A colleague recently suggested I try laser-cutting paper to make solder paste stencils, instead of ordering metal or Kapton stencils. I was encouraged by the results, and have managed to improve upon them to the point where I'll use this technique for all my prototyping -- as long as I have access to a laser cutter... The secret ingredient? Adhesive mailing labels.
The full details are over at my blog.
I'd be happy to show people some of my results at the next meeting.