Design Inspiration. Planet Stencil Library.

How to fake the look of mosaic with stencils

An alternative title to this post could be 'Taking the Ache out of Mosaic' We show you how to fake the look of mosaics with stencils.

Originally, we designed our mosaic stencil collection to enhance floors and walls. However, the smallest of the sizes is a good scale for use on furniture and looks rather splendid on fabrics too.  There are three sizes available to order in the mosaic section. They are all in scale with each other so if you want a medium sized border make sure that any tiles or motifs are medium sized too. The large size has impact and is fast to stencil, the smaller sizes look more realistic. My first two pictures shows the small (or standard) size on the wall and the medium size on the floor. 

A medium sized mosaic tile and border stencil was used to decorate these concrete pavers in the yard behind our office.

Most of the mosaic stencils have layers; one for each colour so the application of the paint is simple and precise; you will not have to worry about colour separation because we have done that for you.   You just need to decide which colours you would like to use. This fabulous collection of stencils is simple to use and looks great.

A mid-tone background is best to stencil onto when using the mosaic stencil collection, both grey and brown are suitable colours because they offer a realistic grout effect when combined with light or dark colours. 

The mosaic collection of stencils from The Stencil Library can be accessed from our older, larger website or from our newer, smaller website.  If you type the word mosaic into the site search on either of our sites you will find even more mosaic borders that are not part of this collection. 

Recently, USA customer JCM Studio of Decorative Arts in Westminster, Maryland used our mosaic stencils to decorate the entry ramp area to the workshop.

photo by Jutz Moreland. The owner Jutz Moreland said it took her a while to do but was thrilled with the outcome....so are we. You can see her photos and videos on The JCM Studio Facebook page

Northumberland based decorative artist Sabina Rose stencilled the window sills in a conservatory with border no ML6-M

......and I stencilled this stencilled canvas floorcloth using the MT1 Plain Tile, the ML5 Border and the ML17 Corner Tile; it was one of the classes I taught.

A helpful instruction leaflet full of tips and information is included with stencils from the Mosaic Collection.

Feeling inspired? 

Helen.

 

 

 

Blossom Time. Four stencil projects featuring our SIB4 Blossom stencil.

 

This blossom stencil is one of my favourites. It is an inexpensive border stencil of flower heads with some additional motifs; the codename is SIB4-S Blossom. Here are four projects that I stencilled with this design.

This pattern can also be achieved with stencil SIB4-SR, scroll for more information.

Stencilled door curtain, floor and wall.

Stencilled tile and fabric

Originally, we designed the SIB4 Blossom stencil collection for our second Book 'Stencil It by Helen Morris' which was published by Jacqui Small Publishing in 2011. It was published in seven languages; the British version is out of print but there are second hand copies to be found. 

The blossom stencil is such a versatile design; In these four projects I have used it as a deep border with falling petal motifs. This requires a little work and I have added a 'how to' to this post. Scroll down to see how I did it. For those that have a bigger budget but less time we made a bigger, elaborate version where we created a deep border with falling petals for you. All you have to do is line up the border, stencil it, move it along and repeat the process. That version is SR4-SR; the 'R' is for repeat and is the stencil shown on the pink wall. The repeat version is very quick and easy to use and is good for large surfaces. The same design can be created with the SIB4-S....it's cheaper but takes longer. 

The border has two tiny diamond shaped holes cut along one side of the design. Mark through the holes before removing the stencil. Line up the border for the next print by matching the hole on the stencil with one of the marks on the tape. Some borders have two sets of these diamond shapes and all-over repeats usually have four

Now, I have decided to be fancy and make some blossoms appear to be falling behind others. So, I will select a flower

and stencil one of the individual blossom shapes from the stencil that matches it. There are three different sizes of these flower heads to choose from. I used a scrap of stencil film to stencil the shape onto but it could have been on paper or card. I then cut around the shape. This blossom is easy to cut around with scissors but some shapes need a craft knife. I place the cut-out over the stencilled shape; this has now made a protective mask over the stencilled flower.  Reposition the stencil so that one of the flowers sits partially over the protected one. Stencil it, remove the stencil, then remove the mask.

Now you can see that the blocking effect creates the illusion that one flower is behind the other. I have used the same technique on two more of the flowers in the photo above.

Blocking or using a stencil mask is so useful when using a naturalistic or mural-type stencils rather than a regimented pattern. Give it a go, let me know how you got on with this technique.

Helen

Photo credit: Some of the photos in this post appear in the Stencil It book; all photos by The Stencil Library.

 

 

 

The New Five Point Star Stencil Is Not Only For Christmas

This year I intend to stencil fabric to use as gift wrap instead of stencilling paper. A simple star stencil is a suitable motif for the festive season but could be used at any time of year. It can decorate a ceiling, a wardrobe or be a pretty addition to a nursery.

We have many different star stencils but for ease and speed I shall choose HO10 -5 Point Star.  if you type the word 'star' into the search on our website you will find a few different star stencils. This one is in the Celebration Section of our new website and there are similar star stencils in the Holiday section of our older website.

The Five Point Star stencil is handy to decorate table linen as well as wrapping and a single star from the five will fit nicely onto a greetings card should you be making your own.  I fancy stencilling cards with Instant Size and Metal Transfer Leaf. Both light and dark colours of card stock should work well with a metallic finish. 

The HO10 Five Point Star stencil will repeat in all directions by fitting two of the star shapes in the stencil over two of the stencilled imprints that you have created; either above and below or by matching two from either side.

Last year, I used the five pointed star stencil to decorate a table runner and is back on the table again this year.

The material is roller blind fabric. I painted both sides with a matt finish wall paint. It is important to paint both the sides to prevent the fabric curling. When the decoration is complete apply varnish to both sides too.

The table runner has the advantage of being wipe clean. It has a festive side for December and a different pattern for the rest of the year’ It has been switched over to the star side for our Christmas events at The Stencilled Home.

