Friday, August 22, 2014 DIY: Stencil Wall Art

We're in the slow process of filling up the walls of our apartment. I knew that I wanted something a bit more 'personal' on the blank wall above our bed, and when I came across this on A Beautiful Mess I knew that I wanted to do something along those lines. Then I saw this photo on The Minimalist Baker's Instagram account, I loved the phrase and this idea immediately popped into my head.

It's so easy to do, and I think it looks pretty effective (if I do say so myself). And the best part? You can write whatever the heck you want on it.. The alphabet world is your oyster!

If you're interested in giving it a go, here's how I did it:

Step 1: Collect supplies. I bought the print for about $12 from a cheapo knickknack store down the road. I was walking past the shop the other day and saw all these old-fashioned prints lined up in the window, and I thought it would be a good contrast to the 'Heart and Hustle' line.. particularly the 'hu$tle' part. I also like the bright colours, which I thought would help to make the black lettering stand out. 

Materials used:

• One painting/print 
• Alphabet stencil
• Pencil
• Eraser
• Permanent Marker

Step 2: Remove Picture from frame.. this was actually a nightmare and I ended up cutting my thumb and it bled A LOT.. but soldier on people!

Step 3: Position letter onto painting. I used blu-tack to help keep them in place.

Step 4: Trace outline of letters using a pencil. Once I did this I removed the stencils just to take sure that it all looked OK, before moving on to using the permanent marker... If you're more daring, you can skip this step.

Step 5: Let's make this permanent-marker-official

Step 6: Remove stencils, put back the frame, kiss your sore thumb better, and admire your work!

I actually gave this to George for our three year anniversary. We don't usually do anything to celebrate our anniversaries, but he ended up cooking me a beautiful dinner so I just wanted to do a little something in return.