The lines make it a stencil. If you cut it apart, it becomes a template. Your choice. To use it as a stencil, you can use chalk pencil (ONLY WHITE OR GREY..ask me how I know!), purple markers, or pounce chalk. When I use pounce chalk, I put a small amt in a plastic cup and dip a disposable foam brush in it. Wipe across the stencil, checking now and then to see if I have enough. I found 'pouncing' produced a cloud of chalk dust. YUCK (this was not my idea. I got it from a Kimmy Brunner DVD) Mark it as a template the same, but no chalk.