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| This project cost me $15. Yes, that's all! |
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My Inspiration
Like many blogoholics, I too have been enamored by the amazing stenciled wall projects out there. Here are just a few of my favorites that nudged me over the edge to try it myself.
Like many blogoholics, I too have been enamored by the amazing stenciled wall projects out there. Here are just a few of my favorites that nudged me over the edge to try it myself.
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This amazing room from Hello Gorgeous |
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Kate's bedroom from Centsational Girl |
Above is Emily's office (Jones Design Company). I decided to imitate her stencil. She was inspired by these curtains from Ballard Design that I had been admiring for a while.
Just to name a few:
1. The total cost was a mere 5% the price of the wallpaper I had picked out. Seriously.
2. If I tire of the pattern (which is inevitable at some point), I can simply paint over it.
3. I discovered that trying something that once intimidated the daylights out of me could actually pay off.
My Process
I tried to use Emily's stencil, but the scale wasn't quite right for my wall. I basically recreated the same shape with poster board in the dimensions I needed. I spent quite a while testing it to get it perfectly symmetrical. (This could have been avoided had I downloaded or purchased pre-made stencils, BUT mine was free.)
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| Please forgive the dreadful pics...This was pre-Cannon 60D. |
Next I traced the stencil on my entire wall in pencil. I started at the top and traced vertically down the wall. If I had to do it over again, I would start on one side and trace horizontally across the wall first. This would have saved me a lot of erasing and repainting. (I did admit to the trial and error at the beginning, remember?) This was the hardest part.
Then I used white paint pens to go over the penciled tracing. It is by no means perfect up close, but from a distance the pattern looks mostly uniform. All my friends who saw the project wanted to know how long it took me. Honestly, I don't know exactly, but would guesstimate between 12-15 hours. I came home from work each day, turned on music, and worked until bed time for a week. That's where the patience comes in.
Then I used white paint pens to go over the penciled tracing. It is by no means perfect up close, but from a distance the pattern looks mostly uniform. All my friends who saw the project wanted to know how long it took me. Honestly, I don't know exactly, but would guesstimate between 12-15 hours. I came home from work each day, turned on music, and worked until bed time for a week. That's where the patience comes in.
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| Dining Room BEFORE
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| AFTER |
Be sure to "stop by" next week. I'm going to share how I managed to swing the four botanical prints + frames + custom matting all for under $75.
36 comments:
I love this! I have been wanting something similar but don't know exactly where, when and how I'd do it.
Good job! I love stencils but it is so difficult to make them look clean, your paint pen idea is great
Beautiful job! I saw your comment on Danielle's blog and decided to hop on over. Glad I did! Looks great.
Thanks ladies! Kat, I noticed from your header that we both have an affinity for patterns in the same "family".
~Heather
Visiting from House of Fifty...what a lovely blog. Kudos on your awesome wall...looks fab!
Cathy @ Room Rx
Thanks for stopping by and the kind words Cathy!
Looking fabulous!! Talk about PATIENCE- I stenciled the back of a built in wine rack and about lost it... and you did an entire (amazing) wall! Great job!!
Michelle-I'm planning to stencil the shelves of an entertainment center for some clients in the coming weeks, and my wrists are already hurting just thinking about it!
GORGEOUS!! Very nice job! I did a harlequin diamond and dot wall on my daughters nursery. It did take a long time and a lot of erasing and measuring..and erasing...and erasing..LOL
I want your wall!
Looks great! Can you tell us more about the paint pens? What brand were they? Where did you buy them?
Beautiful! Worth all that hard work, for sure!
Wow; what an amazing transformation. You are my hero. Thanks for the inspiration.
Great job! I did the same thing in my bathroom! I used a paint pen as well! Great minds think alike! :)
http://mallicious.blogspot.com/
That's gorgeous. I wish I had that kind of patience!
Thanks to everybody stopping by via the DIY Showoff! I am so glad to "meet" you all.
