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Since you're making your own stencil, there's no limitations on what you can create. Think about the size of the surface you plan to stencil (T-shirt, wall, bookmark), who the design is for (baby, birthday girl, best friend) and where the stenciled image will be (bathroom wall, kitchen border, skateboard deck. Stay with the basics. Letters, numbers and basic shapes (circles, squares and diamonds) can be an easy but effective design choice. Combine a couple of these elements for a personalized look. Work with a theme. Consider motifs associated with different themes--shells, starfish, sea horses, boats and anchors create a nautical look. Rams, bulls, scales, fish and crabs are all elements inspired by a zodiac theme. Draw inspiration from nature. Flowers, trees, butterflies, leaves and sun are just some examples of ideas you can come up with by simply looking outside your window. Stick to the classics. Chose a Greek key, a fleur de lis, a Celtic cross or other traditional and universally recognizable symbols. If you're new to stenciling, you might want to start with an image that's fairly basic in design--not too many separate pieces or too much detail. If you're more experienced or simply confident in your skills, you can create something that's more intricate. There are tons of online sites that offer free stencils for you to download and print to your home computer. In some cases, you may need to take your printed image to a copier to reduce or enlarge it. In other cases, you may have the option to change the size when you print or you can change your printer settings to allow it print the image larger or smaller.
Choose your design. Print a graphic or template from the Internet.