Even if stencils aren't your thing

I've always been a little wary of stencils... Maybe because the only time I've seen them used in person are for decorating styles that don't quite fit anywhere into my own style. Maybe because I'm something of a perfectionist as well... and I fear that any stencil mistakes would haunt me forever and ever - forcing me into a state of seething hatred for my self-stenciled walls.

However, I found some 3D stencils in Lowe's when I was having some paint mixed and just had to try them out.... I love them. Slight imperfections in the stenciling actually enhances the look, I think... How can I go wrong?


I don't know where... but I just have to use this somewhere:

This is from my test board a few nights ago. I am currently staring at various walls around the house with one eye closed trying to find the perfect spot for such an accent. I'm leaning toward the currently-under-construction bathroom at the moment. It's a relatively small space -- not a lot of room for decor... and a few details like this might be just the thing to finish it.

Oh oh oh and this particular stencil kit comes with a cute fleur de lis that Dave and I simultaneously (and quite independently) thought would be a neat accent on our porch columns whenever we actually get around to revamping our porch columns.

Hmm.. just think what you could do with second-hand furniture!!

In case you're interested -- an internet search this morning brought me to the website that actually sells the same stencil (and a bunch of others that I am going to try to not buy...). Check them out at Stencil Ease. Also - the kits recommend buying their sculpture paste for the job, but our Lowe's didn't actually carry any of this sculpture paste... So my test-board experiments were done with Plaster of Paris and regular joint compound -- both of which yielded excellent results... The dried sculptures were well-formed but the Plaster of Paris was definitely easier to pile high for more dramatically 3D effects. (Alternatively - the joint compound was easier to work with overall and yielded a more even - less antiqued - look.) Neither was particularly fragile -- but a coat of regular primer made them almost impossible to sand down with 30-grit sandpaper....

Keep your eyes peeled for little beauties like these popping up around the house in the near future.....