The Stencilled Home is where The Stencil Library partners live and was the title of our first book published in 1998. The book takes the reader on a tour of thirteen rooms at our home. Also, we host real tours where you get to visit eleven of the rooms....I turned two of the original rooms into offices and storage....and no one wants to see that. Information on the tours and classes were published in a recent post on this blog and on our Events page. 

Signed and unsigned copies of  The Stencilled Home book are available on both of our websites. Within the pages there are fifty patterns to trace and cut, it would make a good gift and could be combined with a tracing pencil, stencil film and cutting tools from our accessories section at the website.

Helen

 

5 reasons to choose stencils when decorating walls

As an experiment I asked an Ai chatbot for an answer to the question 'Give me five reasons why people would choose stencils to decorate their walls' to see if I agreed with it. I did agree; mainly because I think that I wrote most of it over the past three decades in both on-line and print articles.  

There are several reasons why a person might choose to decorate their home using stencils but I limited it to five so read on to discover what the Ai Chatbot and I had to say

1. Cost-Effective Solution: Stencilling and doing it yourself can be a budget-friendly option compared to purchasing expensive wallpapers or hiring professional decorative painters. Stencils are generally more affordable and for most projects do not need specialist paints. Plasters, gels and textured paints can also be applied through a stencil if required. Stencilled decoration can help to achieve a luxury look tailored to your living space without the associated costs of a bespoke decorative scheme. Even if you hire a professional stenciller the results can be cost effective in comparison to papers and professional hangers.
2. Customization: Stencils offer a high level of customization, allowing individuals to create unique patterns and designs that match their personal style and preferences.  Firstly, you can choose the pattern from a huge selection offered by on-line stencil designers and makers worldwide; The Stencil Library in the UK can change the scale of their own designs to suit you. Secondly and most importantly you can stencil those designs in any colour that you want. You control the depth of the colour; you can opt for an even, flat application or use shading, blended colour and highlights. With a wide range of stencils available by mail order, you can select ones that resonate with your taste and the style or theme of your home then have them delivered to you. If you cannot find what you want you can always try making your own. The Stencil Library sells stencil material and cutting tools for this purpose.
3. DIY Creativity:   Stenciling is a creative process perfect for those who enjoy hands-on DIY projects. It allows active participation in the decorating process, adding a sense of accomplishment and personal touch to each project. This can be particularly appealing to those who enjoy crafting and artistic activities. However, in my experience stencilling often requires common sense rather than artistic ability. My advice is to allow yourself the time to enjoy the project, the sense of achievement can be addictive
4. Temporary Decor: Stenciling is a great option for those who like to change their home decor frequently without committing to permanent changes or major renovations. Renters can decorate furniture, fabrics, art, rugs and wall-hangings if the walls cannot be painted. There will be a surface somewhere that can be embellished with your personal touch even if it is just cushion covers or place mats.
5. Accent Walls and Focal Points: Stencils can be used to create eye-catching accent walls and focal points within a room. Stencilled decoration adds visual interest and can transform a plain wall into a stunning feature that attracts attention. Stencils allow you to experiment with colour and pattern to create a focal point that complements the room's overall design.

As someone who lives in an extremely stencilled (and rented) home I will add that the pleasure that I have had from the process of creating this home and the reactions of the many, many visitors would always make me choose stencil and paint before any other option.

Some years ago I wrote a piece called 'Ten reasons to choose stencils' and included fifteen in the feature. Do you have your own reasons to choose stencils to decorate surfaces?..It could be all sorts of surfaces from cakes to curtains, skin to steel, not just walls. 

Helen

I know that there are at least fifteen...when I have re-found the article. 

 

 

15 Essential Stencils for Gorgeous Gothic Style.

Our subscriber newsletter this month introduced Gothic as the featured stencil collection. However, a newsletter format offers little room to show the relevance of period style in a contemporary setting or to give examples of how the stencils may be used......So, scroll on for inspiration and information

From simple transformations like decorating a chair cover, clothing, rug or storage chest to embracing the creation of an entire room of gothic gorgeousness there may be the perfect stencils waiting to help you achieve it.

The first and second image show stencil GMT52. The chair covers stencilled with GMT38 are tied on to existing seat pads for ease of cleaning and to avoid reupholstering. Both are in the repeating pattern section of our Gothic Collection.

Previous and next images show GMT53 in rich bold colours and then subtle shades of pearlescent and interference paint. Both rooms were in my home.

Image 6 shows interference paints with the same GMT53 stencil. I think you would agree that the choice of colours makes a big difference to the final result. Contact me for a colour chart and current stock list of these unusual paints I have a few colours left and they are lovely.

You could create the most dramatic wall-scapes with large stencils of knights and heraldry 

just like I did in my first dining room! We can make the same knights and heraldry in a smaller scale and there is a simple version called TP52 Gothic in the Budget collection which would be a perfect size to embellish items such as boxes, book covers and cupboard fronts

For full on gothic colour think of richly decorated churches and civic buildings of the 1800s not just in Great Britain but North America and Western Europe. Although the style originated from England it spread rapidly. 

Wall-hangings are a great way to add colour and style on a more portable basis. Stencilled hangings and rugs can be rolled and transported with ease between homes. The image above shows GMT51 on the mirror cabinet.

This stencil is GMT58 The addition of gold or other metallic colours add movement to your stencilled pattern because its changes with the reflecting light.

Here is GMT69 Gothic Motif no 6 stencilled in Crown Paint's 'Millionaire' gold paint for one of their brochures, it demonstrates that minimal gothic can be very appealing... and quick to do. The photo credit is Crown Paint U.K.

Stencilled tile patterns are an extremely versatile tool to decorate many surfaces. This one is T2 Tile no 2 from the tile section of our Gothic range. I have used it in various sizes over the years onto walls, floors and furniture. It remains a favourite.

Stencilled sisal matting and canvas floor cloths can offer a dramatic and portable way to inject colour and style into a room.  Stencil GMT43 is the design. When I decorating these IKEA was a good source for buying sisal rugs.

SIB19-L Elizabethan is stencilled with both light and deep magenta coloured paint.

