Arrow Stencil Wall & Giveaway!!

Today I'm going to show you a very simple, stencil how-to. You may be a beginer...or you may have used stencils in the past, and that's awesome too. But be sure to check out some helpful tips for getting the job done right, and don't forget to check out the stencil giveaway at the bottom of the post!! 

This is my daughters room in our temporary apartment, that just got a makeover for her 13th birthday. I opted for something simple, and that took minimal effort to paint over when we move. I chose a small focal wall for the treatment. 

Let me show you how its done....

To start, what supplies do you need??

If you are new to stenciling, or if you don't already have all the tools, I would grab a "Stencil Essential Kit". This will have everything you need to start any stencil project. If you plan on using lots of colors on one stencil, I would recommend purchasing more than one stencil brush. They are sold in a pack, or individually.  The kit also comes with a foam roller, perfect for using one color on a stencil, and a clip on level (a life saver).

Choosing the right stencil for the job, can be exciting, and a little daunting. There are soooo many choices. Keep the size of your project in mind. 

How many walls are you doing?

 How many colors are you using?

 The more colors you have to stipple, the longer it will take. An all over pattern, will use just one color, but will require the entire surface to be covered, and extra time to carefully line everything up. Furniture pieces, and focal walls are a good place to start for a beginner.

In this room, I chose the Indian Arrows Stencil, by Cutting Edge Stencils. It also comes in a simple border type as well. This stencil is still considered an all over stencil, which means you line up one corner of the stencil, with the previous part you just painted....Even thought the whole wall isn't actually covered. A border stencil is just one row of the arrows.

For the paint, there are lots of options. I did a small wall here, so I just used tubes of acrylic paint. You can also use sample sizes of latex, or whatever you have on hand. A latex will cover better, as the acrylic paints tend to be a dryer finish as you are painting, and may not spread as well. Just make sure to use a minimal amount of paint for any type, so your paint doesn't bleed though. I have several sizes of stencil brushes, and I was using lots of colors, so they all got used. I like to use a sticky spray of some sort as well, any kind of temporary bond or light bond adhesive will work here. It just helps your stencil stick a bit as you position it. Masking tape for the edges of the stencil, to hang on the wall. Lastly, paper plates for the paint.

Ok you guys this is going to sounds so silly, but I have been painting for almost 16 years, and Iv'e done LOTS of different kinds of stencils.....and I have never used a level. 

I WISH I COULD GO BACK IN  TIME!!!

I'm not sure when this was actually created, I guess I didn't get the memo! But this is the best tool ever!!! The stress of trying to make sure it is all lined up just so, is time consuming, and I still didn't get it right every time. If you don't end up needing a whole kit, you can purchase it separately here. Small price to pay, to not deal with the headache of it. Even if it's an all over stencil, and it seems like you can just line it up perfect......you can't get it perfect.

It just clips on to the top of the stencil. Just make sure you verify that it is pushed down even on the top, on each new placement of the stencil. You may accidentally grab it as you pull the stencil off, and then your lines are off.

Again, I just use a light amount of spray, maybe every other painted section of wall.

I like to start in an inconspicuous spot, to hide any imperfections on your first pass. 

The corner of a wall, is also a good spot to really get lined up. You could also start at a top corner, but then you in the air on the top of a ladder, with multiple paint colors, and it can be a little distracting at first.

I just lay out my paint in a row, to start my pattern. 

I was using more of the lightest blue so I just grabbed the bigger brush, but the same rules go for any size. Lightly dab some paint on, and squash it back off. 

You don't want the bristles completely wet, or coated in paint. Or the paint will start to bleed under each area. These openings are small, and there's alot of them, so it would be alot of touch up. Next your just going to stipple the brush on the wall. 

All that means, is pouncing at it, straight on. 

If you push to the left or right, or up or down, the bristles will push under the plastic. This is why the brush is so stiff with a shorter length. 

Same thing goes with the smaller brush. 

When you start putting multiple colors on the stencil, be mindful on the first pass, of what you want and where. It will set the pattern, and make it easier to follow later.  Once all the colors are done, pull it off and move to the next area. 

