Antiques & Collectibles Stencil From Funky Junk Interiors

I want to show you a quick like a bunny project, because a week before Christmas I have no time to move at my usual snails pace.

This sign has a simple surprise, but maybe instead of being quick like a bunny or moving slow like a snail, I'm actually killing two birds with one stone.

Are you one of those people who think you don't have any artistic ability?

Only about as much creative talent as your pinky finger can hold?

Stencils are your answer.

You can have vintage looking signs with even half a pinky finger's worth of creativity.

Stenciling can be done on just about anything.

Fabric with the right paints (if you intend to wash it), pieces of wood, the wall, objects - the canvas is only limited by your imagination.

Look at things differently, with an eye that says, "can I put a design on that?" and you'll be surprised by what you find around your house, in your garage, or at a lumber yard that can be transformed with a stencil.

Me, I use hunks of wood because they are always available.  This chunk of board was actually too big and too heavy my for needs, but it was there so that's what became my base anyway.

I used Fusion Mineral Paint, but you can use any kind of paint for stenciling, the cheap craft paint from the store works fine.

A small stencil brush comes in handy, but I have also used a wadded up paper towel as my brush.

The most important step is to load up your brush by dabbing it in the paint, then tap it up and down on something like a paper plate and dab most of the paint back off.  There is no brushing motion in stenciling, you only want a slight hint of paint on the brush.

If you are worried about how much pressure to apply or if you have too much paint on the brush, practice on a piece of paper.

This piece of wood was already aged, so I just dry brushed a bit of off-white paint across it till I had the look I wanted.  I mixed up some white milk paint as well for variation.

The correct way to attach the stencil is probably to either use spray adhesive on the back of the stencil or to tape it in place.  I don't do either, I just eye ball it where I want the lettering to go and start tapping my little stencil brush over the letters...... tap tap tap tap tap...... till the stencil is filled in.

Too much paint on your brush and it will bleed under the stencil.  Again, the single most important step is to only have a small bit of paint on the tip of the stencil brush.

After the paint is dry I go back and sand a little bit, add more paint if I want, and I like to wax boards with a light or dark wax which I think pulls out the colors of both the paint and wood.

Sanding will give the letters even more of a faded look, like the sign might have been around for a while.

The Funky Junk 'Antiques' stencil is large, but you can't really tell how big since I used a  4 1/4 foot long, 2 inch thick board.

You can see all of Donna's stencils {HERE} and they can be mixed and matched.

This sign was too large not to serve a dual purpose, so there is a seasonal surprise on the back of the sign........ it's reversible.

If you take a sleigh ride through the stencil products at the link I included, you might notice that this Sleigh Rides sign combines several of the stencils.

And when Winter is over I can turn this sign around instead of finding a place for storing it.

Subscribe, Bliss Ranch arrives magically!