Flashy New Years Decor

For the past 3 or 4 years, my friends and I have had our own New Year’s tradition – make plans for midnight, celebrate, stay up and hang out until sunrise, then head out to the beach and take a group photo. Of course, after we pass out for the entire day. With the excitement of that on my mind, I wanted to make some flashy new years decor for us. So I grabbed the three-pack of thin canvases I’d bought previously (for about $5 at Walmart) along with  some freezer (or wax) paper and started creating a stencil.

My first canvas is a little sloppy, with glitter flakes, but I’ve perfected the system – and I’m excited to share it with you! ;)

The main components are glitter, spray adhesive, and a paper which has a glossy side – so we can pull it off the glue.

I took this image (yes, it’s a gif…), copied it into word, blew it up, and printed it grayscale. Then I taped my paper glossy side down on top of a cutting board (a mat would work perfectly – if you have one), and slowly cut out my single-use stencil with a razor. Since I do most of my projects while listening to music or watching a movie/show, it really took no time at all.

And you have this fancy stencil!

*Tip* Make sure you’re working in an area where you can easily clean up your glitter and put excess glitter back into its container!

Now, everything flies by. Find a clean area where you can use your spray adhesive and press your stencil on top.

Spray a second layer and pout glitter on top. Be generous with your glitter! I didn’t pat mine down, so it ends up with a lot of dimension – but if you want a fuller look, find another sheet of paper and use it to press the glitter down and pack it in.

Carefully pull your stencil off from all sides and gently, quickly rub down any glue areas that form. Top your glitter with a layer (or two) of hair spray, which will seal it and prevent glitter from coming off.

Ta-da! For now, mine are decorating my house. But I think we’ll need some props for our New Year’s group photos. :)

Materials

• Canvas – $5
• Glitter
• Spray Adhesive – $6
• Freezer Paper
• Hair Spray
• Cutting board & razor

Instructions

1. Print a picture or text you want to stencil – size depending on your canvas.
2. Tape it onto a safe cutting area – behind a piece of freezer or wax paper – and trace with a razor.
3. Spray adhesive onto your canvas, and place your stencil on it.
4. Spray a fresh coat of adhesive and cover inside of stencil with glitter.
5. If desired, use a piece of paper to spread glitter and push flat onto canvas – ensuring a more full than dimensional design.
6. Carefully remove excess glitter and pull off stencil.
7. Gently rub areas where glue has gunked then seal with hairspray!

Edit: See how I used these in my traditional New Year’s photos!