Game Changing Stencils – DIY Wall Decor

Happy New Year friends!  I hope your holidays were fun!  Christmas is my favorite holiday, but after a break from blogging and DIY’ing I was itching to get a project going.  I’ve had a blank spot on my kitchen wall since we installed our board and batten last summer.  Considering it’s been six months and I couldn’t find anything I wanted to hang there, I decided it was time to make something myself.  All you really need to make your own DIY wall decor is a piece of unfinished wood, cute stencils, and paint.

I took an unfinished board I had around the house from some past project and I painted it black.  The paint I used is DecoArt chalk paint, the same one I used on this side table.

 

For the border, I used an overlay from My Overlays*.  If you are unfamiliar with My Overlay’s, they offer decorative panels that can be used on furniture, doors or virtually anything you can think of that you’d like to customize.

The overlay I used for my DIY wall decor is called the “anne” and it comes in a variety of sizes and widths.   You may remember I used these overlays once before on my daughter’s mirrored closet doors to give them some detail.  Since I already had the wood piece, I ordered the overlay custom sized to fit it.  If you don’t see the size you need on their website, contact them with a custom request.

 

I used the cute stencils set shown above for the lettering.  I’ve had my eye on these for a month or two, there are tons of ways to utilize this assortment.

To attach the overlay to my board,  I used goop glue.  That is what I had used on the closet doors and they have held up for years.  I also like that this glue is clear so if you accidentally have any excess, you won’t see it anyway.  Once the glue was dried, I laid out my stencils to get an idea of placement.

 

 

Once I figured that out, I began the stenciling by applying chalkart (I used the color Peace and Joy) with a spreader.  Chalkart is a water-based paste and it works perfectly with these stencils.  It has a consistency of thick paint.

To see a short video on how easy this is to apply, check out my DIY French Script ornaments post.

I was never a big fan of stencils for craft projects, I never liked how the lettering was broken up, and they always came out a bit messy.  These stencils are an exception, they are made of mesh and give a full, crisp letter.  Rather than looking stenciled, the finish looks hand-lettered.

Additionally, the stencils have adhesive on the back, it’s just sticky enough to stick to your piece without moving but not so sticky that you can’t move it around to reposition it.  Plus they’re washable and reusable.  Here is a close-up shot, so you can better see the mesh I’m referring to.

 

The chalkart dries really quickly, so I didn’t really have to wait for drying time between each word.

 

Here’s an in-progress shot to give you a better visual.

 

Once finished, you could add a clear sealer over this, but considering mine would be hanging on the wall, and not touched I didn’t add one.

 

To hang it on the wall, I added a small hook centered on the back of the piece.

 

After months of looking at a blank wall, it’s nice to finally have something interesting here.

 

I think this DIY wall decor is a good sentiment for the new year, don’t you?

 

 

*This post was in partnership with My Overlays and may contain affiliate links, you can read my full disclosure here.  All opinions are my own.