In the picture below on the top right corner, you can see a small piece of arrow, and one at the bottom as well. This is your guide for when you move the stencil. You will line the next row up with this piece. Allover stencils will all have something like this, where you can match up the pattern to the next section. 

 

The coloring came out a bit darker than I wanted here, and the picture makes it look darker than it really is. I used a hot pink, a peach, a coral, and several shades of blue.

As a pattern of placement on the wall, I typically start on bottom left corner, since the markers to match the stencil up are at the top and bottom right. Then I move up one, then over one. Then up one, then over one. I usually get the bottom half done without a ladder, then move up. By this point you have developed a rhythm, and it comes easy. You will also know your color pattern well. 

That is it you guys, sooo easy, just take your time. 

Be patient while the stencil dries a minute or two between sections. You can always dab the back with a rag, if there are any bleed throughs, to help the drying process. 

Using a stencil on a smaller area makes it more powerful, the whole room doesnt need the same treatment. 

Something like this is very easy to paint over when it's time to move. So if your in an apartment, a temporary home, or just love to change it up all the time, this kind of treatment is perfect. You could also use the border stencil at chest height around the room, as a way to bring a room together, and cut down on the cost of artwork. It almost acts as a stripe. Keep something like that simple though, with just one color. You don't want to overwhelm a space with to much pattern. 

Here is the completed room. 

If you missed the post on the reveal, check that out here...

"Girl's Modern DIY Makeover".

More how-to's from this room are coming!!

 Don't forget to sign up for the giveaway, lots of ways to enter!!!

A big THANK YOU to Cutting Edge Stencils, for this beautiful stencil, and for sponsoring this post. All thoughts, and opinions are my own!

Check out their amazing selection of stencils, stencil supplies, design ideas, and their blog.

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Find other how-to's here.....
Girl's Modern DIY Room Makeover
Pink Upholstered Headboard
Custom Made Turquoise & Gold Nightstand
Painted Laundry Basket, Painted Mirror

Girl's Modern DIY Room Makeover

I'm super excited to show you today's "Girl's Modern  DIY Room Makeover".  This fun space is my daughters new room, that I surprised her with for her 13th birthday in January. This room is so super budget friendly, and filled with all sorts of DIY, and how-to's. I even have an awesome give away from Cutting Edge Stencils coming this week!!!

 As I had mentioned to you recently, my husband work was taking on a move across the country. Which meant we had to put our house on the market, and it sold in 24 hours! I was sad and excited, as I packed up the house and made plans to meet up with my husband who had moved in May. Unfortunately, things didn't work out quite like we had hoped on my end, and so I was forced to move into an apartment temporarily. 

I have lived in apartments before, when I was younger, and always hated that temporary feeling of it. It's a hard placed to call home, when you can't do much to turn it into your home. Most all the apartments I have ever lived in, did allow you to paint, as long as you painted it back. So I always painted something. Alot of people would just leave it alone, and live with the color to avoid the stress of painting and re-painting...and I totally understand that too! 

So, coming up I will start showing you easy tricks, and budget friendly ideas to making an apartment, or any temporary space....feel more like home.
These ideas are also great for any type of small space. You have to work with what you have, so why not get the most bang for your buck!!

You can see here in this picture below, just how small my daughters room actually is. It was a very awkward shape as well, forcing the bed to go right where it is. The box shape of the room, was cut off by an angled wall, which made it difficult to fit even a desk, since it would interfere with traffic flow. 

 Over the next week I will be posting how-to's on all the project's in this room. One of my favorites, is this upholstered headboard. I only ended up spending $75 to make it! It was a quick and easy project, that is totally customizeable. 

I  also custom made the pillows, to bring in several different patterns and sizes. 

When going with a modern, and colorful theme like this, you really need the room to flow but be mixed together. 

All of the fabrics, including the pink on the headboard, curtain panels, and pillows are from Hobby Lobby. All purchased during a big sale for under $100, for everything. The bee pillow was on clearance last fall at Target. 

