Once I started painting chairs it was totally addictive – I couldn’t stop painting or stop buying them………at one point I had 35 chairs waiting in my warehouse (it was a hell of a yard sale).  Most of the time when I start a project, I haven’t exactly figured out the entire design layout ahead of time…….it usually takes on a personality of it’s own and the ideals just keep coming.

As you can see in my work I love to layer patterns, design and  incorporate a lot of colors and create something fun.   I believe the layering of pattern, colors and design add a lot of depth to your painting – it also allows you to mix and match different styles of pattern.  Mixing fun, whimsey patterns with sophisticated design elements.

Painting furniture is one of my “true” loves……..I recently started looking through the warehouse to see what there was left around to still paint – feeling the need to be creative with a piece of furniture.  Hope that my “funky” style inspires you to create something for your home!

Blessings, Jenn

fruit cabinet

I think I can credit Martha Stewart for my initial introduction to stenciling, back in the very early 90’s. Yes, I was one of those who religiously watched her show and subscribed to the magazine. I didn’t give a damn about the food and gardening, but I loved watching her paint things. I vaguely knew you could use stencils on walls, but I had no real imagination with them at that point because the resources were so limited. Then one day, I saw her put stencils that she had cut and designed herself (OK, her team of minions did the grunt work) on fabric and furniture. It was a revelation to me. I could cut my own designs! I could put them anywhere!!!

I cut stencils by hand forever. I nearly lost limbs doing it, but I kept plowing along,  applying them to various surfaces.  With the advent of seach engines on the internet, I finally found sites to purchase stencils from, could custom design and order them if needed, and my fingertips finally had a chance to heal. What didn’t change was my surface of choice for stenciling. FURNITURE! I love love love painting furniture.  I especially love stenciling on furniture. I love taking a plain, unadorned piece and transforming it into something unique. The more complicated and involved the pattern, the better. I can get lost in the detailing.  But also, just a few simple adornments stenciled on can make the difference between blah and brilliant!

For me, one of the most important parts is to think of the piece as a whole concept. Don’t just slap down a stencil, smoosh on a little paint and call it a day.  There is more to look at on a table than just the top, a cabinet is more than just the doors.  And don’t stop at a single color. Highlight and shadow. Wet blend colors.  Add flourishes. Use unexpected colors and materials. Your stencil is a guide and a reference, not the end all to the design. A painted piece of furniture is a piece of art. The stencil aides in your expression.  You don’t have to use a complete set, you can marry up designs from different companies, you can layer one design over another.  Each stencil adds a layer on complexity and flavor to your ideas.

Simple step-stool with feathers

A simple plain wood step-stool from IKEA becomes a sturdy and special accent piece. The peacock feather design makes the stark lines of the stool a fun contemporary item that can be a stool, seat, bedside stand or end table.

Same idea

The same simple stool has a completely different feel when decorated with a more traditional design. The stencil chosen hear make this a better fit for a country home. Your choice of stencil design and application method can customize anything to fit your client’s need.

Nifty nesting tables

 These nesting tables were formerly dark, dull and boring. The application of stencils combined with water based translucent wax products created different shimmery textures  and raised designs.

nesting legs

legs

Don’t forget that something has more than one surface to be stencilled. The legs of all 3 tables had a different stencil applies and each was treated differently. The legs on the left had a simple pattern applied and was then hand painted over it, The legs on the right was a more complex pattern applied with gold shellac. The tiny details make all the difference!

Pay attention to scale at well.  A piece that has many small panels works well for small vignette stencils and classic flourishes where something simpler can handle a bolder hand. For example, the featured photo for this article has an antique secretary whose drawers are smooth and flush, so a large design was a great solution. And the vintage nature of the piece make the branch and fruit pattern an appropriate choice.   Larger, flatter surfaces can adapt to a variety of pattern scale.

You can even indulge you love of Elvis on a tabletop!!!

Over the years I think I have just about painted everything I could find, including a suitcase.  This was a fun project that I had created for the studio and eventually one of my customers had to have it!  No surface is safe around me, I have painted buckets, flower pots, toasters (yes, toasters) and have had so much fun just being creative. 

This project takes me back to my “dumpster diving” days – loved stopping at every (yes – every) antique store, flea market and anyplace off the side of the road that just looked like it would be fun to dig through!  I have a stash of stuff that is still waiting for its turn to be transformed into a wonderful painted item………I even started to dig through my warehouse the other day to see what was left and ready to paint. 

Whether you are whimsy or sophisticated – you can have fun painting just about any item and transforming it into a wonderful painted treasure! 

