Grateful, Thankful, Blessed DIY and A Giveaway

This week I decided to get a little crafty with some of my summer thrift finds.

I honestly have so many great pieces to makeover, it was hard to decide where to start.

So it's a little ironic that what I grabbed first was this Grateful, Thankful, Blessed pumpkin stencil from the dollar store.
You see, stenciling is not my favorite kind of DIY.

Well, not anymore anyway.

In the 80s and 90s it was my go to craft.

Although, I was never really very good at it. I'm a lazy crafter. I like quick and easy DIYs and stenciling requires patience and precision.

Without a great deal of care, the results can be blurry and messy looking...and I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to the finished product.

So stenciling and me aren't always a great combination.

Oh don't get me wrong, I haven't shied away from it. I've actually been a prolific stenciler.

Over the years, I've created many, many different projects. For example:

• I've stenciled a Santa Claus porch sitter
• I've stenciled a Mrs. Claus porch sitter, as well
• I stenciled an accent wall in my bathroom
• I stenciled pillows, fan blades and more

And they've all looked lovely, I just found the process tedious.

Plus, in recent years furniture transfers, decoupage and my newest obsession, paint inlays, have all freed me from the need for it.

However, when I saw this stencil, I knew it would pair perfectly with the terracotta saucer in my stash to make another adorable stenciled round sign for my collection.

So at 9:15 at night, I threw caution to the wind and got busy.


I started by giving the saucer a coat of chalk paint in Buttercream.

It's a very pretty soft white.


While the paint dried, I cut the stencil out, so it would fit inside the saucer.


Then I taped it down and broke out the paints.

I began with a roller.

That's my stencil supply of choice. I find that on large surfaces, it's the easiest way to get a nice clean, even paint application.

For the smaller areas, I used true stencil brushes in pouncing motions with very little paint loaded on each one.

 
They have short, stiff bristles for better control. Of course, whether you use a roller or brush, when stenciling, less paint is always more.

I added black for the letters, green for the leaves and gold for the accent dots.


Then I loosened the tape and lifted the stencil straight up and away, so I didn't smear the paint.


Once it was removed, I decided the edge needed some sparkle, so I used a foam pouncer and gold paint to accent it.


Then I had to address a few messy spots, where the paint had bled.

Precisely the reason I don't love stenciling...but rather than focus on the mess, I grabbed my detail brushes and began correcting those smudges.


It took a few coats of Buttercream to fully cover the black paint, but with an angled brush I was able to fix my mess.

And turn that old, dirty terracotta saucer into a sweet stenciled sign for Thanksgiving.


Making it a perfectly imperfect thrift flip for fall.

😉

Are you a stenciler?

Speaking of being grateful, thankful and blessed, that's how I feel about all of you! ♡

So when I saw this sweet book in the thrift store, I grabbed it for a giveaway.

/You Can Peek At The Book Here/

I know there are a lot of letter writers out there and I thought that someone might like to have it.

The giveaway is closed. Congratulations Anne!

Happy Crafting, Friends!