A similar design appears in black around the top of the room in the next picture. It is a border stencil; number GMT23 I had it enlarged to fit the space. All the herbs and flower stencils can be found in the Tree and Flower section of the Gothic collection. 

My last essential gothic stencil for this post is GMT54 This design crops up on my social media and past blog posts because I use it such a lot; possibly the most unexpected of my projects was these stencilled jeans with velvet inserts.

What do I mean by Gothic style? 

The Gothic Revival period is also called Victorian Gothic and Neo Gothic. The decorative style emerged in the 1800s Although described as the quintessentially English style it spread throughout Western Europe and North America.  On our blog this month I am featuring classic and contemporary examples of Gothic stencil projects, some are from my own home. Please have a look; I hope they will inspire you and please do not forget that Chips, me and our social media followers really enjoy seeing your projects. If you mention @thestencillibrary or #thestencillibrary on Instagram or Facebook I should find them.

What does Gothic pattern look like?   If you think of the painted pattern on church walls and grand civic buildings of the Victorian era you will recognise Gothic Revival. These richly detailed patterns historically were stencilled in deep reds, blues and golds although a modern interpretation might include the use of pearlescent colours, monochrome, pastel and self-tone examples

Who are the famous names in the Gothic Revival era?   Well,  there are quite a few but I shall mention the ones that had a direct influence on our stencil design and decorating style at The Stencil Library: Herbert Minton, Edward Burne-Jones, George Gilbert Scott and finally A.W.N Pugin & his family.

Not too far from The Stencil Library at Ushaw Historic House and Garden you will find a beautiful example of Gothic Revival in the main chapel, the design and decoration began with AWN Pugin and completed by his descendants. I have featured it some years ago in the 'Reasons to visit Northumberland visiting Ushaw' chapter of this blog.

In the late 18th century Gothick style emerged; it is not the same style as Gothic without the 'K. Gothick was often romantic and frivolously frothy with little historical basis....and along with contemporaries' 'Rococo' and 'Chinoiserie' is worthy of a future post and newsletter.

Helen

Shepherd Huts at Hesleyside Huts

I stencilled one of the fabulous shepherd's huts at Hesleyside Hall in Northumberland.   

The hut was called Bracken. My brief had been to soften the edges of the decoration inside the hut with stencilled 'greenery' to match the wallpaper. The interior was designed by Anna Charlton and it was already cosy and welcoming before I got there. I just added forest themed twiddly bits. Hesleyside Hall has been home to the Charlton family for over 750 years. These luxurious huts and cabins nestle within the gardens of Hesleyside Hall, landscaped by Capability Brown in the 1700's as so many of the grand country houses were.  The interior of Bracken includes a wood-burning stove, king-size bed, kitchen area and en-suite shower. Outside there is a porch with rocking chairs and a large bath tub that you heat by lighting a log fire under it. There's a fire pit for each hut and marshmallows are provided for toasting in the flames. Not that I had time for any of that. I was here to work.

Firstly we needed to make the stencils. I know you will ask where the paper came from; it's Sybilla by Living Quarters and here's a link to it. The stencils are custom made for this one project and are not for sale. We do have some lovely tree stencils amongst our own designs and you will find them at our web site. A good starting point would be this collection as it has trees and flowers similar to the one's stencilled in the Bracken Hut.

I started by decorating the window shutter beside the bed.

 

I wanted it to look pretty from the outside as well as in. When the shutter is open one sees a delicate stencilled flower; and when it is closed one sees a tree design and then the flower is visible only when you pass by the cabin window.

I stencilled with artist quality acrylic paints by Golden and by Liquitex. Some of the Farrow & Ball paint that had been used on the kitchen area was included in the stencilled flowers and berries.

After the little door on the window was finished I tackled the bigger doors under the bed then embellished the pocket door to the shower and lavvy. All were stencilled with motifs from the wallpaper and wherever possible I made the painted decoration an extension of the paper design. None of the stencils had to be particularly robust; they just needed to do this one job so we were able to offer the delicacy of the original without worry about the longevity of the product.

Greenery was stencilled over the bed and under it.  I had to test that the stencilling looks good from the pillows on both sides of the bed.

For a similar ivy stencil see our DR1 Designer Ivy stencil.

I had a lovely day working in the most charming surroundings. I took photos and videos of the stencilling process and no doubt they will appear on the @thestencillibrary Instagram and Facebook accounts. Anna and William Charlton fed me frequently and popped in to check on my wellbeing even though they were busy with a television crew filming in another cabin.  Holiday makers staying in a neighbouring hut came visiting with offers of wine and food, they took this picture of me as I was clearing up to leave for the evening.

I could have done with a long, log lit, bath on the porch, enjoying a book from the mini library while sipping the wine that the neighbours offered but I needed to head home and pack stencils for our mail order customers. Hesleyside is in the dark skies area of Northumberland almost on the border of England and Scotland, not far from the Kielder Observatory. To learn more about Hesleyside Huts and to make a booking go to their site. The Charlton family have created a magical experience for their visitors ...just read the reviews and take a look at the tree house! 

Good night Bracken, you were a delight to spend time with and when I get a chance I will return to see you with all your soft furnishings back in place.

Helen Morris. Author

New!! Nagara Cormorant Stencil

I have new stencils to show you. The first one JA144 Cormorant Fishing

One of our regular customers asked me whether we had a stencil of fishing boats in the moonlight.....and we didn't. However, years ago Chips and I had sketched a raft-type boat strung with oriental lanterns with the intention to design a stencil from it. As it turned out our lantern boat design was too fussy but three other stencils were created and I will feature each in a separate post. 

Let me introduce you to our JA144 Cormorant Fishing stencil.

The subject of the stencil comes from the Nagara River in Japan where for a short season each year fisherfolk sail the river at night catching Sweet Fish with their trained cormorants. I did some research and found that fishing with cormorants has been practised in many countries including Britain. The cormorant fishing in Gifu Province is known as Ukai and has been an annual tradition along Nagaragawa River near Gifu Castle for over 1300 years.