Mellie, I actually bought the cheapest, off-brand, white paint pens from Hobby Lobby. I purchased silver first, thinking I could make the wall look like some of the metallic wallpaper that I loved. Unfortunately, it blended in too much with my paint color. I am thinking about experimenting with the silver or gold paint pens on a another project soon though.
I'm here from the DIY Showoff.... Gorgeous job! You may have just inspired me to try this in a bedroom redo I'm 'designing'. Oh, and I'm a new follower.
That is A-Mazing! Hats off to you for all your hard work -- it paid off BIG TIME!
That wall turned out gorgeous! Definitely a labor of love!
HI Heather! Jared told me about your blog. I love it! You did a great job with the stencil project!
Thanks Janae! This means a lot coming from someone as talented as yourself:)
So glad to have found you through DIY Showoff! Your dining room turned out fabulous. Happy to be your newest follower :)
Heather @At The Picket Fence
Hi Heather, your dining room wall finally motivated me to tackle this project once and for all. I am also using paint pens and find it incredibly frustrating. I've purchased Sharpie brand fine tip paint pens from Michael's and even though I've depressed the tip and shaken up the paint, the paint does not come out consistently. At this rate, the wall is going to take me 5 years to complete! Did you have any problems with the paint pen? Any tips? I don't have a Hobby Lobby in my area, otherwise I would purchase the same ones you used. Thank you - Vivian
Oh no, Vivian! It sounds frustrating. I'm not totally sure what the source of the problem is, so I'll try to give it my best attempt: Perhaps the "fine tip" is making it more difficult. I've seen the Sharpies you mentioned. Mine was a medium point, so it was a bit thicker. Also, what kind of surface are you writing on? I have a satin paint on my wall, so the paint pens gripped to it a bit easier than they would on high gloss. I will say that in several areas I did have to shake, depress the tip, and retrace. One last tip, I found it easier to trace individual sections starting at the bottom of the curve and tracing up. This allowed me to hold the pen so the paint flowed down rather than fighting gravity. I hope your project works out! Feel free to email me pics, and I'll try to help any way that I can.
I ended up returning the Sharpie pens from Michael's (they were actually extra fine point) and getting Elmer's pens (fine point) from Joann's. I noticed the Sharpie tip was different... less sponge-like and therefore probably harder to soak up the paint. Thanks for the tip about tracing upwards - hopefully that helps get things done faster. (p.s. my wall is painted in eggshell which I think is the same or similar as satin). Will let you know if I run in to any more problems - thanks again have a great day! - Vivian
Great site! I'm glad I stopped by. In what area of Missouri do you live?
I have got to do this! Great work!
P.S. I'm a new subscriber!
I do believe that Emily's stencil may be one of the most imitated tricks out there in blogland. I stenciled my french doors in my living room with a scaled-down version (I used her template but shrank it). Even with only two doors to pain, it took about 8 hours. A whole wall sounds like...fun.
Here's the link: http://www.fivedaysfiveways.com/2011/08/move-it-monday-living-room-revealthe.html
I love it. Can you tell me where you got your light fixture hanging in your dining room? Thanks
cherij0411@yahoo.com
OMG woman, you must have the patience of a saint. It looks wonderful though. :)
Brave! I've really wanted to do this, but just can't figure where to do it. Now, I'm also not sure I have the patience.
I can't believe you did that with a diy stencil and a paint pen! You are awesome!! I am here from Thrift Decor Chick, btw. Great job!!
Amazing work! I'm so inspired. I may well create or buy a stencil and reconsider my plans for my living room!
WOW! So impressive! I did something very similar in my laundry room -- but with a homemade acetate stencil. Check it out if you like! Great site, I'll be back. http://freshcrush.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/laundry-room-–-before-and-after/
wow! I'm really impressed! Looks like you ahve a very steady hand :)
i love this stencil.. can i get the dimentions you used for this kitchen i want it for my living room wall been searching everywhere for this perfect pattern.
Sharon, I'm sorry I didn't keep the stencil, but from the wall the pattern is about about 10 inches high and 7 inches through the widest part of the middle.
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