Making Your Own Stencils ... and update on the rocket stove

The Rocket Stove I talked about earlier works great.  Looks horrible here ... all rusty and junky.  Not that I am fastidious but I just am trying to get rid of the junky look of our little homestead.  you know how it is...when Mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy.  So the DH went to work and made a rocket stove I can be truly proud of.  Using some stencils our son had made by hand to customize a car about 5 years ago, the DH made a great improvement in the looks ... below is the BEFORE picture.... yuck!

Before 

After

Trial run for a Pizza Oven .. it worked but the bottom was scorched

With the door closed

A closer look at the Pizza Oven set up - the top is made of hardipanel

Now we are back to trying to get the Pizza Oven perfected.  The pizza baked okay but the bottom was scorched because of being right over the flames.  Practice makes perfect and I am glad my family really does love pizza!

Now that you've seen the stove, here is a quick (sorry no pictures) tutorial on making stencils the free way.

1. Use old cereal boxes for your cardboard

2. Draw out or trace onto the inner cardboard what you'd like to make a stencil of.  In our case it was flames.  You can download lots of clipart for things like this.  Google Images is the place to go.

3. Using a sharp knife, craft knife, or scissors cut out the stencil.  If there will be overlaying parts, cut them out on a separate piece of cardboard.

4. Using painter's tape, tape the stencil down to the item you will be painting.  If you are using spray paint - go very lightly so you won't get runs.

5. Remove stencil to the next place you want to paint and go back to step 4.

The next posting will be about making plastic items for mobiles or sun-catchers.