For the curtain panels, I just bought 11 yards of white fabric, with irregular black polka dots.  Normally I would sew these, and add a black out fabric to the back. But I didn't want to put in the extra cost If we would be moving, and may not need this size, or amount of panels.
When you close the wood blinds, it blocks out enough of the light, and I didn't really want to give her another excuse to sleep in;)
I also opted not to buy curtain rods since her room would need three. You could use the basic bracket kind, since these panels are always in this position. But I chose to use metals tacks to hang them, which tied in with the headboard. 

Since she loves polar bears, I found her this Sleepy Polar Bear on Etsy, made by A Little World. They have all sort of sweet little pillows, to match any theme or decor! 

Since space was an issue, I decided to make a side table, so I could customize it.  This table cost less than $32 to make. I will show you where to get your supplies, how to make it later this week. 

This colorful table is just the right size for a few things, which helps cut down on all the clutter that a teenager can create.

The porcelain lamp was used from my other daughter's old room, and originally came from target. It's really fun lit up at night, it casts cool shadows on the walls.

 Since clothes actually finding the laundry basket inside the closet, seemed to be a major issue.....I chose to have it front and center...no excuses. Laundry baskets aren't super pleasing to look at, so I chose to use a large floor basket with handles. This also ensures that the laundry gets done frequently as it won't hold alot of clothes. 

There is a method to my madness!!

I painted the bottom portion of the basket, to blend it to the rest of the room, and add a punch of color. A simple fix, and I'll show you how.

These 3 dimensional wall shelves came from Hobby Lobby (during a half off sale, yippee).

Her birthday cake topper I made her was the perfect size to be displayed. 

You can find more little guys like him in my shop on Etsy, Painted Parade.

This weird angled wall, was the real problem area of the room.  The bed stares right at, and the walls are actually very tall in here. I was not about to paint this whole room, and then paint it back at the end of the year. But this small section, was much more doable for me. Keeping it on the existing wall color will save some time as well. 

I ended up finding a really fun arrow stencil at Cutting Edge Stencils. It was a hard choice since they had 7 different ones to choose from. I chose the Indian Arrows Allover Stencil.

The pattern of the arrows went back and forth, and it seemed to be less tribal, or southwestern feeling.

I will be showing you the how-to for this fun treatment in a few days.

 Be sure to check it out, because I'm pairing that, along with a stencil giveaway from Cutting Edge Stencils themselves!! 

See the stencil how-to here.

If your not wanting to doing something so permanent to the wall, you could also try doing this technique on a roll of canvas, and using it like a panel of art. It would even work on butcher block paper, just keep that away from areas that may get wet. 

 This Ikea dresser had some very basic knobs before, but I swapped them out with some painted, glass ones from Hobby Lobby. 

The large peach glass lantern is from....you guessed it, Hobby Lobby.  Hey, you can get some good deals during their sales, and I was on a tiny budget here. 

All of the counter decor (minus the geode) is also from Hobby Lobby. It was at the perfect time with the color palette they were pushing!! I wanted to mix in the bit of gold, here and there around the room. This fun spikey ball is meant to hang, but I rested it on the counter instead. 

Love this punch of color, in something so natural. 

On the long, lonely wall, I added 5 pieces of framed art. Keeping them at eye level makes the wall feel, not so big.

Using large pieces of art, on a wall like this will change the scale of the room. All of the things I have done in here, minus the stencil, are simple and easily moveable. If when we moved, I decided to paint all of her walls, the pieces I have added would still go since the colors are simple, and I stuck to the white.  Apartment living is a place to think in neutrals, but use small pieces, paintable pieces to add your color. That way you can always paint them later to fit your space. 

There you have it, a modern DIY girls room! All this week I will be showing you how to make or paint all the projects in this room. And don't forget about the stencil giveaway!

Stay tuned.....

Find the How-To's Here....

Arrow Stencil Wall Treatment & Giveaway 

Pink Upholstered Headboard With Tacks

Custom Made Turquoise & Gold Nightstand

Painted Laundry Basket, Painted Mirror