Embellished Stenciling Ideas with Bari J Stencil Collection

Are you ready for some NEW and unique stencil ideas that will take your stencil projects to the next dimension?? Well, we have 4 super cute and crafty ways for you to dress up your stencils with scrap booking embellishments you can find in your craft closet (or room, if you're lucky!) and at your local craft store. Each of these 4 stencil project ideas feature stencils from the Bari J Collection. Bari J also happens to design whimsical fabric collections for the quilt and craft market-so her stencil designs seemed a great fit for these clever additions.

First up! Did you know how easy it is to bling up a stencil simply by sticking on some self-adhesive, half-round glass and frosty beads? We found these in the perfect size in the scrapbook section (on sale!) at Michael's. You simply peel them off the waxed paper backing and affix them to the wall. They are even removable and re-stickable, so you can't make a mistake and you can remove them at any time. 

We stenciled the Dressing Room Chandelier stencil over a background of Valspar 178909 (Green Water) in a focal group of three using Royal Stencil Creme paint colors: Smoked Oyster, Aged Nickel and Pearl Oyster. To make the lighter Pearl Oyster color pop, we used a Drop Shadow Stencil Technique and stenciled first with Aged Nickel Stencil Creme, and then again with Pearl Oyster Stencil Creme after a slight stencil shift. The third chandelier was simply stenciled with Smoked Oyster Stencil Creme. And there you have an easy, fun, and fabulous stencil project you can do in under 2 hours!

 

Second, we have a mixed media stencil project idea that would be ideal for your sewing or little girl's room. Rather than stencil the main body of the dress form, we used the stencil as a pattern to cut our Bari J fabrics that were stiffened with Mod Podge Stiffy Fabric Stiffener. A firm spritz of spray adhesive holds the fabric in place and then get out your glue gun to add buttons, ribbons, cameos and other delightful accents. See Stencil How to: Playing Dress-Up with Stencils for all the low down on dressing up the Sew Fun Dress Form stencil!

 

Next, a stencil embellishing idea sure to get your stamp of approval (yes, it's OK to roll your eyes on that one). After using a Stencil Roller to roll out an allover pattern-like the Splendor Damask Wall Stencil, for instance, you simply stamp in the pattern of your choice. Look for words or quotes stamps for the best effect, or choose some musical notes like we show here. See the Stencil How-to: Stamping the Splendor Damask Stencil for all the easy info on this one.

And last, but certainly not least we feature some stencil-on-stencil action with the pretty Parlor Chair stencil. We chose a bright color palette and some pretty petite stencil patterns from our Furniture Stencil Collection. Pull up a patterned chair and check out the Stencil How-to: Patterned Parlor Chairs for all the step-by-step details!

OK, before you head off to the craft store, here are a few more links you might want to check out!

• 10 Ideas for Organizing Your Paint Studio
  
• Our DIY, Craft, and Stencil Projects board on Pinterest
• Daily inspiring stencil "shares" on our Royal Design Studio Facebook Page

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Door-geous Stenciling on Glass!

First impressions are everything! Having an attractive front entrance to the home is a wonderful way to welcome family and friends. Many times, a home comes standard with just the basics but you CAN use stencils to add dramatic curb appeal! Jules from Juba Life found herself with a plain window running vertically along her front door entrance. She wanted (quiet) drama, pattern and privacy, too!  She decided the perfect answer was to frost and stencil the glass window. Love that idea! Using stencils on glass is easy and can be oh-so-durable with the right materials. Let's take a closer look at Jules' stenciled front door project with Royal Design Studio stencils!

 

 

While there are a variety of ways to stencil glass, Jules decided to use a frosting spray to stencil her design on the glass door window.  The first image shows you the plain glass windows she started with.  She made sure she cleaned the glass thoroughly of fingerprints, grease and dirt and with the help of a Facebook poll, the Hollywood Squares Stencil from the Allover Modern Stencils Collection was chosen. She loved the pattern as she felt it complimented the clean lines of her house.

Jules prepped the sides of the window and floor to prevent the frosting spray from sticking to the wrong surface. In addition to frosting, you can also stencil with paints made for glass and Chalk Paint® decorative paint sticks like a dream, too. If you're concerned about your materials bonding to the glass, use Faux Effects PrimEtch as a first coat primer as it enables a strong bond and provides a great surface to work on. You can use stencil adhesive to prevent seepage under the stencil for a perfect glass finish, too!  Jules shared her DIY Stenciling on Glass project along with a few tips she learned on the process.

