Paris Postage Stamp Stencil Project

Last month I was so happy to hear that I was the lucky winner of a $50 gift certificate from Melanie Royals of Royal Design Studio.  Karena from Art by Karena was offering this fabulous giveaway on her beautiful blog and I jumped at the chance to be able to choose from all the fun and creative stencil designs.

It was a tough decision, but I finally chose these two stencils:  Paris Postage Stamp and Postmark.  I couldn't settle on which wall I wanted to stencil, so I decided to take another approach.  I love the look of the postmark across the stamp, but it will have to wait for next time because it was too big for this project.

I always pick up used cork boards at yard sales when I see them for a couple of dollars or less, it's so much cheaper than buying them new.  I already had the vintage frame that got the ASCP treatment a while back, so I just had to cut the cork board to fit the size of the frame.

The size of the stencil was perfect for this frame.

I cut a piece of burlap several inches larger than the cork board, then taped the stencil to the burlap with three small pieces of painters tape to hold it in place.  It's not necessary to tape the entire stencil down because you'll want to check your progress from time to time.

I used a very small amount of black acrylic paint from the craft store, a good quality 1" stencil brush, and a tapping "dry brush" method.  Be sure to have plenty of paper towels on hand for wiping off any excess paint on your brush.  Too much paint will seep under the stencil and make a mess of your project.   There are so many different methods for stenciling and Royal Design Studio has some wonderful tutorials here.  Doesn't it look like I need to use more paint on the burlap?

After removing the stencil you can see that there's plenty.....a little paint goes a long way.

I used spray adhesive to attach the burlap to the cork board and wrapped the excess around the back.  Now it's ready to be a bulletin board...

...or a framed piece of art for your wall.
A BIG thank you and a high five to Karena and Royal Design Studio for your generous giveaway.

I'll be partying with:

2805 for Potpourri Friday

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday

At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating for Flaunt It Friday