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From YourSITE.com *Technique Here's an easy way to get a hand-stenciled or chalked look on your pages with Photoshop Elements 2. This tutorial also gives you a good basic understanding of making selections on one layer and applying that selection to other layers. 
The iris above and the flower in the examples are done with images from a dingbat font (Printers Ornaments One, downloaded from http://www.typenow.net). You can use any text or ding image, the preset shapes from PSE2, black and white clipart or scans of your own stencils or artwork. The image to be stenciled doesn't need to be black and white, but it does need to be in highly contrasting flat colors with a bold, distinct pattern. Think about stencils you've seen or worked with before. Highly detailed line art won't work well here.
1. Open a new document in PSE2, set to RGB, 300 dpi, white background to whatever size you want your stenciled element to be.
2. Place your black and white "stencil" image onto a new layer above white layer and resize as necessary. This is your "stencil" layer. Rename the layer "stencil" if you like. This flower is a from a ding font, which is why it’s on a text layer.
3. Open a new transparent layer between white background and "stencil" layer. This is the layer you'll do your painting on.
4. Click on stencil layer. Click on the magic wand tool, then select any area to be "stenciled". If you hold the <SHIFT> key as you click, you can select multiple areas. Here I’ve selected the 3 leaf areas I want to stencil in green. Check that "marching ants" outline all areas you plan on stenciling. (NOTE: If you use PSE2 shapes, it will ask you if you want to "simplify this layer" first -- click YES, then select your area(s) with the magic wand.)
5. On the Layers Palette, click off the "eye" on the stencil layer so you don't see it any more except for the "marching ants" selection. Click on the transparent layer to make it active. The white background layer will let you easily see your "painting.”
6. Select a color to begin stenciling with, and choose a soft-edge brush tool. Set the brush size to somewhere between 25-100 -- a size that doesn't completely fill the open areas of the motif, but big enough so you can go at a reasonable pace. Set opacity to around 40% to start, and increase or decrease it after you see the results.
7. Start painting in the selected areas. Adjust your brush size and opacity as you prefer. Only the areas inside the "marching ants" will be painted, so your brushwork doesn’t need to be very precise! Moving the brush tool while clicking as though you were pouncing with a real stencil brush gives a classic stencil effect. Alternatively, stroke with the brush for more of a watercolor effect. Play with different brushes to see which effects you like best.
8. As with real stenciling, a popular method is to make the edges of each area somewhat darker than the centers, giving a more dimensional look. You can also blend colors for added interest. 
9. When you’ve finished painting one color, you’re ready for your next color. Click on the stencil layer to make it visible and active, and deselect your current selection by pressing <CNTL+D>. Use the magic wand tool to select the areas you wish to paint your second color. Above, the areas to be painted pink are now selected and stenciling started.
Repeat these steps until your stenciling is complete. Since you're painting on the transparent layer, this stenciled image can be easily moved to any other document over any other background color or texture you like.
COMPLETED STENCILING
You can also invert your selection to paint in the background with a contrasting color. Do the painting of the inverted selection on another transparent layer so that if you change your mind, it's easy to undo. Your original "stencil layer" remains unchanged. The pinecone image is two layers of "stenciling" -- the positive image of the pine needles and cone on one layer, and the negative image of the black background fading to blue in the center on a second layer. (Dingbat font HolidayPi BT)
There are tons of great ornamental dingbat fonts available free on the web that make wonderful ‘stencils’ for this technique. And once you understand how you can select a shape on one layer and then use it to color or cut that shape on another layer, a whole world of experimentation awaits you!
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