Stenciling

I fell in love with this room by theLENNOXX

I need more purple in my life.

Having been unhappy with everything I have done in my kitchen so far (except for the cabinets) I decided to try some stenciling on the walls (that I will probably repaint soon anyway.)  My extremely artistic mother-in-law (MIL) came for a visit and I put her to work!  (Our project history goes way back before digital cameras existed - otherwise I could write a book.)

After an exciting field trip to my flower bed to observe some ferns, I had her sketch several individual branches on butcher paper.  I used an exacto to cut out the leaves.  Then my MIL sprayed the paper with spray varnish (which I didn't know existed but we found easily at WalMart.)  When it was dry, we had CUSTOM stencils.

We sprayed the backs (working one at a time) with this nifty stuff -

You can find me at Wal-Mart, too.

And stuck the stencil to the wall.  I dabbed using paint from my stash (mixed with a little glaze.) I worked one branch at a time.  Then MIL went back and HAND-PAINTED the stems.

Her husband told her to stay off ladders!

And this is the result -

CUSTOM AND HAND-PAINTED!

We used a few different colors, which tied the living and dining room together.

Some were done in the same color as the walls - but in high gloss.

You really cannot get the gist from a photo.

This is what the dining room really looks like right now!  UGH!

This was one of many fun we-can-try-this projects with my MIL!  I don't think theLENNOXX will be calling anytime soon, and I'm pretty sure my fern stage is short-lived, but I loved learning how to make my own stencils.