The master fisher is known as an Usho, they depend on the birds for their livelihood and take good care of them. It takes 2 or 3 years to train the birds for fishing. Traditionally, the fishing boats have a crew of three people but our chap is alone with his birds, the mountains, Gifu Castle and the moonlight.

The stencil has two layers. It can be used as a border or an allover repeat. There are registration marks on both layers and they enable the stenciller to match up the layers and pattern repeats with ease.

One of the great benefits of using a stencil is the huge array of colours that you can choose from.  Another benefit is the variety of surfaces that be decorated with stencils Usually if a surface can accept paint it can be stencilled.

Nagara Cormorant is available in two sizes but we can make other sizes on request. This post features the standard size.  Where might you use our new stencil?

Helen

 

 

The Daily Stencil Inspiration: Busy As A Bee

The bee has fascinated humans for centuries.  Their image carries much symbolism, it can stand for community, industry, power, immortality, sweetness and resurrection.  Perhaps that is why Emporer Napoleon of France adopted it as one of his symbols and so did the English city of Manchester. 

The bee appears in decoration as early as the Egyptian empire and continues to provide a strong decorative motif.  It has featured on fabrics and wallpapers for the past couple of hundred years and remains a popular and well loved image. We have designed several bee stencils over the years and they are in many of our collections. Stencils can enable you to decorate many different surfaces.  If you were unsure whether you could tackle walls or curtains why not start with something small such as gift boxes, cards and wrap....maybe a desk or other small item of furniture? The image above shows a cabinet that I bought from a second hand shop and stencilled with Helen's Bees.  The picture below shows a cushion cover with one of the larger motifs in our bee selection. the wall is a fabric wallpaper stencilled with Napoleonic Bees from our French style collection

There are various sizes of bee stencils in our ranges.

I have not included all our stencils of bees in this post so do visit our website and type 'bee' into the search, it should catch any that I have missed. 

Helen

 

 

 

Canal Art stencils

Folk art stencils for canal art are a perfect way to create an authentic look of barge painting without possessing the skills to replicate them free hand. Traditionally hand painted ornament of narrow boats are painted in bright colours onto a dark background but if you use pastel shades onto a light coloured surface you will get a softer look; one that is useful for achieving a look of Northern European style folk art. Our designs are based on the traditional folk art style of castles and roses.

The stencils of roses and daisies have two layers; one to give the shape and the other to apply the brush strokes. Together they provide a handy tool to fake the look of barge art.  My photo shows just some of the selection from our British folk art collection. Search for 'canal art' on our site and it will show you a selection to chose from. Otherwise look for them in our British Style section.

 

I will be decorating large plant pots with them before summer!

Update; The first of the plant pots is stencilled!

Celebrating wisteria in an out of the garden.

Whether you want to plant or stencil some wisteria on your walls this post might give some inspiration. Planting a Wisteria was one of the first things I did when The Stencil Library moved to Stocksfield Hall. Over the years it has filled the south wall and is spreading east. If you have no garden you might consider painting a wall of flowers instead

One of our customers showed that with imagination, paint and a stencil of wisteria you can acheive a wall of blooms that need neither sunlight or water.

Mrs B used the LTL11 Wisteria stencil and three colours of acrylic paint: acrylic paint. Alizarine Crimson, Chrome Oxide Green and Medium Magenta.  The wisteria design is offered in two sizes and she chose the small one. 

...and this is the large one! To give an idea of scale, the longest of the flower racemes measures 48" (1239mm) long. So by the tme you add the flowers and twirly bits it creates a dramatic feature wall. 

My skirt is stencilled wth the same design.  The leaves, racemes and stems are all separate stencils and you fit them together in whichever way suits your decorative project.

Stencil no 66 is a simple wisteria border that can make a pretty addition to walls

and TP29 is a good choice for stencilling furniture. I have started taking photos of the stencils when they arrive on the packing desk, I show which stencil brush I would be most likely to use. These are in preparation for a new website, I'm hoping it will help visualise the scale of the stencils.

If you fancied something 'blooming big and bold' try VN185-L it is a two layer repeating design. We've shown it used as a stencilled border and as an allover pattern, there are guide marks on the stencil to help you position it.

We have a similar wisteria tree called JA53 which as yet, I have not used. if you have stencilled it and have pictures I would love to see it. It has a crazy, jagged background pattern which reminds me of Chinese Art Deco.  I did a quick search on The Stencil Library website for wisteria stencils and we have a varied selection. The plant features in Japanese and Chinese decorative arts.  My final image is one that may surprise.

Both wisteria motifs are from our range of Japanese style stencils, they are JA133 and JA134.

I hope that you get to enjoy the sight and scent of wisteria during May. Mine is about to burst into flower and I'm sure that I'll post at least one picture on our Instagram and Facebook page when it does! 

Helen.

 

 

Some stencil projects for the garden

I expect that those of you who have a garden are spending more time than usual in it at the moment.  For the next few weeks I do not forsee me going anywhere other than the four metre commute accross the yard to cut stencils and the short walk to the post office to send them to our customers. So, I may get time to finish some decorating projects. One such project will be to stencil some more garden pots and another fabric gazebo.  I stencilled the Indian style tent in 2018 for my Mum's birthday, the sun hits this spot in late afternoon and early evening so I decorated a dining table.

I intend to create the other stencilled gazebo on the opposite side of the garden.  

I used acrylic paint on the canvas. The stencils were from our Ottoman stencil range and I adjusted some of the sizes. All our stencils are made to order which enables us to offer the same service to our customers.

The seating was made from packaging pallets and hidden under bedsheets decorated with the pheasant border stencil no JA22.

I used True Gold paint from our metallics range, they are machine washable on the material so will withstand the British rain! The stencilled table was protected with exterior varnish bought from a hardware store. 

The plant pots in my pictures were stencilled six years ago and are holding up well. I want to paint some more for the new gazebo.

They were painted with household paint; the kind that sticks to plastic. The stencil was a custom sized F6 Rope design from our stencils for furniture range. None of my garden pots are varnished and the decoration lasts very well.

I used the normal sized rope stencils from our stencils for furniture collection on the chairs.  

