Little Changes: Paper Doily Stenciling

My current table runner was really boring. I bought it about 2 years ago and eventually turned it over because it was a little more traditional than I wanted. So the plain, beige fabric was all I had. I guess I always had a plan to update it or buy something else but I never got to it.

Then as I mentioned before, when looking for inexpensive craft projects I stumbled upon an awesome idea on Pinterest: Stencil with paper doilies!

So I decided to do that to my kitchen table runner! I really like the finished product!

What you'll need:

1. Paint in the colors you want to use. I used light blue, light green, pale yellow and white. 2. Paint brushes of some sort. These are all I have because a package of them are $.99. If you decide that you want the lines really crisp and clean, I'd suggest a finer point paint brush. (I always suggest that though.) 3. Paper doilies. I bought these at Zurchers but you can buy them at any party store. I spent $3 for both packages. *I'd suggest the metallic finish if you're using them for stenciling. It was much easier than the regular paper. 4. Whatever it is that you're stenciling!

Next...

Because I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted, I did a trial run on a piece of paper. While the dots left leave a pretty pattern, I decided that I needed to stencil outside the line to uphold the "doily" shape. This means an uneven outside line and pattern...for those perfectionists out there...this is where you might want to stop reading.

Next...

I began painting on the runner. I found out that a circular motion got the paint in each little hole well, but I guess it really comes down to the paint brush you use. As you can see, I did go outside the line to keep the doily shape...

Next...

Moving onto the larger paper doily, the circular painting motion wasn't happening, so I dabbed. There are more learning curves coming up so make sure you read all of this before you begin!

Next...

After I was finished with one doily, I moved onto another one leaving the doily where it was to dry, with the intention to peel off when it was completely dry. DO NOT DO THIS. You'll see in a minute.

Next...

Another example of the finished product I left to dry...

Next...

When I started to go back and peel...there was a lot of paper that stayed...and it wasn't easy coming up.

It came off like this big huge mess above.

And then the rest needed to be picked off with tweezers. It was tedious. I did not care for this step. So to avoid this - peel off the paper doily as soon as you're sure you painted it all.

So it looks like this after it's peeled:

Leaving the nice doily shape.

Next...

Repeat...and keep repeating. I used the green, blue, and yellow first and then once they were all dry I painted and overlapped with the white.

If you want you can use a 3rd size paper doily. I only used two but one slightly bigger could have been cute too.

The finished product:

I'm really happy with how it came out. Its really only a small subtle change, but I like it a lot. It's a big step up from the plain runner it was.

So there it is! Another small simple change that doesn't cost a lot. I already had the runner, two of the bottles of paint and the brushes so I only bought two extra bottles of paint and the paper doilies which after tax brought this project to about $6.00. Not bad!

I currently have about 50 extra doilies left over. So I'm sure you'll see those featured in some future project!

Linking up: See "I Like to Party" tab up top!

TCB, A2Z, TM,