Voila! Her stenciled doorway!  We think the stenciling on glass added a subtle, contemporary design to the front door along with a super pretty way to add privacy.  Have you stenciled on glass? Be sure to leave us a comment telling us all about your project! Better yet, SHARE it with the world on our Royal Design Studio Stencils Facebook Page, or email a pic and details to projects(at)royaldesignstudio.com

More inspiration to take you through the looking glass...

• Stenciling mirrors is an easy and fun weekend project!
  

• Learn how to antique mirrors and add pattern to glass via our Glass & Mirror Virtual Workshop!

• Check out our How to Stencil tutorials to learn how to pattern most any surface!
  

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Blooming it Up with Bonnie Christine Stencils

 

With so many great new stencil patterns available now in the Bonnie Christine Stencil Collection it was a hard choice of what to do a stencil project with first! Fortunately, we found a way to work in "a few" new stencils on this stenciled feature wall and fab furniture facelift! We think this is such an adorable, colorful concept for a child's bed or play room. Don't you agree??

 

We started by stenciling the feature wall with 2 sizes of the pretty Bloomers Zinnia Flower Stencils Sets: Big Bloomers and Medium Bloomers. You can read all about how to stencil and layer these bountiful beauties in this handy Bloomer Flower Stencils How-to!.

 

Why stop your stenciling at the wall? We had this old oak chest hanging about just waiting for some painting/stencil inspiration to strike-and it was the perfect candidate for painting and stenciling with Chalk Paint® decorative paint. While we used latex paint for the roller stenciling on the wall, we chose to match similar colors of Chalk Paint for the chest for ease of use, coverage, and durability. We found that it was easy to create the perfect shade of turquoise blue by simply combine Florence Chalk Paint and Greek Blue Chalk Paint at about a 1:1 ratio (mix to YOUR taste!). Arles Chalk Paint and Barcelona Orange Chalk Paint seemed about perfect right from the can, and of course good old Old White Chalk Paint makes for the perfect background color.

 

As a nice contrast and counterpoint to the Zinnia Bloomers Flower Stencils we chose two smaller, geometric designs that are perfectly sized for furniture stenciling: the Small Wonderment Trellis Stencil and the retro-inspired Small Diamonds and Dots Stencil. To get some additional stencil pattern variety we changed up the background colors, introduced multiple colors within each stencil pattern using small 3/8" stencil brushes, and even flipped the Diamonds and Dots stencil in its side to get a completely different vibe.

Well, this should get some new stencil ideas blooming for you! Check out these links for even more pretty pattern goodness.....

• Introducing the Bonnie Christine Stencil Collection on our Stencil Ideas Blog.
• Furniture Stencil Ideas Galore!
• Top 10 Furniture Stencil Tips.
• How-to Paint with Chalk Paint on Furniture

 

 

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The Stenciled Garden

With summer in the air, it's time to take the party outdoors and spend some time sprucing up our exterior surroundings! Why not try stenciling to add easy flair to your outdoor decorating efforts?  It's SO easy to add charm to your backyard and garden by incorporating stenciled patterns and color and we're here to inspire you! All it takes is looking at everyday objects with a new design view so let's put on our gloves and get our creative groove on with Royal Design Studio stencils and paint!

 

Things often get lost in drawers but in a garden, they jump out naturally!  Instead of throwing away old and worn furniture, add interest to your garden by transforming their components with very little work or money.  Queen B and Me did just that when creating stenciled planter drawers with the Indian Paisley Wall Stencil.  You could easily stencil these with Chalk Paint® decorative paints, too, as the paint is durable in exterior conditions without any top coating!

You can decorate an old shed exterior that could be an eyesore with a pretty stenciled panel. Paint, stencil and add architectural interest by using canvas, fabric, wood, curtain blinds, a repurposed table runner or anything you'd can envision as a panel surface. This garden artwork seems right at home hung on a weathered wood door!  We used the Pescado Panel Stencil from the Hearst Castle Stencil Collection and the Royal Stencil Creme Paints to give this exterior a bit of old world rustic glamour. The birds and fish within the stencil are right at home in your garden!

