Fresh and fabulous graffiti-inspired stencil designs for your home and wardrobe. Ed's style is urban and modern with a splash of 70s and 80s retro. The instructions are easy-to-follow for the beginner, and the project ideas are inspired enough to motivate an accomplished artist/crafter.

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Stencil 101 by Ed Roth is one of those books that encourages you to tear out its pages. It contains 25 reusable stencils on glossy cardstock. And the very day it came in the mail my son was already pulling out the stencils and using them on a wooden case that was just screaming out for customization. And, hey, if something passes the teen boy test for coolness it must be pretty special. And he must be somebody special, too, because I let him use the book before I did.

I know it’s been said so many times that it’s ridiculous but really… these aren’t your granny’s stencils. You won’t find any English ivy or country geese here. We’re talking muscle cars and luchadores.

At the beginning is a brief history of stenciling and then a nice chapter on the basic stuff needed to get started. Then the author shows several projects using the stencils in the book. I wanted the book just for my journal pages but now I’m thinking my kitchen cabinets need an edgier look to them.

The book has a nice expandable pocket in the back to keep your used stencils in. As I mentioned earlier the stencils are on cardstock, glossy on both sides so you can flip them either way. They should hold up to many many sprays. Even after you pull out the stencil there is a page left in the book that shows the design so you can still flip through the book to know what designs you have without digging them all out of the pocket. Or if it came down to it and you lost your stencil and were too cheap to buy another you could scan the image and cut another.

Speaking of buying stencils, Ed has lots of them available at his website, Stencil 1.com He also has his own line of spray inks. And don’t forget to check out the awesome how-to videos while you’re there. ( )