Alphabet Stencils Cost So Much, Any Alternative?
Decorating By divinecc Updated 18 May 2011 , 8:37pm by divinecc
Do you have some nice lettering cutters you could use? Or is your piping good enough? I know it's not what they asked for, but IMO if it's a freebie then they should be happy with what you can do. I would tell the bride you don't have the stencils, and are reluctant to buy them because they may never get used again, and give her the option of either switching to piped/cut-out text (whatever you CAN do with what you already have), or buying the stencils for you to use if she really wants it stencilled.
What I have found that worked really well and they arnt too expensive is the wall stencils you can buy at the craft stores. I just bought an individual damask print for 4.00 and it worked perfect. They also have alphabets as well just take a look around or you can even get some clear rubber stamps and used your food coloring as ink and stamp the letters on to fondant they have some really pretty fonts you can use. HTH
Something I've done, is type out my lettering on a word document with the font and size I want. Then I print it out and cut the letters.
Then I roll out my colored fondant as thin as needed and I lay the cut outs on top of the fondant. I take a sterile needle and "poke" teeny holes around the outline of the letters. Then I take my sharp exacto knife and cut the letters out using the poked holes as my guide. You could do it without poking the holes first, but it's easier to me to be able to cut it without the paper on top. Good luck.
You could also try and do a frozen buttercream transfer...
Good luck! 
There's nothing like a GP monogram. They look really elegant. Print out a monogram in the font you like, manipulate to size, whatever. Roll out snakes of GP or fondant and bend cut and shape them over the letters. You can do this days ahead of time, and dry them on the curve of a dummy the same size as the tier of cake they will be on. Easy peasy. You can paint them with edible gold or silver to make them pop, or pearl shimmer...I love making them.
You can go to a craft store and purchase uncut stencils material that you can customize yourself. Just use your word document for the type of font that you want to use. Place the clear/translucent stencils over the font and trim it out. Viola! Your own custom font stencil. I have also done this with cardstock. Print out the font, trim it as you would to make a stencil, and then cover it in clear contact paper. Eureka!
I hope this helps!
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