School is back in session and your little ones are ready for a year of learning and fun! Help them personalize their lunch bags with this fun arts and crafts project!
To make these lunch bags you’ll need stencil brushes, stencils and multi-purpose paints. These are the stencils we use:
At Stencil1 we love West Elm because they have tasteful items that are perfect for stenciling. Whether it’s their furniture or their kitchen items, their products always captivate us. So, we visited the West Elm Market in Brooklyn, NY for a little inspiration. We were drawn to their cloth napkins and woven placemats so we brought a few back to our studio. Check out what we made!
For this how to you’ll need: Stencil1 Damask Nature 11 x 11 stencil, West Elm Center Stripe Woven Placemat Set, West Elm Woven Napkin Set, multipurpose paint, and stencil brushes.
Step 1: Decide what colors you want to stencil with. Chose a color based on the palette of the placemat and napkin you are stenciling. You may decide to choose a color that will pop against the napkin or one that is more subtle. We chose an earthy brown called burnt umber to compliment the blue stripe on our placemat.
Step 2: Place the stencil on the placemat so that it is centered. When stenciling on cloth, it is helpful to spray the back of the stencil with a low-tack spray adhesive. This will prevent the stencil from moving while you are painting.
Step 3: Pour some paint on a plate and dab your stencil brush in it slightly. Brush excess paint off on cardboard or toilet paper. Stenciling is a dry brush technique, this means using very little paint. You can apply several layers of paint to make the color more saturated.
Step 4: Begin stenciling the placemat using and up-and-down or circular motion.
Step 5: Lift the stencil carefully and allow the paint to dry to touch.
Step 6: Now that your placemats are ready, it’s time to make matching napkins! We placed the stencil so that the sparrow is at the bottom of the blue stripe, slightly overlapping into the white area.
Step 7: Follow steps 3 through 5 to stencil the sparrow on the napkin. Do this for all four napkins.
Step 8: Use an iron to heat seal the paint.
Enjoy dinner with a nice glass of wine and snap a photo of your placemats and napkins to share with us @Stencil1.
I am so excited to announce that I will be a part of Grove Alley Paint Nite on Friday September 12th from 5pm to 11pm, which is produced by Gowanus Nite Market (GNM) and Downtown Brooklyn Partnership (DBP)!
I found out about the event via performer F.Stokes’ instagram feed, who will be preforming at the event along with music bands Napoleon and Legs. I have a lot of respect for F.Stokes as a performer and an artist because of his inspiring yet humble life story. Check him out at: http://instagram.com/fdotstokes
At the same time I couldn’t express how proud I am to be a part of this Brooklyn creative event, and beyond excited to give instructions while create an interactive stencil graffiti wall! People who join me at this event will get the chance to be a part of creating a giant graffiti mural installation while enjoying gourmet food tracks like Kimchi Taco, drinking beer, and watching performance by the artists that I listed above!
Again, please mark your calendar for Friday September 12th from 5pm to 11pm at Grove Place Brooklyn, NY 11217. See you there!
I use the term DIY constantly, Do It Yourself. This term is also used in the punk scene describing the way in which bands recorded, distributed and also to describe the nonconformist expression of one’s self through your appearance. Cut to AFROPUNK FEST, a music festival here in Brooklyn that celebrates individuality. Described by the New York Times as “the most multicultural festival in the US,” the word AFROPUNK itself has become synonymous with open-minded, non-conforming and unconventional, placing the institution at the epicenter of urban culture inspired by alternative music.
I had a sensory overload at this festival – Live music, African textiles, awesome people watching – it was a blast. So many creative people, putting together their own unique style, mixing things up. I took a few pics to share, mostly focused on men’s fashion but check it out below. Beautiful people having a great day in Brooklyn!
Birch rounds can be used for all wood projects like pedestal to hold candles, vases, and other home décor accents. This one was purchased at Michaels and is their ArtMinds brand. We decoupaged a stenciled skull image on a birch cut using our Stencil1 skull stencil from the Skull 4pack set and ModPodge. Hang it on a wall or incorporate it into a dark, romantic table setting – it will surely create some fun dinner conversation.
To make this skull decoupage piece, we used Stencil1 skull stencil, a piece of thin paper, paint, a brush, a birch round that we purchased from Michael’s, and modpodge.
Simply place the skull stencil on the piece of thin paper and hold it with your hand. Pour paint onto a plate and use a stencil brush with very little paint to stencil the skull. Allow the paint to dry then cut the image out from the paper using a pair of scissors in the shape of the skull silhouette . Make sure the cutout is smooth on the edges. The next step is to modpodge the back of the cutout skull image. Make sure to coat the image completely all the way to the edges. Place the image in the center of the birch round, then use a dry brush to smooth down the thin paper. Allow the modpodge to dry for two hours. Once it is dry, use the modpodge brush to add one more coat of modpodge on top of the stenciled skull image and then the whole birch cut. This will seal the image perfectly on the wood birch and make it more glossy and polished.
Voilà! There you have it – a minimal yet interesting piece of art for your home!
Recently, I visited Baked in Brooklyn and brought our new Stencil1 Plaid stencils with us! I grew up painting ceramics but never actually stenciled them. I chose a plate and some tiles to paint. The studio has many ceramic surfaces to choose from and great colors to choose from including some speckled paints which I thought added some nice texture to the pieces.
Ashley, the owner of Baked in Brooklyn showed me the ropes and I loved the process. Then there is the waiting part, after you paint, you have to wait a few days for the pieces to get fired. In a day of instantaneous results, I rather enjoyed this.
We decided to have a stencil night on August 20th from 7-10pm. If you’d like to learn to stencil, please sign up at baked-in-brooklyn.com
Check out some of the pictures we took and definitely stop by if you are in the area.