 

Make a statement with uncommon materials in your garden! Brittany from Pretty Handy Girl used a metal ice bucket (!!!) to create a fun and playful stenciled garden planter.  It would definitely add a welcome conversation piece to your next garden party.  Be sure to see the step-by-step instructions for the stenciled outdoor planter using the Chez Sheik Furniture Stencil from the perfectly sized Furniture Stencils & Supplies Collection.

 

Nestling a stenciled mirror between your plants and flowers adds a beautiful, optical illusion that creates depth in your garden. Your outdoor space and foliage seems to double in a lovely way! Chalk Paint® decorative paint and the Serenity Damask Stencil from the Allover Damask Stencil Collection was used by Shabby Chic Addiction to create this stenciled garden mirror.

A stenciled mat to rest your wellies on after a day of gardening makes for both a pretty and practical project. Plus, the colors and patterns can help revitalize your garden path! Brittany from Pretty Handy Girl does double-duty with the Chez Sheik Furniture Stencil by using it to stencil an outdoor mat as well. That's one of the beauties of stenciling - you can use the stencils over and over again!

Gardens don't have to be serious OR boring -- you can show your fun side with simple stenciled decorations that will please both your senses and those of your guests, especially during special events such as parties and garden walks. We hope you've enjoyed these unexpected stenciled surprises that will help YOUR garden landscaping stand out!

We have more stencil ideas blooming and growing!

• Inspiration abounds for crafting a great stencil project!
  

• You can stencil a garden using our Flower, Vine and Fruit Stencil Collection!
  

• Our DIY Craft & Stencil Projects Pinboard will have you buzzing with Stencil Ideas!
  

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Sweet Stenciled Lullabies

Planning and decorating a nursery is not only fun, but it can also be one of the most exciting aspects of expecting a baby! One of the best baby nursery decorative ideas is to use stencils to incorporate patterns, colors and themes with either traditional nursery color schemes or a gender-neutral design! Stenciling is also a fantastic way to help a family on a budget as one stencil can be used time again with different colors for not only the walls, but also the floor, fabrics and furniture! Since so much time will be spent in the nursery, it's wonderful when a beautiful and inviting space is created which you'll love to be in and treasure. Let's see a few baby room ideas with Royal Design Studio Stencils that have inspired sweet stenciled lullabies...

Designer Genevieve March from Turned to Design created a fun and thoroughly modern stenciled nursery with the Get Ziggy With It Stencil from the Allover Modern Stencil Collection.  She used a tone on tone stenciled finish on a feature wall and brought in pops of color throughout the space. The effect was so winning that it garnered a design competition award!!!

 

Stenciled borders are a perfect way to add pizzazz and color without stenciling an entire wall.  The Birdie Border Stencil adds such an oh-so-sweet touch to this nursery and the placement gives a fresh, contemporary feel. The entire Border Stencil Collection has a variety of patterns that range from global chic designs to modern graphic patterns.

Designer Laurie March, from HGTV's The House Counselor, decided to add the splash of color via the stenciled walls as opposed to the overdoing with accessories. We think it's gorgeous! The Nova Trellis Stencil is super easy to stencil on a feature wall and here added just the right graphic touch to this nursery for twin boys. You can see more images and info on the stenciled nursery walls project on the HGTV website.

 

A special Royal Design Studio customer shared this lovely nursery she created for her own baby. (LOVE that chandelier and fabric drape, too!) Using a flat and gloss paint technique (matte painted walls and gloss paint for the stencil in the same color), she stenciled the Ribbon Lattice Stencil design in a lovely tone-on-tone stencil treatment onto an accent wall. Didn't she create such a chic and glam stenciled space for her budding fashionista!

One can also stencil the chandelier, too! The fab Dressing Room Chandelier Stencil from the Bari J. Stencil Collection is stenciled twice on these nursery walls to add that extra stylish oomph! We love it!  We also appreciate the inspiration on outlining specific areas of a nursery with paint -- note how the shelves become a built-in bookcase with just a swich of the paint brush. Who could resist this stenciled beauty of a nursery?

A creative theme and either a soothing or playful palette will help create a nursery you'll be happy to spend time in. A stencil can help create the perfect canvas for all the design details you'll ooh and ahh over for baby. By the way, a little trivia for you - the first room pattern goddess Melanie Royals of Royal Design Studio ever stenciled was her son's nursery! We think you might come away smitten with stenciling, too!

