How to use a stencil - table transformation

I did a post on stencils and various ideas back in March but didn’t really have an opportunity to use my beautiful damask stencil* by Stencil Warehouse until now.

I got this little table and we had it in the hallway for a few months now. As the house we are currently living nowhas just been decorated and the hallway is now in grey, silver and white tones I thought I could paint the table to match the colour scheme and at the same time use my stencil*!

I thought I could do a layered technique on this table with dark colour at the base and paint the table white, then sand over to let the base colour come through.

I got some Rust Oleum furniture paint in Graphite and started my work.

I painted the base with the Rust Oleum and let it dry.

The base colour was done. Do not wax, but leave it chalky. Sand slightly over the base coat and clean it, make sure there is no dust.

Before you put the top coat, make sure the base coat is completely dry or otherwise the two paints will mix and your white will become grey. Also don’t use the paint that is too watered down as this again will cause the base coat to mix with the top coat.

The base coat was shining through after the first coat, I didn’t really want it to be seen as much so I put another coat on, sanding slightly in between.

Then it was time to try the stencil* out.

I put the stencil* in the centre and taped it so it wouldn’t move. [Excuse the Rudolph slippers! 🙂 ]

I put a little bit of paint in an empty plastic tray and used a sponge to dab the paint on the table.

I had read that it is best to use very little paint to make sure it doesnt run through. Well I did try at first….

… but then of course me being super eager I started using a little more paint to get this done quicker as I couldn’t wait to see the result…

It was very easy to work with as the stencil* was not flimsy at all.

When the paint dried, I took the stencil* off.. And of course, the paint has run over in the places where I used too much paint… Why am I so EAGER??

What do do? try and fix it or do it again?

I decided to try and fix it first and go for the shabby chic/distressed look. I filled out with some white paint over the blurred lines with a very fine brush and when it was dry I sanded over the pattern.

I put some wax over hoping it would disguise it..

But I still wasn’t happy… If you want it to look right, no cutting corners and do it properly!

So I painted over the damask pattern and started again!!

This time I took my time and used a brush and painted over the stencil* using a little bit of paint. When I removed the stencil* the lines weren’t as blurry as first time so I was very pleased with my second attempt.

So much better!

I then waxed the table and buffed away.

I wanted the graphite paint to shine through, so I distressed the table on the sides using some sandpaper. I then realised that I should have only painted the sides in graphite and areas where the paint will actually be exposed. Will note on my next project!