22 Eylül 2012 Cumartesi

Stenciled Bathroom- Cutting Edge Stencil Giveaway and Review!

This is such an exciting post to share with you. We have a great opportunity to work with Cutting Edge Stencils  to try their product, review it and then host a giveaway to our readers! Given that I've just moved into, albeit gorgeous and new, but a very neutral colored house, I thought this would add a great element of style and fun to a very basic bathroom. Just check out the results!


It looks amazing, and with anything that requires a lot of effort, it is extremely rewarding to see the finished product.  So how does it work?
First I picked out the stencil of my choice, and there were A LOT to choose from. I finally settled on the Paisley Allover stencil, one of their many interlocking stencils, which give the effect of wallpaper and provide a seamless look.
Then it was time to pick colors and get painting. I chose a deep aqua for the base coat, and light blue for the stencil.
Now it's time for you to meet what I came to loathe.... my textured walls.

Dear textured walls,You were very hard to paint.It took me nearly 8 hours just to do the edging,

and another 4 to slap the rest of the base coat on.Then you made me do oodles of touch ups,s o it didn't look like a starry night peeking through the paint.I wasn't sure if I'd be able to stencil over you, 

But I won. (Though it may take awhile to convince me to paint in my house again)
The reason I mention this is not to make you feel sorry for me (or my right arm),  but to know that if you have textured walls like me, you can use Cutting Edge Stencils. Just be prepared for some extra work to make it look the way you want.  This is what the wall looked like after one coat of stenciling. See how much of the base coat was still showing through?


I had to decide (before moving the stencil to the next location- you want each set to look the same), if I was going to go for more of a sponged on look or drive myself insane to get every little nook and cranny filled in. I landed somewhere in the middle by doing one coat of paint with the foam roller, letting it dry, doing a once over the whole stencil with a stencil brush (that allowed me to get coverage in the pits of the wall), and then one more coat with the roller.  Here is the completed look:


So those were my painting issues thanks to my walls. However, working with the stencil itself was very easy. I watched a lot of the tutorial videos (linked below) so I could visualize what to do, and that helped me to not be nervous and just dig in and do it. Keep in mind that this stencil is huge, like 2 feet by 3 feet, so it was great to do large chunks of the stenciling at once. After I had decided how to paint my stencil to my liking, it was easy to move and position to the next spot because it interlocks. There is one shape on the stencil that you simply move it down and match the shape to line it up again. You can even purchase a stencil level that clips to the stencil to ensure you have everything lined up perfectly.

Keep doing your pattern as far down the wall as you can and as much across the wall as you can. Then, to create the full wallpaper effect you line up your stencil like you're going to keep going further down on the wall, except just paint to the edge. I used painter's tape on all my edges to make this easy. It was the same for the left and right side of my walls-- just fold it over the corner and paint within the stencil all the way up to the edge! For the top of the wall they included a special top piece, since the size of the stencil can be a bit much to deal with if most of it is hanging out on the ceiling while you do a few inches of trimming on the top edge!
The results speak for themselves. The project took me 4 days from start to finish, and that's only because I mostly painted while my other son was at school and stopped when everyone was home for the night. She's a beauty and I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to try it out and show it to you!  I highly recommend Cutting Edge Stencils for your next home decor project!




I want to give you a few resources if you decide to do some stenciling in your house.  First of all, you can get some great inspiration from the Cutting Edge Stencil Blog.  They even have craft sized stencils for smaller projects like pillows or curtains, if a whole wall seems overwhelming to you.

Also, if, like me,  you're new to stenciling or need some help along the way, there's some great how-to videos on the Cutting Edge YouTube Channel, like this one here.

So, you know what to do, you've picked out the stencil you'd love to have, and you really want to win one!  Just use the Rafflecopter form below to enter, and pretty please, share this giveaway with your friends!  (Open to U.S. Residents only!) This giveaway will be open until midnight on Sunday, September 23rd, Eastern Time.  Good luck!

**disclaimer** Cutting Edge Stencils provided us with a stencil and supplies to try out and review.
Any opinions, however, are completely our own.


a Rafflecopter giveaway



I am linking this up to 

Craft-o-Maniac- Monday Link Up

Keeping it Simple- Motivate Me Monday

Sugar Bee Crafts- Take a Look Tuesday

Someday Crafts-Whatever Goes Wednesday

Lil' Luna- Link Party

Somewhat Simple- Strut Your Stuff

Naptime Crafters- Friday Favs

I Heart Naptime- Sundae Scoop Weekend Wrap-up



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