STENCIL PLAY with PLAID

Good morning....It's THURSDAY and am back with another PLAID play!
This time I am really excited and probably the first time that I was eagerly awaiting a thursday, lol!
I am sharing a project with the lovely CHALK PAINTS and STENCIL from PLAID.
First of all, there is a large variety and range of colors available with Crafters Corner and its unbelievebly matt and very easy to use!
Chalk paints have the unique quality of a built in primer! Yes...when you usr chalk paint, there is no need to prime the surface. Just ensure that your surface is cleaned and sanded to remove any dust or crease and you good to go with the paints directly on  it.

Here is all the stuff that I started with.

 I am going to take you thru a very loooong tutorial post to show you the journey of an empty mdf plank to this!

Are you ready...
First give 2 coats of Sheep skin Chalk paint.

Here is how the board looks after 2 coats of paint. PS: I did not prime the board.

Next, I choose 4 shades of blue, light to dark which I think is appropriate for this project. I wanted something cool to the eyes to beat the scorching heat at this time! The shades I have chosen are

Seaside Villa, Patina, Sage and Grotto ...

I start with the lightest color first. Loading the color only in the bristles of a wide, flat brush, I start using gentle strokes with the bristles on the board. This is dry brushing...where you load only the bristles with paint, dab off the excess and then start brushing with almost no paint! Sounds weird but the effects are amazing as you built up the layers. You will see soon.

This is after loading Seaside Villa (color 1)...I know you can hardly see anything. 

 This is after loading Patina (color 2).

 This is after loading color 3- Sage.

 And finally, color 4.(Grotto)...I have kept the darkest color more towards the edges so that I have a lighter canvas in the center to my further work!

I the place a ruler on top to roughly mark where I want the faux planks to build up.

 I make the darkest color a bit watery and draw lines on the board to give the FAUX PALETTE look. It is still not done!

 I emphasize the line with Bark brown MULTI SURFACE PAINTS and also draw some FAUX NAILS using the dry brushing technique.
I couldn't resist having some brown streaks too on the panel!

I finally added some wood knots too to make the FAUX look as realistic as possible!

I take out the beautiful BIRDS STENCIL which is a compact 6x6 size and love the little fellas there! For this who are not confident to draw freehand like me, this is such a lovely option. And the current trend seems to be water coloring and coloring images and so I thought I will play with colors my way!

I used the stencil brush to pounce in some sheepskin thru the stencil This is like a primer to start coloring the images.

I placed the birds on 2 corners and this is how they look before they could take on the colors and shading!

Next I took the MINI DAUBERS which are excellent for dabbing colors on small areas. You can see how thin the bark area is, this was just perfect to add color there and what more, you can clean this with soap and water and use again!

 The barks are done using Bark brown.

 Next come the leaves, I have mixed yellow and green and done some shading here. You can see that the base color of Sheep skin gives a lovely base for the colors to layer up!

 I now move on to the birds and for this I dished out all the colors that would make them, bright,chirpy and beautiful! remember I said, shading and layering. All this with the wide range of MULTI SURFACE PAINTS. I some places I did wet on wet layering for blending and in some places I added the color after the base color dried.

 I added some additional barks, leaves and also stenciled some flowers. I wanted this one to be all out colorful . Here is a look at the panel after the coloring is done. You can see that the base Sheepskin is giving a lovely outline to the entire image. Please dont forget the eyes!

 I then dished put an alphabet stencil from my stash and using carbon black stenciled what rightfully belonged to me! Yes, I planned to hand this piece right outside my studio, and I dint want the usual  "welcome" sort of stuff, lol. Some color splats in black and vintage white and I was quite happy with the outcome.

  Finally, once all the painting was done, I gave 2 coats of OUTDOOR MATTE SEALER. This dries very quickly sensing my impatience , so giving 2 coats was like over in a jiffy! This is non yellowing, no smell, very thin in consistency and is the perfect solution for all your out door decor! It also offers weather resistant durabilty.

The FAUX PALETTE hanging was ready to adorn its permanent  place ! Here is how it looks at my studio entrance.

These 2 birds just add life and warmth to my entrance. 

I am so happy with a few easy steps and this stencil, I managed to bring a lovely piece of nature right outside my studio.

Do leave your comments on this and I will see you soon with  a video tutorial for the "faux palette" painting with chalk paints.

Do play along with your creations of Chalk paints and stencils from PLAID until next Thursday and 

remember to use #playwithplaid.

Until my next creative journey,

Happy crafting and recycling.

Cheers

Rupa