If you are inspired to decorate planters in your garden or balcony and would like more information from me just let me know.

Helen.

 

 

How to add French glamour to your walls with FR6 Versailles Repeat stencil

This is what it is and....

this is what it can do.

FR6 Versailles Repeat designed and made in England by The Stencil Library....which is not that far from France.

Ooh, la la! 

Helen.

 

 

Pulsar stencil MD73

This is what our stencil MD73-X Pulsar looks like before the paint is applied through the pattern...

and this is just one of the things it can do.

We split the extra-large stencil into two pieces so that it will fit around a light fixture to create an unusual ceiling rose. Also, it needs to be in two halves to get through the postal system and to be easy to handle when decorating with it. The stencilled ceilng looks fab, the design is a great size for floors and tabletops too.

The MD73 Pulsar motif stencil is available in four sizes from our Modern Design range. This is what the medium size stencil can look like and there is a large and a small version.

I don't have a photo showing the small or the large version of our Pulsar stencil but if you've completed a project with one that you would like to show us, please do. We welcome stencilling pictures from happy customers!

Helen.

New Jaipur Panel stencil as seen in Homes & Gardens September 2019 issue

Stylist, designer and general interiors supremo Katrin Cargill has created some beautiful projects with our stencils over the years so it was lovely to design a stencil for her 'Indian Summer' featured in the September issue of Homes & Gardens magazine. So, let me introduce our new Jaipur Panel stencil.

The stencil is offered at 15.3/4 inches high (28cms) but like any of our other stencils can be scaled to fit your decorative scheme. Just email or phone us with the size that you need. The Jaipur Panel is a perfect fit for many cupboard and cabinet fronts. We have quite a few Indian style stencils in our India and China collection and there is a crossover in style with some of our Ottoman range too.

I sent ideas back and forth to Katrin and we decided to re-draw the OTT47 Panel no 1 from our Ottoman stencil collection and frame it with a simple coach-line border. The result can be ordered on this link or at stencil-library.co.uk. The UK site is much smaller than our usual one and houses the special designs that don't fit with the normal collection. Jaipur Panel is one of those. The UK site ships worldwide.

I used Cerulean Blue and Cobalt paint on the samples that I sent to Katrin and she stencilled hers with Arsenic by Farrow & Ball. 

The September issue should be on the shelves any day now...mine was a subscription copy.

Helen

A stencilled border on a wooden floor, frames a room.

I have been corresponding with a lady in the USA who wants to stain her wooden floor and stencil a border around it so I thought it timely to show one that I did at home. It may help her and inspire you. The border could not be more simple it is a row of diamonds framed on either side by a solid line.

The solid line needs bridges or ties in it to stop the stencil from flopping but they can be painted out with ease, one just moves the stencil along a couple of inches and fills in the gaps with paint.

I used black acrylic paint to stencil the border and butted the edge of the stencil against the skirting board. Registration marks cut into the stencil facilitates a regular pattern repeat.  I could have mitred the corners in the room but I chose to put a motif in each corner. The motif sits inside a black square stencilled with the same paint.  Putting a square in the corner effectively chops off the border in a neat fashion so that you don't have to fuss with measuring to make the corners symmetrical.

The motif that sits in the black squares is a CS86 a Tudor rose motif from our Budget Collection. It fits with the style of the room and complements the border.  When the stencil work was completed I diluted the same paint with a bucket full of water to make the wood-stain and then just wiped the floor with a cloth dipped in the mixture. I decorated this floor more than twenty years ago and acrylic varnish was not as sophisticated as it is now. This floor had an oil-based varnish applied to protect it. Since then my floors are protected with acrylic varnish. It works well if one applies four or five thin coats. Acrylic varnish dries quickly so this can be done in a day.

The sisal floor mat was also stencilled, see how it was done here.  I hope you agree that the room looks so much better for having a frame of stencilled pattern around the edges.

Caserta Palace, painted and gilded ornament.

During a visit to my family that lives near Naples, Italy, I made an overnight excursion to the Royal Palace at Caserta. Built in the baroque style for the Bourbon King of Naples it is one of the largest royal residences in the world and has gorgeous decorative paintwork, gilding and trompe l'oeil. It has beautiful floors, highly decorated ceilings and some very fine furniture too but they can be featured in a separate post.  For now, we will take a look at the wall decoration, especially the hand-painted details including stencilling and marbling.

Caserta is described as the Versailles of Italy. I stayed in the 'Ma Maison B&B, Caserta' in an airy, spacious room that was shouting distance from the palace doors. From my balcony, I could watch the visitors arriving for their tours. I spent ten hours in the palace and garden but could have much spent longer. Take note, both are closed on Tuesdays...a fact that I missed when I booked my accommodation.

My first hour at Caserta Palace was blissful, I strolled empty enfilades and enjoyed close up views of the decorative painting, fabrics and furnishings before the school parties and the tours arrived....and when they did there were hundreds of children emitting the same excited screeches that I was guilty of when lessons were replaced with an outing. Above the din a teacher would yell "Silencio!" and all fell to a quiet hum ...but only for a few seconds. It was good-natured and amusing but I decided to visit the garden then tour the house again at four when things may be quieter.

The room attendants were interested to know why I was taking pictures of peeling paint on shutters and simple decorative effects such as pinstriping on the walls and close-up details of silks and wallpaper.

They would then show me fancier decoration such as pietra dura tabletops, fine gilding work and a birdcage clock hanging from the ornate curtains...complete with Linnet!

At The Stencil Library, we make classical-style stencils of borders and motifs similar to many found at Caserta; a good place to start looking is in our range of Regency and Empire style stencils.

At the end of this post, I will give a couple of useful links to help plan a visit. Meanwhile, I will let you enjoy a little more of the painted decoration in the palace without the Italian schoolchildren photo-bombing you.

Yes, it's painted. Caserta is around a half hour train ride from Naples; my sister in law drove me there and collected me the next day. There is a large car park under the palace grounds. There is a restaurant on site and several more in the town. I booked in advance but you can buy tickets on the day.

