my stencil recommendations HERE.
Suggestions for Stenciling Media to Use With the Elegant Swirls Stencil:
A Variety of Stenciling Media, Pictured With a Junk Journal I Am Working on Making.
Whichever media you use, this is a stencil that would benefit from an application of Pixie Spray or a similar repositionable adhesive before you use it.
(All the following stenciling media and Pixie Spray are sold separately from this stencil).
You can use this stencil with a variety of different media; the media you choose will depend on your budget and the effects you want to achieve. You might want to experiment with using any of the following types of media:
The above-mentioned media are ones you’d want to choose if you’re using this stencil to embellish paper, chipboard, cardboard or another similarly porous surface.
Using This Stencil to Embellish Non-Porous Surfaces Like Acrylic, Metal or Glass
If you want to embellish a non-porous surface like acrylic, you might be able to use this stencil to accomplish that, but it would take some skill to do, and you’d also need a different type of media than the ones mentioned above.
Appropriate media for this type of task would be ones that are specifically formulated for use on non-porous surfaces. So you’d want to try using a media like Sta-Zon ink, alcohol marker (like Copic or Altenew Artist markers), or alcohol ink. I haven’t tried using any of these with this stencil, and I’m not necessarily confident that I could achieve amazing results with these combinations of stencil and media – so, try it if you’re feeling optimistic that this could work for you, but be warned that your results with these combinations might not end up being amazing.
If you do decide to try this, please report back and let us know how it works out for you. We’d love to learn from your experiences. The floor is open for comments, so please share your insights in the comments area below.
Cons: Downsides to the Elegant Swirls Stencil by Altenew
My experiences with this stencil have all been positive. That said, I’d be a bad reviewer if I didn’t mention one little nit-picky thing about this stencil that drives me BONKERS!
The thing I love most about the stencil: It is really detailed, and it makes lovely, detailed, eye-catching images.
But that’s also it’s biggest downside. You’ll have to be a really detail-oriented person to enjoy using this stencil (which I am, but maybe you’re not.)
If you’re an impatient crafter or a reluctant stenciler, you’re likely to find that the level of detail is enough to make this stencil a bit tedious to use.
And, it also makes it tedious and challenging to clean up after you’re finished using it.
Altenew’s stencils, in general, are thick, sturdy and easy to clean up — but this one, because it is so detailed, is very challenging to thoroughly clean.
I am very prompt about cleaning up my stencils after I use them. I’m able to keep most of them looking relatively new, and many of them I’m able to keep looking pristine.
But not this one.
This one, first of all, takes longer than average to use, because it has a lot of little detailed areas that take focus, concentration and effort as you apply stenciling media to them.
So that already contributes to difficulty with cleanup, because TIME is the most important factor that dictates whether or not you’ll be successful with your cleanup.
If you are prompt about washing your stencils with soap and water immediately after you use them, they generally clean up fine. This doesn’t hold true for ALL stencils; for example, Stamperia’s lighter weight stencils are notoriously hard to clean up after using them. Altenew’s, though, in my experience, historically have been super easy to clean up.
BUT!
If the media you’re using dries on your stencil, you probably won’t be successful with cleaning it up.
So that’s the dilemma with this stencil. I haven’t been able to keep it pristine, despite my best efforts to do so.
This problem, in large part, affected me because I used to live in a SUPER DRY environment (I lived in the mountains of Utah, where the air is excessively dry.)
So if you live in a super dry environment like the deserts of Arizona, Nevada or Utah, where stenciling media dries quickly, and it drives you nuts having layers of dried media all over your stencil, you might want to look around at other options besides this one.
But if you live in a humid environment, where stenciling media dries slowly, this probably will not be such an issue for you.
The Verdict: I Highly Recommend the Elegant Swirls Stencil by Altenew!
I have been delighted with every project I’ve made so far using the Elegant Swirls stencil by Altenew!
Furthermore, I have enjoyed using this stencil; I think it is fun to work with, although all the details in it make it more time consuming and challenging to use than its simpler counterparts.
