Friday, September 28, 2012

Royal Design Studio Stencil Giveaway


Did you guys catch Bonnie's fabulous Chevron Stenciled Rug?  

The wonderful people at Royal Design Studios are giving away one stencil (under $50) to one of you lucky readers!  

Their stencils are so beautiful and they have a huge selection!  

You won't want to miss out on this giveaway!  

Enter via Rafflecopter below...
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

DIY Chevron Stenciled Rug... { Tutorial }

Ah yes...chevron! I love it and wanted to add a little zing to my back hallway and creating a Chevron Stenciled Rug was perfect! Royal Design Studio had contacted us about trying out their stencils. What perfect timing!



I was able to create this adorable rug with a brown chevron pattern and sweet flower stencil overlay, and it was really fun and easy....


DIY Chevron Stenciled Rug Tutorial


Supplies Needed....

Chevron Furniture Stencil
Japanese Flower Garden B Stencil
Royal Design Studio Stencil Brush
Frog Tape
Acrylic Paint in...Brown, Red, and 2 Shades of Green
Martha Stewart Fabric Medium 



I started by taping off the edges of my plain sisal rug with Frog Tape. I then positioned my Royal Design Studio Chevron Stencil and taped it in place. These stencil are fabulously thick, so I did not need any spray adhesive to keep it in place. I loaded the stencil brush with paint, brushing off the excess per the tips on the Royal Design Studio site. The stencil brush technique was very easy and I got a fantastic result with amazing edges... 



I was already smiling at this point! Look how fabulous it already looked! See those little triangles, yep those are built in to the stencil as registration marks, to help you line up the next one perfectly. How easy is that!? I kept on stenciling until the entire rug was done...



Love! The lines are crisp and the Frog Tape along the edges kept it from bleeding onto the trim of the rug. Now, I was ever so tempted to stop at this point.....but.....



Nope! I wanted to add these adorable little flowers in the corner on top of the chevron! So, after the chevron stenciled rug was completely dry...



I stenciled these adorable flowers on top of the chevron in colors of red and green! The flowers were large and really easy to work with. The edges turned out perfect, even on top of the already stenciled rug.



I really love how this rug turned out....so much so, I will be doing another one for the other end of the hall in the same pattern. This hallway is the major "roadway" of our home and this fun rug really gives a happy feeling to the hallway!



A Big "THANK YOU!" to Royal Design Studio for allowing us a chance to try out these amazing stencils! 

If you would like a chance to try your hands at stenciling, stop on back by later this week...we will be hosting a sweet giveaway! 

Click Here for the Stencil Giveaway!
Bonnie

I was given free product for review, but no compensation was given. All opinions are 100% mine. See our full  disclosure.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Stackable BOO Halloween Letters Tutorial...

BOO!! 
Halloween is just around the corner and we are thrilled to show you how to create these adorable Stackable BOO Halloween Letters using great products from Plaid and Mod Podge...


We just love how these BOO letters turned out! Let's get started!

Supplies Needed for Stackable BOO Halloween Letters...



Paper Mache Letters... BOO
Wooden Plaque
Fabric of Choice
Mini Pom Pom Trim
 Plaid Black Acrylic Paint
Wooden Bat Cutouts
Black Heavy Gauge Floral Wire
Glue Gun and Glue sticks
Black Felt



First, paint the wooden plaque, wooden bats, and paper mache letters with the black acrylic paint. We did not paint the front of each of the paper mache letters where we will be applying the fabric.



Next, apply a coat of Outdoor Mod Podge to the painted surfaces of the letters and wooden plaque. I used a simple foam brush to apply the Mod Podge.



Next, apply the Glow-In-The-Dark Mod Podge to the wooden bat cutouts. We applied a total of 3 coats of the Glow-In-The-Dark Mod Podge to the bats, allowing each coat to dry thoroughly before applying the next coat. They look so cute glowing!




Next, trace the paper mache letters onto the fabric of your choice and cut the fabric letters out.



Next, apply a layer of Outdoor Mod Podge to the unfinished side of the paper mache letter. Carefully place the fabric letter onto the paper mache letter. Smooth out the fabric and allow to dry. Do this for each letter. Once they are all dry, apply a coat of Outdoor Mod Podge over the fabric and sides of each letter and allow them to dry. I used Outdoor Mod Podge, as I was going to place these on my covered front porch, but wanted a little more protection from weather. 



Next, we applied a fun little mini pom pom trim around the edges of each letter to finish them off. Simply use your glue gun and apply the trim around the outside of each letter and in the circles of each.



Once all the trim is applied, it is time to add the bats! We curled the floral wire around a pencil. We then glued each bat to a floral wire at the end. We punched a small hole in the letter where we wanted the bat to be. We inserted the floral wire into the hole {about 2 inches inside the letter} and added a small bit of glue from the glue gun around the wire at the hole. 



Finally, you will glue the letters together and onto the wooden base. Depending on how level the letters are, you may need to use some black felt as a little "shim". Simply cut a piece of felt to fit across the area you will be gluing together to level the letters out. Glue the felt down to one letter and then glue both letters together. Make sure they are straight as you glue them together! 



How cute are these! Of course, you could opt to put them each on a separate wooden base and place them up on a bookshelf or mantel. Either way would be adorable! 

Mod Podge is such a versatile product and the possibilities are endless!

Stop by and check out all the Mod Podge products. Visit Mod Podge on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Bonnie and Trish


I wrote this post as a part of a paid campaign with Mod Podge and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own. See our full disclosure statement.