Fun with Stencils

Ever since I first laid my eyes on cutting edge stencils I was itching to give stencils a try in my home. My ultimate goal is to create an accent wall in my bedroom. In order to gain confidence in my ability to accomplish that, I practiced stenciling techniques on simpler projects.

I began with a very simple project, a stencil design wall art. Click on the link to see how that was done.

Then, I thought that stenciling the pantry would be a great idea. Its not that big, so how hard could it be? Read all about my experience in pantry transformation. Never the less, I am extremely happy with the final result.

What I did not mention in that post is that I tried to create my own stencil for the pantry. I have never made a stencil from scratch before, so I researched it and assumed it was going to be easy. I bought the supplies and found a paper design that I thought would look great in the pantry.

After spending hours cutting my new design, I was so excited to use it. As I tried it on a piece of cardboard, I realized I have made a huge mistake! Someone who knows stencils can figure this out easily. Can you see where I went wrong?

Yep, I forgot to enclose my design within a border!!! 🙁 Why is that important?  Without a border around my design, I was unable to create a pattern or even apply paint without it going where I did not want it to go.  Extremely frustrated at this point. So, if you are going to create your own stencil, be sure to surround your design with a 2”-4” border. It should look like this.

Custom Wall Stencils

 Even after I created a NEW stencil (with a border) for my design, I was not happy with the outcome. Unfortunately, It was not the look that I wanted for the pantry!  I decided that it would be better to use a pre-cut design, and that is how I ended up with the Iron Lattice stencil design for the pantry.

Knowledge is never wasted. I decided to use my newly acquired stencil making skill to create a stencil design for the mudroom. I chose to stencil  “Thank God” in Arabic Calligraphy as a form of art as well as a reminder to always be thankful.

I enlarged it 400%, printed, then taped it back together like a puzzle. I taped 4 stencil paper together to make a large sheet, placed it over the calligraphy and used my stencil cutter to create the stencil.

My final project took place in the office where I decided to give an interesting background to an elegant framed art. I wanted the background to enhance the frame and not compete with it for attention. So, rather than stencil the whole wall, I stenciled a frame . I chose black for my color to blend in with the color of the frame. I am happy with how the stencil adds interest and texture to the office. 🙂

 

Am I done with stenciling? No Way! The possibilities are endless. I would like to try them on fabric, on canvas, on ceramics, and of course on an accent wall. So, stay close and watch my progress. 🙂

Which project do you like the most? Would you try any of them in your home?

Linked to…

Addicted 2 Decorating: http://www.addicted2decorating.com/addicts-not-so-anonymous-link-party-4.html