Initially, I decided to visit the palace after seeing artist Steve Schriver's beautiful snapshots of his visit there and then I was prompted to finish this post after receiving my newsletter from Schumacher wallcoverings and fabrics, in which Dara Caponigro and Francesco Lagnese wrote their memories of The Palace of Caserta, the town and their photo shoot for Schumacher.

Last week I was at Salon Chamonix 2019, where I was part of a gathering of international decorative artisans. Some of my friends at Salon paint this type of decoration and restore the decorative paintwork in such palaces and places as Caserta. The painted marble below was shown at Salon

and is the work of Chantal Siebens at Doublefaux  DoubleFaux, Antwerp, Belgium.

Pierre Finkelstein of Grand Illusions NYC USA is showing how it is done. Watching everyone paint is a delight. In a future post, I hope to show some work from previous Salon's, along with more of the interior and the gardens of Caserta....but for now, Ciao.

Helen.

 

A Versatile, Art Deco Stencil. It's Time to revisit LTL3 Designer Blossom.

 

I posted a couple of pictures of our LTL3 Designer Blossom stencil on our Instagram page @thestencillibrary and you seemed to like them so I have added a couple more photos here and can show you what the stencil looks like. It consists of circles and lines which fit together to make the sort of patterns in the pictures. Although I stencilled these rooms sets in 2007 I remember them being very easy to do. Not convinced? You could always go for the minimalist look that Crown Paint did when they used the stencil in one of their paint brochures. 

All these fabulous examples....and a lot more are possible with the LTL3 or its big brother the LTL3-L.  The unused stencil doesn't look exciting but it can do so much.

I had to fold it as it wouldn't fit in the photo otherwise.

For a step by step photo tutorial showing how to stencil the LTL3 Designer Blossom visit my post from 2009

Although the stencil was inspired by artists from 100 years ago and has been in our range for many years it may have been ahead of its time. Right now, it looks fresh, contemporary and definitely worth another look.

Helen.

Canal art stencils, Anya Hindmarch and roses in December

During an early morning walk down Pont Street in London, I stopped to admire the shop window of Anya Hindmarch which was decorated with large folk art roses. To me, this style of traditional roses are a cheerful site whether they painted on window boxes and shutters in pale muted tones or bright and exuberant on the sides of the canal boats and it reminded me that we created several stencil designs based on roses and castles of traditional narrow boat painting, they are for sale in our Folk Art section and I thought you might like to see them. This one is 295 Rose Trio

and this is 297 Rose Centrepiece,

there are more of them.

I have pictures of a room that was stencilled in murky pinks and greys with the same stencils of roses. I can not locate the photos but try to imagine it, the quiet colour palette looks very pretty with these designs.

Our 298-Rose Garland design could make a door decoration to look as lovely as the one at Anya's shop and we make monogram stencils too.

If you wanted to decorate to the same overblown scale as the windows at Anya Hindmarch remember that we make each stencil to order so they can be scaled up or down in size for you....within reason.

Helen

JA51; A stencil of bamboo

This is what it looks like.

and

this is just one of the many things that it can do. It looks pretty handsome on floors and fabric too. If you don't use the guidelines on the stencil to make a repeating pattern you can stencil the motif then flip the stencil over and create an opposite image. This technique looks great on pairs of cupboard fronts and cushions.  This wall was decorated as a tribute to Florence Broadhurst, who amongst other things was an Australian singer, actor and wallpaper designer known for bold oversized natural subjects, often on metallic backgrounds. Her murder in 1977 remains a mystery. The wall was painted with gold emulsion paint. At the time of decoration, we were fond of Crown Paint's 'Millionaire'. So, that might have been the brand and colour. The dark blue violet was the same colour as the ceiling and 'pale portrait pink' acrylic was used on the bamboo. To find the JA51 stencil and the acrylic paint follow the links. For the less adventurous the bamboo stencil looks good in shades of brown over gold!

VN7 Chain Lightning stencil, worth another look.

I never tire of seeing our VN7 Chain Lightning stencil. I enjoy seeing our customer's pictures of their finished projects with it. The stencil has appeared in a film set, some rather famous people have purchased it and it is one of our more popular pins on Pinterest.

Rachel E stencilled it in the lounge of her Art Deco home, we featured it on our blog in 2014 and people all over the world seemed to love it! I felt that it was worth another showing off. The film set designers and one of the famous people chose to stencil it in the same colours that Rachel had used; which were Sunset Gold from The Stencil Library stencilled onto a blue/black wall covered with a Farrow & Ball paint, it looks gorgeous in pale colours too. Today a Sunset Gold and a VN7 Chain Lightning stencil left our packaging desk for a new home overseas.

The stencilling can be applied with a foam roller or a large stencil brush. VN7 is a tough stencil and you can get a lot of wall space decorated with it.  It is a good choice for ceilings too because the design is robust and there are no floppy bits! 

Bon voyage, Chain Lightning. I hope that you and your new owner create fabulous finishes.

Helen.

A Stencil of A Flight Of Swallows

We have designed a companion for one of our favourite stencils, the 'Y10 Three Swallows' The Y10 stencil features a swallow motif in different sizes.

They can be stencilled as a swarm, in a row or as single motifs. Stencil Y-10 is versatile and inexpensive. Now, meet the new kid on the flock.

The new stencil helps those that have less time or confidence to create a swarm or 'flight' of stencilled swallows. The beginning of the flight has been created for you on stencil layer 1. The direction of flight depends on which side of the stencil you wish to use.

Creating a stencilled flock, swarm or flight is a handy solution when wonky ceilings, odd placements of doors, niches, windows and other obstacles prevent a more formal style of decoration. The flight could provide an alternative to directional signage, eg. 'Follow the Swallow' whereby a trail of stencilled swallows leads to an exit, or the washrooms or garden.

I have stencilled a long skirt with the swallow flight too, I was told it was 'Just the right side of creepy' which actually was meant as a compliment.