A few more stencil projects that might have you saying "Whoa, Baby!"...

• Expecting couple Kathryn and Charlie from Do It on a Dime share their project (and video) on stenciling a nursery!
  

• Cozy Cottage Cute stencils a baby's room to give it a warm, modern feel!

• Stencils aren't just for walls! Linda from burlap + blue stenciled a fun canvas to hang in the nursery!
  

• Project Nursery features a stenciled nursery that's playfully elegant!

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Nature Inspired Stencils from our Newest Designer: Bonnie Christine

Welcome to our latest Designer Stencil Collection-Bonnie Christine-for Royal Design Studio Stencils. I discovered Bonnie's natural talents for pattern design through her beautiful blog, Going Home To Roost. I was immediately drawn in to her beautiful imagery, presentation, and design aesthetic. I was especially captivated by her original, whimsical, nature-inspired pattern designs. So many of her allover patterns jumped out to me as being PERFECT for allover stencil patterns and motifs that I HAD to send an email along the line of, "would you like to see your patterns as a stencil line"? 

 

Now, months later, Bonnie is not only getting to see her designs translated into Royal Design Studio stencils, but also into a pretty new fabric line, Reminisce, for Art Gallery Fabrics. Guess I'm not the only one with an eye for up and coming design talent! Take a look and see how we've translated Bonnie's designs into a fabulous new stencil collection for walls, floors, furniture, and fabric for your viewing and stenciling pleasure.....

 

Bountiful Blooms! There is no shortage of delightfully round Zinnia patterns and floral graphics these days in the design world. Our Bloomers Zinnia Flower Stencil Sets, however, offer this classic flower from Grandmother's garden with a twist! Each size and shape of flower is comes with three pieces pieces: a silhouette, a petal detail and a shield. This gives you "bunches" of design options. Use the Petal stencil alone OR layer it over the silhouette shape done in a contrasting color for more depth and POP! Fore even more options, use the shield shape to layer one petal pattern over another. Offered in sets of two flowers in 3 sizes: Big Bloomers, Medium Bloomers, and Baby Bloomers. Our Stencil How-to: Layered Bloomers shows you easy it is to stencil a garden on your wall!

 

Daisy Craze! We're absolutely crazy for these darling Daisy Dot Stencils, and decided that this was another one that just HAD to be offered in 3 sizes. Multiple layers give you maximum color and decorating options. A lovely outer scalloped silhouette shape is an option that extends the size of your Daisy stencil and provides the opportunity to introduce an added dollop of color. Stencil both flower layers for a DOUBLE Daisy, or keep your Daisies small and simply with just one row of petals. So many options-all freshly picked!! Small Daisy Dot Stencil, Medium Daisy Dot Stencil, Large Daisy Dot Stencil.

 

Delightfully different allover wall stencils with options! We already have some wonderful Herringbone Pattern Stencils in our collection, but the Herringbone Shuffle offers Bonnie Christine's fresh take on this classic design. You still get the woven herringbone look, but with a more open, airy feel that also makes it easier to introduce multiple colors using stencil brushes for a truly custom look. Also shown here, the soaring Flock of Birds allover wall stencil-another pattern with design options! Here we show the pattern repeated twice and offset in two colors to create more depth and dimension. Quite a flight of fancy!

Who isn't inspired by a sunny day and a walk in the woods? The forest floor is alive with flora and fauna-and so is the Forest Floor Damask Stencil. This truly original allover pattern features a multitude of flower and petal elements that can be stenciled repeatedly on a wall or floor to create a blanket of natural goodness. Alternatively, turn the square pattern repeat on its side and stencil it as checkerboard tiles. The space in between makes for a perfect fit for the Large Fly Away with Me Bird Stencil.

 

Whimsical vintage romance is the best way to describe the delightfully detailed Vintage Vases allover floral wall stencil. A series of shapely vases holds fabulously fun fantasy flowers to create an allover wall stencil pattern that will add a "granny chic" vibe to your lucky walls. Simple, trellis patterns are a great addition to almost any surface, and the Wonderment Trellis allover stencil is no exception. Offered in two sizes. The small-scale trellis is perfect for small wall spaces, furniture, and floorcloths. Use the large-scale trellis stencil for fabulous feature walls. Both these stencils look equally fab stenciled in a single color, or add additional interest by stenciling the details in contrasting colors.