Have fun painting everything and anything you can find,   Jenn

I’m not sure how long Amy and I have known each other but, it does go back a few years!  Amy and her husband, Don have opened their house several times for me when I have traveled to PA to teach for their local chapter of the IDAL group.  Talk about incredible hosts – Amy and Don make you feel so welcome, cook amazing food for you and even let the guest bet them at WII…..I Knocked Amy out!!  (Only in the game…LOL)

Amy Scheg is the owner of Stensational Walls  in Lebanon, PA and has been painting for 12 years.  Her decorative painting business encompasses many facets of the arts and one of her loves has always been stenciling.  You can find her on Facebook @ Stensational Walls  http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=100000503166358 – ph: 717-228-0905 or email: stensationalwalls@email.com

One of Amy’s favorite projects are Babies and Children’s rooms – Amy indicated that usually she is given a budget and is told “do whatever you want, we trust your judgement”!  Now, that is a dream client!!!  Recently she had a project in where she had taken the bedding for the room, traced several of the elements and cut her own stencils by hand (now that’s a lot of work!) – but, she had a dilemma in the fact, she needed a Polka Dot stencil and she knew should could not cut perfect little circles the size she had desired.  So this is where I entered the picture on this project……..Amy called my studio after seeing several “post” by me, indicating that I was offering Laser Stencil Cutting service.  Amy provided me with the details of the design she needed and I had my associate Ron create the stencil.

This room is absolutely adorable – Amy worked with the palette of colors from the bedding, a couple of pinks, white, green and chocolate-brown.  One wall was created like the bedding and the other walls she scattered flowers, leaves and bugs randomly around the room.  Then she painted two 1 inch chocolate-brown stripes around the room at chair rail height, about 6 inches apart and put the Polka Dots in the middle of the stripes…..she also created a French Wash below the Polka Dot border. 

Amy said my Polka Dot stencil was amazing – it only took her about an hour to paint the entire border.  She indicated that polka dots are very popular in children’s bedding right now, so this stencil will come in handy!  I want to “thank” Amy for sharing this fun project with us and allowing me the chance to create a fun stencil!

Have fun Stenciling,

Jenn

Stenciling is a remarkably easy painting technique and here is some basic instructions for the art form. 

Positioning the Stencil …..

Position your stencil, locating its open design elements exactly where you’d like the painted design to appear.  Then tape the outer edges of the stencil to the project with Blue painters tape. 

Loading the Stencil Brush……..

Pour a little paint onto your palette (painters palette or plastic plate), add one to two drops of extender, and use the handle end of your stencil brush to mix the extender into the paint.  Next, holding your stencil brush straight up, pick up a small amount of paint with the tips of the brush bristles.  Then work the paint into the bristles swirling them in a circular motion on a clean section of the palette.  One trick to successful stenciling is keeping a “dry” brush – this is accomplished by removing the excess paint from the bristles.  Hold brush upright and with a firm, circular motion – rub the bristles onto a clean paper towel.  If the brush is too wet, the paint will bleed under the stencil edges – I suggest practicing on paper before attempting your project.

Applying the Paint………..

For a smooth stenciled surface, “swirling” is the best technique to use.  Hold your stencil brush perpendicular to the surface and apply the paint by moving the bristle ends in tiny circular motion.  To add texture and depth to a stenciled design, hold the brush perpendicular to the surface, but instead of swirling the bristles, apply the paint by dabbing the brush straight up and down – a process known as “stippling” or “pouncing”.  Whether you’re swirling or stippling, always start with a light touch and increase pressure as needed to transfer the paint to the surface.

To create shading within each stenciled design area, first create sharp, crisp edges by applying paint lightly all the way around the outer edges of the design opening.  As you work, blend paint into the inner design area but apply less pressure to the brush – and less paint.  By varying the pressure you apply to your brush and the amount of time you spend stenciling a given area, you can achieve a wide range of values with a single color.

For added contrast within a design, use more than one color.  Let each color dry before applying the next, use a different brush for each color, and leave the stencil in place until you’ve applied all the colors.  (Once you’ve removed the stencil, it’s very difficult to replace it in the exact same position.)  To keep the paint-dampened bristles of your brushes from drying out as you work on a project, place the brushes in a small plastic bag with a dampened paper-towel, until you need to use it again.

Here’s one important tip:  When you’re stenciling on top of a dark base-coat color, stencil the entire design in white paint first.  Then apply your colors over the white.  This technique is referred to as “Whiting-out” and helps to allow your colors to “pop” off the dark surface. 

Stenciling of Fabric………..

To hold fabric flat as you stencil it, apply repositionable spray adhesive to a piece of smooth cardboard.  (The cardboard doesn’t have to be as large as your fabric piece – just reposition the fabric as needed.)  Gently press the fabric onto the adhesive-coated board, and tape your stencil in place.

