Book Review :: DIY Type: 50+ Typographic Stencils for Decorating, Crafting, and Gifting by Dana Tanamachi

DIY Type by Dana Tanamachi is not so much a book, but rather a collection of two sets of stencils behind a beautiful cover. 

For the  actual book portion of DIY Type, there are a total of 13 pages. The 13 pages include: a page showing 8 sample letter/fill treatments (shown on both a white background and a black background), a 2-page introduction, a 2-page spread photograph showing some useful supplies, and 8 pages describing and showing sample photos of how stencils can be used to decorate notebooks, parties, clothing, and your home. The rest of the "book" is 20 stencil pages (each separated from the next by a piece of black paper).

The cover of DIY Type mentions that there are 50+ stencils included. 

Let me break that down for you:

• 26 large (approx. 6" tall) alphabet stencils (capital letters A-Z)
• 26 small (approx. 2" tall) alphabet stencils (capital letters A-Z)
• 6 bonus/decorative stencils:
• one exclamation mark (!) sized to work with the small alphabet stencils (approx. 2" tall)
• two decorative corners (approx. 2" x 2")
• two decorative border pieces (approx. 1/2" tall x 3 1/4" long)
• one accent (slightly less than 2" x 2")

(Note: If you get creative, I think the cover of this book could also be used for stenciling. Most of the flourishes shown on the cover are actually cut-outs.)

The small alphabet stencils are the font style of the "DIY" on the cover of DIY Type, but as they are stencils, they do have a portion as needed to hold the stencil together on letters such as the "D" (which is not shown on the cover font).

The large alphabet stencils are the font style of the "TYPE" on the cover of DIY Type, but (again) as they are stencils, they do have a portion as needed to hold the stencil together on letters such as the "P" (which is not shown on the cover font).

Bonus/accent stencils shown here:

The large alphabet stencils come 2 to a page (with a dotted line to guide you in cutting them apart) and the small alphabet stencils come 4 to a page (with dotted lines to guide you in cutting them apart). The bonus (non-alphabet) stencils are included on the small alphabet Y and Z page, with two sections (each containing 3 stencils per quarter-page piece).

The stencils in DIY Type seem to be made from a thick, coated cardstock. (I held a stencil next to some 130# uncoated cardstock that I have for making card bases and the stencil was slightly thicker.) The coating gives a sheen to the surface that should be helpful when using the stencils with something like paint or spray mists that you may want to wipe off. Since the stencils are made of paper, I wouldn't expect them to stand up to frequent use of paints/liquids like you would expect from plastic stencils.

Personally, I enjoy the font used for the small alphabet stencils, but I don't care quite so much for the font used for the large alphabet stencils. With a retail price of $22.95, I wouldn't say that DIY Type is worth it unless you really love both fonts and plan to do a lot of at 6" tall and 2" tall  stencil lettering. 

FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy through the Blogging for Books book review bloggers program. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.