We're sure you will find MANY creative uses for this new Stencil Collection. Please share your projects with us by posting them to our Royal Design Studio Facebook Page or email them to projects(at)royaldesignstudio.com!

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New Moroccan Stencils on the Horizon!

Hello! I recently returned from my 5th and latest international decorative painting (Peacock Painters) retreat to Marrakech, Morocco and I'm still basking in the warm glow of new and renewed friendships, the beauty of the country and its people, and the amazing stencil and painting projects we completed there as a group. We experienced 12 gorgeous days together stenciling, feasting, trekking, shopping, touring, and experiencing the unique loveliness that can only be found in Morocco.

 

Our primary stencil project for this trip was an intricately patterned 16' x 11' feature wall in the master bedroom, but we also stenciled some lovely furniture pieces and even did some stylized Arabic typography patterns on the floor with some newly designed Modello® masking stencils. 

I am chomping at the bit to show you just how beautifully this room turned out! We chose a stencil color palette of soft shimmering metallics and used colors from our line of Royal Stencil Creme stencil paints for maximum shimmer and fast coverage. 

 

Alas, the final result is slated for a design magazine publication like many of our other stencil projects there, so THAT will have to wait, my dears. I CAN, however give you a sneek preview of some of the many lovely new Moroccan stencil patterns that were created especially for this project that will be available soon (end of May 2013) in our popular Moroccan Stencil Collection! Please stay tuned!

In the meantime....

• See some our our previous Moroccan stencil projects featured in Elle Decor and in this Raven & Lily fashion photoshoot.
  
• Read about all of our past Peacock Painting stencil adventures on the Design Amour blog.
• We are already planning our NEXT Moroccan stencil retreat for May 14 (possibly 2 as there is so much interest!) To get added to our waiting list and be the first with the opportunity to sign up to join us, please email your interest to melanie(at)royaldesignstudio.com

 

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Celebrating Everyday Life with Stencils!

  

Celebrating Everyday Life with Jennifer Carroll is brand new online magazine that ventures out of the box to find "the most exquisite creative spaces and collectibles, cool experiences, emerging trends, DIY sensations, innovative decor and more". SO exciting!  We came to know Jennifer Carroll when she stenciled a Queen Bee Luncheon table using Royal Design Studio stencils and we are happy to see her launch her magazine to share her unique style, vision and design.  The magazine will have six issues per year and we're doing the happy dance because one of our newest stencils is featured in the inaugural May/June issue!

Descriptions such as bright, fresh and lovely come to mind when seeing this DIY Stencil Tray project! It features the Small Rattan Wallpaper Stencil from the Bari J. Stencil Collection as well as the Peacock Fancy Stencil Creme and the 1" Stencil Brush. Stenciling is the perfect way to spruce up an old tray with color and pattern while adding a dash of Spring excitement to your soirée! Can't you see yourself serving your guests the fresh lemonade or mint iced tea you just made at the event you put together so beautifully? Oh, yes -- this DIY is for you!  You can spy it on pages 26 and 27 with the full tutorial on page 187 that has extra special details for durability and added beauty.

 

The magazine is 206 pages of glorious inspiration and designs you can't wait to use for yourself.  Click above to see a sneaky peek at the issue or see the online flip-book.  You'll love us for recommending a subscription, trust!  You can access the full magazine several ways. The iPad version has both a single issue option and the yearly subscription available. The technology for the iPad magazine app allows you to “clip” any images that you are inspired by and share them with your friends on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, email and even download it to your iPad! Love that! If you don’t have an iPad you can also get a web-based version from MagCloud or buy the collector's edition PRINT copy of the magazine. They are also working on an Android version which should be available in May! 

We hope you've enjoyed this preview of Celebrating Everyday Life! Let's see other stencil beauties for your fab event!

• Set a stylish table with stenciled placemats!

• Need to present a lovely hostess gift? Wrap it up with stencils!

• Say "I Do!" to a stenciled wedding ceremony!
  

• See all the amazing ideas in the DIY Crafts and Stencil Projects pinboard from Royal Design Studio!

• Be sure to "Like" the Royal Design Studio Facebook page for daily stencil, pattern and design inspiration!
  

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