I’ve become a bit obsessed with stencils- designing and cutting my own on a Silhouette Cameo. I have a list a mile long of creative ideas I plan to try with them. I’m also experimenting with stencil tools when not spraying paint or ink, such as pouncers, sponges, and stencil brushes, including a couple of antique railroad stencil brushes I picked up at an antiques store that work beautifully on flat hard surfaces!
Today I pulled out one of my 48 by 40 brand small pallet canvas and went to work on a decorative piece for our kitchen trying out a basic craft store stencil brush. I painted one of my layered designs using a stencil cut from a plastic scrapbook paper hanging file folder opened flat and trimmed to 12″ x 20″ and fed into the Silhouette on a 12″ x 24″ cutting mat. I used repositionable spray adhesive on the back of each stencil.
I added another “Market Goods” stencil cut off along the bottom. Once all paint was dry, I sanded the surface a bit to distress the paint. I then added some metal pieces from around the studio using vintage hardware.
I didn’t screw the small tool tags in all the way, so they hang loose from the wood.
To finish the corners of the canvas I used vintage aluminum plant labels, bent in half, hammered on with nails, and banged up a bit with the mallet side of my hammer.
This project, from stencil cutting to hanging, was completed in about two hours.
I hung it over the stove on the tile backsplash using Command Strips.
Here are a few fun facts related to this project:
- My sign was designed to coordinate with the farmhouse decor of our newly remodeled kitchen boasting concrete countertops, an 8-foot windmill blade structure, and patchwork maple wood floors.
- B. D. Holden is my 19 year-old son, Bennett Drew Holden. (He may or may not approve of me using his name for my sign. I’m taking my chances.)
- Bennett worked over a year recently at a local egg farm collecting, sorting, and washing eggs, and maintaining ranch property. (He is currently in college studying to be a firefighter, working intern & sleeper shifts at Gold Ridge Fire Dept. in Sebastopol, California, and a lifeguard at the nearby Coast Guard Base.)
- Petaluma, our beloved town, has long been known as the “World’s Egg Basket”.
- There’s actually an egg related controversy currently happening in Petaluma right now!
But back to the topic at hand…I’d REALLY like to know your creative thoughts on stencils and stencilling:
- Have you used stencils?
- How- with what tools and medium?
- What for- papercrafting, mixed media, home decor, furniture embellishing, other?
- What kind of stencils or stencil products would you like to see on the market?
Please share in the comments below.