All the small swallows (stencil 1) are applied first. When you are happy with the flow of the 'flight' start to stencil the medium-sized swallows over them (stencil 2). You do not need as many of these as you did with layer one.

Finish with a few motifs from layer 3 The three sizes of swallows gives a sense of perspective to the decoration.

Here are a couple more examples of decoration from our various stencils of swallows.

The new 'Flight of Swallows' stencil is available by contacting us, it is not on our website. I will put details of the new stencil in the comments section below. Links to other swallow stencils are VN300 and Y-10.

Helen.

Stencil inspiration using VN5 Shadows, an optical Illusion stencil.

Our VN5 Shadow stencil must be one of our simplest stencils and it is one of my favourites, we were inspired to design it after seeing some knobbly, rubber floor tiles. There are two layers to the VN5 Shadows stencil and they repeat so that you can stencil large areas with speed and accuracy. After painting the base colour onto your surface mix a darker and lighter shade of it to apply through the stencil. I went one stage further with my application and applied white acrylic paint through one of the stencil overlays then applied Raw Sienna acrylic over it. I faded out the colour to expose areas of white paint. This method further accentuates the illusion of a highlight. I could have applied a stippling of white highlight after stencilling the Raw Sienna but I found this way round looked smoother.

Rachel chose Canton Green from Little Greene Paints as the base colour for her hallway.

She mixed some of the Canton Green colour with white acrylic paint for the highlights, then, for the shadows she mixed Black and Burnt Umber with the green.  I think the effect is gorgeous. Rachel did not do the same 'arty highlight bit' that I had, it was not needed. So, with a little patience, a little paint and a stencil you can create some fabulous effects. I would recommend two of our extra large stencil brushes for a similar project or our large double ended brush.

Helen.

Chinoiserie with stencils.

This time last year I was creating sample boards and fabric for a client that wanted a handpainted Chinoiserie room with stencilled wallpaper and matching fabrics. These are a couple of shots from the samples, in case you are inspired to stencil something similar for yourself or your customers.

The stencil that I used for the samples was the Chinoiserie panel CH4 from our Chinese Style collection. The panel can be used independently or as part of a set of four stencils which repeat in sequence to make a long and very wide decorative border.

The minimum depth of the border is 44 inches (1118mm) that size is described as the 'small' panel on our website, but you can order it up to 96 inches deep (2438mm) and we describe that size as X. If even more height is needed consider marrying it with a contrasting design above or below the panels. I add extra butterflies and birds to further extend the height if the area is very high. Using all four of the panel stencils will give the effect of handpainted Chinese wallpapers of the 18th-century. The stencil that I used is 96 inches high but I only needed to use a section of it for the samples. I have reused this same stencil for over twelve years now and it has travelled to many countries. When I decorate the room for our customer I will have the luxury of a using a new set and that set will belong to them after I have completed the project. One of the advantages of using a stencil to create a mural such as this is that the stencil gives the shape, structure and form but the stenciller controls the colours and can make each flower bird and butterfly differ from the next by way of colour choice and shading. 

The fabric that I used was silk, if the budget does not stretch to real silk there are some good fakes that are washable and give an effect of silk. I used a silver leaf wallpaper to stencil onto. This again is top of the range. If your budget does not allow such luxuries select a less expensive wallpaper or stencil directly onto the painted wall. The advantage of this paper is that the client will be able to remove it, roll it up and transport it to a new home if desired. There are a few tutorials on 'how to stencil onto fabric' on this blog and I have put a couple of them onto YouTube. A quick and simple demonstration of stencilling onto material can be found on this link.

Helen.

A stencilled caftan in Marrakech

Last March I visited a friend who owns a riad in Marrakech. Before I went I stencilled a caftan to wear around her house. 

The caftan was made for me by a lady in our village. This was it before I started painting.

and this was it after.

If you would like to know what went on between those two photos, read on.

I chose the stencil DE173-Border 81 because I had not used it before, it is an art nouveau style border depicting papyrus in water and I thought it would be a perfect size for my project. A more 'normal' use for this stencil would be to decorate the area above a picture rail on a wall.

I wanted one of the tall flowers in the design to be central at the base of the caftan, flanked by two shorter ones. To find the centre point of the base of the caftan I folded the fabric like this....

I made a crease at the centre of the hem to align with the centre of the tall flower motif. To stop the fabric sliding whilst being stencilled I cut a vague body shape out of wallpaper and sprayed a light misting of SprayMount onto to one side of the paper then inserted it into the caftan. I smoothed the fabric over the slight tack on the paper taking care not to lose the crease that I made earlier. The centre stem of the tall flower was aligned with the crease on the fabric. The caftan has side splits so the pattern does not have to flow around the entire hem of the garment. The back of the caftan can have a central flower too.

The border was positioned along the hem, there are some diamond-shaped holes cut into the stencil to help create regular pattern repeats and to make sure that stencil layer 1 and 2 will align with each other. Place both layers of the stencil together and check alignment and position before any paint is applied. Then set aside layer 2 and spray or tape stencil layer 1 in position.

I used a mid-tone blue to stencil the leaves and white for the water. Dip only the tips of the stencil brush into paint then eliminate the excess paint by 'stirring' the brush in circles onto a wad of paper towel until the paint is distributed evenly through the brush tip and the paint is damp, not wet. Apply the paint through the stencil with a gentler version of the stirring motion. 

The colours were chosen to go with scarves and other accessories that would go to Marrakech with me. I like to take minimum luggage so everything has to work together. After the mid-tone was applied I added shading to some areas with a darker blue.

Before removing the stencil I placed small pieces of tape onto the caftan directly under the diamond shapes. I marked through the diamonds onto the tape. The diamond shapes cut into the second stencil fit directly over the marks on the tape. The tape is marked rather than the fabric, all the bits of tape are removed at the end of the project.

Once stencil layer 2 was in position I applied magenta and orange through it, two colours that are always in my suitcase and wardrobe. I added silver paint to complete the water part of the design. I could have added another layer of white but my favourite sandals are silver so the colour had to be featured. A clean, dry stencil brush is needed for each colour.