I found the stencil itself to be reasonably sturdy.
I think it is an appealing, useful and versatile design.
I’m delighted to recommend this stencil to other crafters. I think it offers outstanding value for its asking price, and I have found it to be useful for my own paper crafting projects. I really love it, and I think it’s likely that you’ll enjoy using it, too.
Where to Buy the Elegant Swirls Stencil by Altenew
Important Note: I am a real person, NOT a robot and NOT AI. This is an authentic product review. I paid full price for my Altenew Elegant Swirls stencil, and I think it was worth the price.
How to Apply Your Stenciling Media to Your Paper (Or Other Surface) Through This Stencil
There are different tools you can use for applying stenciling media through your stencil.
If your media is relatively thick, stiff and sticky, I recommend using a spatula to apply it. You can get these in the kitchen department at most department stores, but the spatulas I like best are specifically engineered for use with mixed media art techniques. I happen to have this set of 2 spatulas by Nuvo, but there are many others like these that would work just as well.
It’s also possible to apply thick, stiff, sticky media in other ways – perhaps using a stipple brush, paintbrush, sponge brush, or ink blending tool. Be sure to proactively clean these up immediately after use, because if you don’t, this kind of media will absolutely ruin your brush or tool.
If your media is relatively thin and runny, like paint or ink, you have a zillion amazing options for applying it. One of my favorite methods is spraying it on; to accomplish this, get yourself a bunch of spray bottles and use a different spray bottle to use with each color.
You can experiment with layering spritzes of different colors through the same stencil, onto the same paper. This can result in either gorgeous, sophisticated projects (if you know what you’re doing), or it can make a colossally huge mess (if you haven’t yet figured out what you’re doing). So if you’re new to this, don’t get discouraged when you make a huge mess. If you keep experimenting long enough, you’ll figure this out.
And, of course, you can use Scrapbook.com’s ink blending tool to apply ink blends or other media through a stencil. I highly, highly recommend giving this a try, because the possibilities are endless, and you could spend the rest of your life having fun messing around with just that one technique. Seriously.
Check Out My Top Picks for Papers to Stencil On:
Strathmore Bristol Board — a Heavy Paper That’s Ideal for Stenciling and All Kinds of Other Mixed Media Art Techniques
If you aren’t sure which paper you want to stencil on, I invite you to try my favorite paper to use with wet media, which is Strathmore’s Bristol Board.
This paper withstands spraying, stenciling, painting, inking, dyeing, and all kinds of other mixed media shenanigans. You don’t have to waste time priming it with gesso or primer to achieve outstanding results. It’s good to go as soon as you tear it out of the pad. I LOVE that stuff!!! If you don’t already have a favorite paper for stenciling on (or, even if you do!) I recommend trying it to see if you’ll like it.
If you don’t mind taking the time to apply gesso or primer to your paper, Neenah’s 110-lb Solar White cardstock is another fantastic choice. If you don’t already have gesso or primer in your craft supplies stash, you might also want to take a look at my top picks for primers, HERE.
Find More Stencils and Stenciling Project Ideas:
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By Amy Solovay
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About Your Product Reviewer:
Amy Solovay
About Your Product Reviewer: Amy Solovay is a content creator and educator who holds a bachelor’s degree with a studio art minor; she has also earned a separate degree in textile design. Amy learned to stencil as a small child, and she still enjoys stenciling techniques all these years later. Beyond that, she enjoys introducing other crafters to the best new craft supplies, and she also loves helping crafters learn new techniques for making the most of the craft supplies they buy.
As an educator, Amy Solovay used to teach in-person college courses in trend forecasting, marketing and surface design at California Design College in Los Angeles.
If you’re interested in reading Amy’s personal blog, she invites you to visit her official website, AmySolovay.com; and, if you’re interested in earning income while spending time crafting, she encourages you to check out Crafterprise.com.
Over to You:
Have you tried using Altenew’s Elegant Swirls stencil? If so, how did you like using it? Which projects did you use it for, and how did they turn out? Let’s talk about it in the comments.
This page was last updated on 11-8-2024.
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