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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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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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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Romancing a Victorian Home with Stencils

 

Victorian Homes magazine is one of the go-to guides to the Victorian lifestyle and they feature restored historic homes and other spaces with romantic charm. Imagine our delight when spying Royal Design Studio Stencils nested within their lovely pages. The eye-catching photographs of the feature showcase a home with vintage-style design and stencil patterns used beautifully and effectively. Let's take a slow and sweet stroll through this stenciled beauty of a home.

The two-story, 1880s-style house has a myriad of architectural, stenciled and finished details. As soon as you walk into the home's foyer, you spy the Gothic Dado Border Stencil against a lightly finished rose-colored wall. SO magnificently pretty and unexpected! The Gothic Dado is one of the larger selections in the Border Stencils Collection and measures a little over 2' feet tall.  It creates elegant interest on a wall by creating an "elaborate" dado pattern on the lower wall area of a room when stenciled.

The European Lace Border was stenciled along the top of the wall to balance the dado stenciling below. All the colors of the owner's collections and design are connected wonderfully by the stenciling.

The owner woodgrained the ceiling beams and stenciled the coffered ceiling insets with the Palazzo Centerpiece Ceiling Stencil. Very classic and rich! The stencil is part of the Ceiling Stencils Collection that includes stencil patterns for all design styles.

Who wouldn't love a little more romance in their life? You can see how charming the Victorian-inspired home is and how the stenciling added so much style to the design. Please be sure to see the Victorian Home's online house tour of the property for more information. We love how this feature showcases the breadth of stencil options Royal Design Studio offers -- whatever your favorite design style is, they have the perfect stencil pattern for you!

More Sweetly Stenciled Inspiration!

• Another beautiful feature on Stenciling a Ceiling from Victorian Homes Magazine!

• Stencil a charming table runner and napkins for your unforgettable luncheon!

• The Royal Design Studio Pinterest boards have stencil ideas for many surfaces and styles!
  

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Stenciled Feature Wall Designs!

 

Feature Walls (also called Accent Walls) are the perfect place to play with stencil patterns and color since you can treat the one wall different than the others in the same room. The singular walls are also a great surface to stencil individual and layered motif stencils as well as allover stencil designs, meant to mimic wallpaper treatments. As with any stencil, the color combinations are up to you and your particular design scheme. In many interiors, there isn't a sense of architecture and stenciled feature walls add excitement and a needed "anchor" to that space. We've rounded up some of our favorite stenciled walls from the blogosphere as inspiration just for you -- let's get started!

  

Normally, the accent wall is the first wall you see upon entering a room. Mandy from Sugar Bee Crafts had the perfect wall in her master bedroom to accentuate -- and she did so in glam style! She used the Chez Sheik Stencil from the Allover Moroccan Stencils Collection in a fab blue and white combo. We also love the white paneled wall boards and her bright yellow accents -- it makes for such a happy, well-designed space. Please be sure to see her stenciled feature wall tutorial for her process.

Carrie from Dream Green DIY wrote a fabulous article for Breathe Magazine on How to Stencil a Feature Wall.  She made a smaller side wall as her focal point with the Endless Circles Lattice Moroccan Stencil and in doing so, created an area that outlined the living room as its own space. Her color scheme and balance of those colors is also quite striking. What an amazing difference the stencil pattern makes!

DIY Goddess Mandi from Vintage Revivals did a major, major rehaul of her bedroom and included the Hollywood Squares Stencil in her master plan. It's a pattern from the Allover Modern Stencil Collection -- which is just the right place to find a refreshing contemporary stencil pattern with pop! Please be sure to see her final reveal of the newly designed and stenciled space. She rocked those squares!

Of course, who says you have to use that allover stencil in an allover way? WE don't! Sweet Bethany from Canada's This Little Estate used her Large Fabric Damask Stencil with a creative yet structured motif technique and we love it! She featured her stenciled accent wall on her blog and we think the results are so pretty, so romantic, so we-want-to-move-there.

So, have we convinced YOU to try a feature wall stencil project? Walls with a focal point are natural choices. We're talking the wall behind the bed's headboard, the fireplace wall, one with artwork and even an unusually shaped wall. Of course, stencils are PERF for any wall, ceiling, furniture, floor and fabric surfaces! Be sure to share your stenciled projects with us - we love to see them!

See these additional posts for more Stencilicious Walls!

• The Stenciled and Painted Walls pinboard has you COVERED on spectacular stenciled wall ideas!

• Move beyond single colored stenciled surfaces with the Creative Coloring & Antiquing with Stencils tutorial!

• Don't forget the floors! Check out four super cool stenciled floor projects!
  

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Royal Design Studio Stencils are a Lowe's Creative Idea!

 

Stencil pattern inspiration for home decor was recently featured in home improvement giant Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine! They love to share easy DIY projects, home makeover ideas, decorating tips and more for their legions of customers -- and one of the best design inspirations is to use stencil patterns to transform the look and color of any surface. Lowe's picked FOUR different Royal Design Studio Stencil patterns to work with, along with a sunny sherbet color palette-and we are pleased as punch to share them here with you!

The Modern Chevron Wall Stencil is a fantastic zig zag graphic pattern that saves you the trouble of needing to measure and tape out the design yourself.  It is part of the Allover Modern Stencils Collection and comes in several sizes.  Lowe's used the Large Chevron stencil pattern on the floor to add a gorgeous wow! factor. SO amazing, don't you think? They shared the full tutorial on stenciling a floor on their website.

Next, Lowe's tackled the walls by stenciling the wainscot. They used three beautiful satin paints from their Valspar line and the Chez Ali Moroccan Stencil from the Allover Moroccan Stencil Collection.  We love those sweet sherbet colors and the design is perfect for Spring!

 

 

What to do with that plain Jane mirror you have? Spice it up with stencils! The Indian Floral Inlay Stencil Set did the trick for Lowe's -- and aren't the results SO pretty?  Lowe's shared how they built and painted their stenciled mirror frame project, which they suggest can be done in a weekend. You can easily find more stencils suited for smaller projects in the Wall Art & Motif Stencil Collection and the Furniture Stencil Collection. It true that good things come in small packages!

It's time to feather your nest! Using the large Peacock Fancy Stencil, that is! Lowe's oh-so-cleverly used the peacock feather stencil in an ombre painted and stenciled room screen.  They used beautiful bright colors here but you could easily change it up to match your design scheme. It's a great DIY weekend project and such a creative idea for other furniture pieces and crafts, too!

Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine is full of great inspiration for DIY projects big and small -- and we're so happy they chose Royal Design Studio stencils to celebrate and share a love of color and pattern. Be sure to look for your issue at your local Lowe's or check into their online site!

Want MORE creative stencil ideas? Let's do it!

• Check out the Royal Design Studio Pinterest boards for inspiration on all types of surfaces!
  

• See a fab video How to Stencil a Hardwood Floor with the Chez Ali Stencil used by the DIY Network's Shannon Kaye!
  

• Love that stenciled mirror frame? Try stenciling on a mirror, too!
  

• "Like" the Royal Design Studio Facebook fan page to get your daily dose of pattern, design and inspiration!

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