Mix one part fabric painting medium with two parts acrylic paint on your palette.  Using stencil brushes, stencil the designs as instructed in the basic stenciling directions above.  Make sure that the stencil is positioned over the area of fabric that is attached to the cardboard – this will keep the fabric from moving or stretching while you are trying to stencil.  After the paint has dried completely, heat-set the paint by placing a press cloth on top of the fabric and pressing the cloth with a warm iron. 

Cleaning and Storing Stencils and Brushes……….

After using a stencil, clean it as soon as possible.  The longer the paint stays on the stencil, the harder it will be to remove.  One of the best products I have found in years – is Dawn Power Dissolver!!  This product works better than anything else I have ever used.  If the paint has been there for a while or many many layers – spray with Dawn and let it soak for a while before trying to clean it off – then once it’s clean, do a final rinse with clean water and allow to dry.  Be careful when cleaning – this is when you can damage your stencil. 

To clean your stencil brushes, scrub the brush over a brush scrubber under running water to remove as much paint as possible and then use Masters Brush Cleaner to clean out the remainder of the paint……lay them flat to dry.

Have fun with Stenciling and some of the best advice I can give, is to practice, practice, practice!!!  Blessings, Jenn

The best way to share something and make sure the word spreads like “wildfire” – is to make sure everyone that hears about it also wants to share the news.  Well, I’m going to make it worth your while to help spread the word about my Love – Stenciling!!!

To reward your efforts for sharing my passion and love with others (and I’m sure it’s your passion and love too) – I will be giving away three (3) stencils valued up to $40 each………That’s three winners for just helping me tell people about this wonderful art form. 

Here’s how it works:

First,  go do a little shopping at my web sites www.stencilledgarden.com and www.artisticpaintingstudio.com – then leave a comment here about what stencil you would like to win and what your project will be. 

Second, you will also need to “Like” my facebook pages (Artistic Painting Studio and The Stencilled Garden) and leave a comment on one of the pages about how much you want to win one of my stencils.

Third, just help spread the word, by reposting this to your facebook page, your blog site and tell your friends about the Love Affair that Jennifer is having with the Art of Stenciling!!!

Three winners – YES that is THREE WINNERS will be picked on February 18th……..Good Luck to everyone and Thanks for helping spread the Love of Stenciling!

All materials, glasses, openers, paint, canvas, aprons and instruction are supplied.  All you need to bring is your own beverages, snacks, voucher and creative energy.

Cost $40 per person

February 18th @ 6pm

February 25th @ 6pm

March 10th @ 6pm

Uncork your artistic side – relax and paint a great canvas in this 90 minute class.  Bring a date, friend or just a wonderful idea along, pop open some Sauvignon Blanc and let the creative juices flow.

Call the studio @ 559-449-7711 to reserve your spot today – space is limited.

So, off to Florida I went this past week – this trip had been in the plans for several months, so I had something to look forward to (I always have to have something planned – it keeps me going!). Not only did I have a week planned to play in the studio at Faux Effects, but my best friend (Morey Dunbar) joined me……..talk about a great week!!! Morey and I were blessed with having Cat Faust in the classroom with us the entire week (we kept her laughing all day long…..for some reason she thought we were really funny to be around). We were also extremely lucky to have Raymond Sandors join us for several days – introducing us to several of the new products and seeing his techniques of application. Talk about the talent and creativity in one room – WOW – it was an amazing week of creating, inspiring each other and developing new finishes.

Day after day, Morey and I created sample after sample – we developed at least 40 new finishes between the two of us (maybe more…….we haven’t received our boards yet or cross checked all the notes)!!! With all this creativity – Morey and I will be teaching several new classes together here at my studio in Fresno, CA – we will also be offering to teach the class at several other locations to make it more convenient to take the class.

So stay posted – we haven’t named the class or scheduled yet – but, her is a couple of pictures to entice you to sign up!

Hoping to finish my new class schedule and have it posted to the web site @ www.artisticpaintingstudio.com by the end of this week…….so make sure to sign up for the newsletter and the new schedule will be sent to you!

To the end of an incredible week – I feel refreshed, inspired, rejuvenated, motivated and ready to start painting!!!

Blessings,
Jenn

Here is the link to my current newsletter: http://www.stencilledgarden.com/newsletters/20110101.html

For those of you living on the West Coast – ground shipping in 1 or 2 days. This makes receiving product fast and efficient – so that you don’t have to think too far ahead and stay focused on your current project.

Looking forward to providing wonderful service to the West Coast Region – taking care of your Faux Effects Product needs – technical help with products and finishes – classes in all levels including cabinetry, Designer Walls I and II – and fabulous service with a smile!!!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to ME!!!