To reproduce the border along the hem just position the diamond shapes in the stencil with the marked tape on the garment.

When you reach the outer edges of the garment find a natural looking place to finish the pattern. I applied masking tape onto areas where I did not want paint applied and then filled in the rest. with colour. Do the same on both layers of the pattern. 

On one edge of the pattern I appear to have applied a butterfly stencil to the gap in the pattern, I can not remember whether that was deliberate or just that I forgot to do the opposite edge.

The top of the caftan was stencilled with designs from our Ottoman and Moroccan style stencils. I had used them one on of our guest rooms and they were perfect to reuse on this project. This was the front of my stencilled caftan...

and this was the back....

and this was me wearing it on my friend's roof terrace in Marrakech.

I was holidaying on one of the fabulous 'creative retreats' that she runs from Maison 28, her riad in the heart of the Medina, Marrakech. Some of the retreats are based in the city and others go further afield.  I can highly recommend both the riad and the retreats. Outside of retreat season, Maison 28 is available for hire. You can host your own retreat!

I will tell you much more of my visit in a future post but for now, you can follow the link and learn more about the offering at Maison 28. Did you notice that I'm posing by a matching stencilled cushion? That'll have to wait for a future post too.

Helen.

 

A perfect pagoda

I do like rummaging in our photo archives, which I admit are massive and really need a good edit. I found a couple of pictures of stencils in our 'Chinese Style' collection that I don't remember posting before and they are rather splendid stencils. One of them is the pagoda which features in photographs above and below this text. My husband was using it in a guest room in our home, he then painted it over and re-stencilled it in brighter colours.

This was the brighter version. The photo is by Di Lewis. Other stencils include TP55 Pavilion 2 on the chair and the central panel shows a stencil based on the style of Jean-Baptiste Pillement. It is a special order and not available through our website but we have similar stencils in the Silhouettes section of our Chinese style range. However, you can always ask us to make you the one in the picture, we will still have the artwork for it. 

Customer and decorative artist Linda Milne in Australia sent the following picture. She used our stencils directly onto the wall but they are framed within a painted panel of contrasting colour and bordered with a coach-line. Alternatively, they could be stencilled onto canvas, the benefit of this is that they would be would be portable and sets could be created as gifts. The central motif in Linda's stencilled decoration is available by special order too. She chose smaller versions of the stencils.

 

During my trawl of The Stencil Library photo archive, I found another stencil which is a tad 'pagoda-ish'

It used to be on our kitchen wall. Since designing this stencil we improved upon it and the later version is offered for sale in our 'Chinese Style' range of Chinoiserie stencils. You can find it here. The stencilling employs two colours, True Gold is one of them and I dabbed and stippled an aqua colour over it to create a verdigris effect.....and the cushions are stencilled too.

Helen

 

Today's Stencil Inspiration: Complex, But Worth It

When I say complex, I mean more laborious than difficult.  But sometimes the effort is worth is.  People look at this picture and ask where the stencil is because the pattern, which is indeed created with a stencil, does not look like most stencils.  This is another design inspired by the Royal Pavilion at Brighton and is a wonderful example of chinoiserie.  It is CV28 Royal Pavilion Fretwork and it is from our New Classic Victorian range of stencils.  It comes in two sizes and the larger is designed so that you can create this design up to chair rail height or thereabouts.  It is a 5 layer stencil.  This is where the laborious comes into it, but it is designed this way to make it simple to use.  This comes with full instructions, each layer is numbered and has registration marks to match them up, and you use a single colour on each layer.  Two colours for the wavy background and three for the 3D fretwork effect.  As it is a single colour per layer, you could apply the paint with a paint roller to speed up the process a bit. But at the end, you will have something that only otherwise, exists in a palace.

The Daily Stencil Inspiration: The Vertical Border

We always think horizontally when a border is mentioned.  But there is such a thing as a vertical border and it is very effective.  It can be used in different ways but I particularly like making stripes with them for an all over repeat pattern as here.  This is CV14 Anglesey Border, one of three vertical borders from our New Classic Victorian range of stencils.  It comes with one set of dots down one side (so that if you wanted to recreate this effect, you could), but you can either not use the dots at all or if you wanted a gap between borders, stencil in the dots only on the other side.  Also, this has a repeat that also works as a motif so you can pull that out and use it in different ways.  Once you start thinking about it, you can do so much with these borders. 

The Daily Stencil Inspiration: You Can't Beat a Bit of Neoclassicism

Classical design from ancient greek and roman times was a bit special.  When you think about it, it has been in use in the design world in some shape or form ever since.  It is reminiscent of a sophisticated time so it is still used to lend an air of gravitas whether it is in architecture, interior design or the decorative arts.  This border is from our new Classical Victorian range of stencils.  It is CV8 Putney Tile Border.  I am no great historian but during Victorian times, Britain was at the height of its game.  The Empire was huge, the Industrial Revolution was in full flow.  It is not surprising therefore that architects and decorators sought to compound that power by referencing classical design within victorian design. Classical elements of style were yet again used thoughout buildings be it public or private.  To this day, if you want to lend an air of formality and sophistication to your home, a neoclassical design is good place to start.  It is a more formal design and therefore will not be to everyone's taste nor would it suit everyone's homes.  Sometimes, it is used in a more formal room like the dining room or rather a room you want to emphasise as formal, where it might not look good in another room of the same house.

The Daily Stencil Inspiration: Subtle Impact

We have often talked about how a design can be made more subtle with the use of colour, but it can also apply to the design itself.  There are certain designs that although large are also subtle in style.  This large KN2 Scandinavian motif is exactly such a design.  It comes in two sizes and this is the largest size at 26" x 24" as a square.  Turn it so that it becomes a diamond shape and it is even taller at about 36" (just under 1 metre).  By the time it sits atop a skirting board as here, it is quite large taking up a big chunk of the lower portion of your wall.  And yet, it is still a quiet design.  Here we have stencilled in white on a dark grey so the design does stand out, but the nature of the small shapes within this simple motif mean that it will always be subtle.  Another way to have pattern in your room without it being the main focus.