This post started out with a much different title when I began this project! My project did involve stencils, but this wasn’t supposed to be about using stencils. It was supposed to be about the project itself! All I can say is y’all get to learn what can happen when you throw the rules of stenciling to the wind. The rules are there for a reason y’all! ; P
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a small commission if you buy something through my link or ad. This does not change your cost it just helps keep this blog running. Thanks for your support! See Privacy Policy & Affiliate Deals page for more information.
Prepping the Wood
This project started off in the right direction, at least. I gathered my supplies to prep the wood I was using. Y’all, I just realized my chalk paint & stencil are the same brand! Ugh – it’s been one of those days!
By the way, I got my stencil from Consumer Crafts, but it’s out of stock there at the moment, so I linked to Amazon. Plus, I don’t know why Consumer Crafts is missing most of the images for the chalk paint, but they have the best price for it.
Anyway, back to the making! I covered the wood board with a coat of chalk paint in “treasure” & the bottom of two wooden shaker pegs with “relic“.
After the first coat dried, I dry brushed some chalk paint in “vintage” over it to give it an aged look. I also used the darker yellow paint, but that’s no longer available anywhere. Delta does make a chalk paint now & this is similar to the “marigold” color.
Alright, my board is all prepped & ready for stenciling. An important first step if you want your background to be something other than wood colored. This is a partition from an old wood shelf, which is why it has those two holes in the front of it. Have you guessed what I’m using them for yet? : D
Stencil Layout & Paint
Okay, this is the beginning of where things started to go sideways. I tested out the placement of the stencils, along with the placement of my knobs. Looks good & I’ll be starting with the gnome stencil because of the overlap at the edges.
I wanted to keep this in blues, with some grey & red accents. I did wind up using the yellow from above as well.
So, here’s what my image looked like after adding paint…
Yeah, that looks terrible! Here are the things I did wrong, that I knew better than to do, & did them anyway. I’d say I did it just so you could see why the stenciling rules are important to follow, but I think we all know that’s not the case! ; P
- Make sure your stencil is secure. You can use painter’s tape or stencil adhesive to do this. Some stencils already come with a sticky back.
- Cover areas that you want to paint a different color with painter’s tape & wait for one color to dry before painting the next.
- Use a stencil brush!
- Also use a very dry brush, meaning don’t overload it with paint.
- Don’t use runny paint. Chalk paint works great for stenciling because it is thicker. You can see that it didn’t run under the stencil as badly as the other paints. {red & grey}
Y’all I broke every, single, one of these rules! That’s why my image looks like poo! I had to go back in with a small paint brush & touch everything up.
Looking better! I do this sometimes anyway if I want to paint out certain stencil lines. It’s just usually an added feature not to fix the whole thing!
To help smooth out some edges & add missing features, I went around it all with a grey Sharpie. I didn’t use black, because I didn’t want that big of a contrast.
Okay, time for the letters…
Ugh! Did I learn nothing from the first time?!? Well, in my defense, I don’t have any stencil brushes & that old Delta paint is really too runny for this. Anyway, I touched it up with paint & my little brush…
Then outlined it all with the grey Sharpie…
It’s looking a little more like I envisioned & less like a kindergarten doodle!
Finishing Touches
Now that that madness is over, let’s finish this up & make it a hanging sign!
I scuffed up everything with some fine grit sandpaper to give it an aged look & hide my mess a bit. Then, I gave it a coat of clear wax. That wax brush is what I was trying to use as a stencil brush. It’s not a good choice for stenciling, in case you were wondering. ; D
After everything was dried & buffed, I grabbed some cotton rope, e6000, & my staple gun.
I cut the rope to the length I needed & tied a knot in each end. Then I added a staple on each side of the knot & knocked it in a little more with a hammer.
The shaker pegs I’m using are just about the same size as the holes on this board. I added some glue to the hole & peg then twisted them into the hole. Wipe of the excess glue with a paper towel. These will be great for hanging up keys or a small dog leash.
My sign is finally finished & ready to hang up!
Here it is hanging on my mantel shelf…
I made this to give as a gift, but I think I’ll try for a better version first! Luckily, I have another board & more shaker pegs. Next time I will make sure I have the right supplies & follow the stenciling rules!
If you have any stenciling woes to share, please do in the comments! Maybe it will help my wounded crafting pride – ha! : D
Pin it for later {so you know what NOT to do!}
