Stencil Project Complete

I've been eyeing stencils for a while, but thought it was way too much work for me.  When my sister realized that the wallpaper she wanted would cost her about $1,500 for one wall, I had to stop her.  Actually, this was before she decided to randomly move to Paris and find herself, and money wasn't really an issue.  So in the end, choosing a stencil was the perfect idea.  Here is an incredible inspiration photo.

Via Pinterest

We purchased the Donatella Damask from  Royal Design Studio. thanks to Vintage Revivals.  Mandi is a huge inspiration and her incredible tutorials.  We bought this one at 10% off.

We started with this giant wall with a fresh coat of paint.

We placed the stencil on the wall and painted. We used a small foam roller and tried to dry off as much paint as possible before rolling.

The small markers were so helpful in helping us place the stencil in the next spot for painting.

Here is the wall with the easiest parts done.  The edges were difficult as we had to bend and contort the stencil to fit the walls.

We found that having a fan to help dry the stencil was essential.  Although we would wipe off the stencil after each round, it still needed to fully dry before we placed it on the wall.

Here it is. 

We used a Martha Stewart metallic sheen paint for the stencil.  It gave the perfect amount of sheen to the wall.  Although, it took us like four painting marathons, it was completely worth the time and effort. The wall is beautiful.  Have you stenciled before?  It's one of those projects, that kills you while doing it, but is so worth it in the end.  My sister's wall is gorgeous. 

I'll be linking up to these parties

and Beyond the Picket Fence, Between Naps on the Porch, DIY Showoff, Remodelaholic, Addicted 2 Decorating

Young House Love, Bower Power, House of Earnest

Stenciling Away

We started working on my youngest sisters wall stenciling over the summer. I think this has been the longest, slowest project ever.  Stenciling takes a lot of time. It's not the actual work, it's letting the stencil dry in between. Basically, you stencil, wipe the back, hang it on the fan to dry quicker, and sit there counting how many more you have to do.  It takes hours...but it's worth it.  We bought the stencil from Royal Design Studio.  

This was our first square.  As we were driving over there, I was envisioning the wall about three times the size.  With that being said, the wall is big, but luckily not three times what I thought.

When we got there yesterday after work, this is what we had.  It's gorgeous.

We worked for five hours last night. I would say we are 90% done.  It's taken us 3 sessions so far.  I'll give you more details later, but I'm too tired to think.  We questioned a few times if it was worth paying the $1,000 for wallpaper.  I think we made the right choice.  Now, I have to go to work and be alert, ayy.