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Along the Seine River in Paris, lover’s carve their initials into the birch tree’s bark. This project is inspired by this act of love. We are stenciling real birch bark and using it to wrap around a vase of flowers!

Trees along the Seine..

Initials and hearts carved into the trees.

I foraged this fallen birch bark from some trees in Upstate New York. Thank you Mother Nature for the perfect paper.

I am going to use several of our letter stencils, different fonts and sizes – Old English, Corsiva, Industrial…

For a clean application, I am using a stencil brush and Clearsnap black ink. I love using their inks because, unlike paint, you can’t overload the brush with your medium.

Start by taping your bark to your work surface for a nice flat surface.

Use your stencil brush and pick up some ink.

I wrote the word “love” many times and with the somewhat see-through stencils, lining up your letters to spell words is easy…

love…

Keep going writing whatever words you want- A poem perhaps? LOVE? XO? I LOVE YOU?

Now it’s time to add a flower arrangement. We called in an expert in this case, Bridget Vizoso. Bridget is a floral artist and event planner and has mastered the art of floral arrangement. She creates sculptures with flowers and her work is beautiful and unexpected. She created this for us in about 20-30 minutes. She wrapped the bark using double stick and clear tape. Be sure to check out her beautiful work and workshops.

Here’s a shot of the back, a loving message from every angle.

This curling bark piece that says KISS ME should get a nice response…

I hope this inspires you to make something for a loved one or even for yourself. “If you don’t love yourself, how you gunna love anyone else?” Said by who? If you know, comment and share your projects with us @Stencil1.

What better way to express your love than to create something that’s meant just for that special someone. There is no better way to enjoy Valentine’s Day than to get personal and artistic. Revamp those old plain T-shirts in the back of your closet, or personalize a new sweater by using our Valentine’s Day stencils! Whether you’re spending this Valentine’s Day with friends, a loved one, or even yourself, this project is bound to inspire you.

Things you will need: 1 T-shirt or sweater of your choice, fabric paint, low tack spray adhesive, Arrows stencil, Heart stencil, tape, brushes, and cardboard.

Step 1: Put a piece of cardboard inside the sweater to hold its shape, and to prevent the sweater from moving around during stenciling. Fold the arms behind the sweater to get them out of the way.

Step 2: Determine where you want to place the Arrows stencil on the sweater. Once you decide the placement, apply your low-tack spray adhesive to the back on the stencil. Once tacky, place onto sweater. Put masking tape on the edges to prevent painting outside the stencil.

Step 3: Now it’s time to paint. Using a clean, dry stencil brush, begin stippling the paint over the stencil. Depending on what finish you want, you can either apply an opaque layer for a crisp look, or a light layer to create more of a distressed effect. We used Jacquard paint in this DIY.

Step 4: Carefully lift the stencil from the sweater, and allow to dry completely. Seal the paint if necessary, depending on the fabric paint you used. Jacquard fabric paint requires you to use a hot iron on the reverse side for 1 minute once completely dry.

Voila! your very own, personalized sweater is done! Use your Cupid arrows wisely though.

Want more of a statement on your old T-shirt? Try using the Heart stencil, combined with the Arrows stencil to create this unique design. Simply changing the color of paint can give this project a whole new look, allowing you the further personalize your shirt.

With your newly personalized shirt and sweater, you’re ready to take on Valentine’s Day with a bow and arrow. Keep them for yourself or give them as a gift. Share your projects with us @Stencil1! Enjoy your Valentines day!

I love my SOMA water carafe, it filters my tap water and comes from a highly eco-conscious company that helps provide clean water to developing countries. It also adds an element of beautiful design to my kitchen counter and I thought it deserved a nice place to stand each day so this DIY is about customizing a wood slab for your SOMA to proudly sit on!

The materials you will need for this are:

• A wood slab from an art supply store
• Paint
• Stencil brush
• Arrow 6″ x 6″ stencil

A slab of birch with the bark still on it, so simple and beautiful, the perfect canvas…

Spray the back of the stencil with some low-tack spray adhesive and let it dry for 30-60 seconds. Place the stencil where you want your stencil design to appear on the wood.

Using very little paint on your brush, fill in the open areas on the stencil.

Carefully lift your stencil to reveal your skills!

And there it is! Now it needs some company…

We stenciled mason jars in the past and think this black heart mason jar goes swell with our arrow birch SOMA carafe holder!

It adds a fun graphic element to our kitchen!

Time for some clean water.

Cheers! Hope you liked this DIY. Please share your project images with us @Stencil1.

You can find out more about SOMA here.