The Artful Stencil

We know this looks like an apricot stencil, but that is one of the delights of stenciling. We actually used our Plum Stencil for this lovely project.

Stenciling on a lamp shade might feel a little tricky, but with a few stencil tips and the use of a light hand, the project is amazingly simple.

The stencil does need to be lightly taped in place with low tack blue painter's tape. Test a small piece of tape on the back side of your shade to be sure your shade will work with tape.

Stenciling on tape requires less amount of paint loaded on your brush. Better to stencil two light coats for coverage.

Use your brush fairly lightly so shade is not bent in any way.

Choose the right size stencil for your shade. Larger stencils may not be able to be flexible enough to bend around shade shape. Note - We used our Violet Nosegay Stencil in a medium pink on a shade with great results.

Our Shaker Tree of Life Stencil is not for everyone. If, however, you adore Early American, Colonial and Shaker furniture we bet you will truly love this stencil done on heavy parchment. We show our Tree of Life framed in a lovely antique frame.

This project was very easy (much easier than finding the perfect frame). We simply sat at the table, stenciling in traditional Shaker colors and delighting in a quiet hour.

This project would make a great gift for someone special.

Now here is a simple, fun way to spruce up the light switches around the house. It just so happens that our motif stencils lend themselves to this project.

We started this project with unfinished wood light switches. We used thin coats of paint to keep the wood look smooth. It is just as easy to use your own light switches, as long as they are smooth and will take the acrylic paint.

Motif 2 is the stencil we chose for this project. You may find other stencils in our collections that have small enough parts to work well.

Stenciling on the wall around a light switch is another great way of sparking up a room.

Be sure to use a few coats of acrylic varnish on your light switch before reassembling on your wall.