Cutting Edge Stencil Review: Layered Painted Canvas

You might remember that in September, one of our sponsors for A Crafty Soiree's September Celebration was Cutting Edge Stencils.  They provided an awesome giveaway and the winner has been super busy with the Casablanca wall stencil she picked out.  Check out Tara's before and after.

Pretty impressive isn't it?  I've been working on a stencil project too, also for the wall but on a much smaller scale.  Have you seen canvas photos mounted on top of either another canvas or a piece of wood?  I've seen a couple, really liked the look and wanted to try making my own version.

To begin with I picked up at 12X12 blanked wrapped canvas, two colors of acrylic paint, a 5/8" stencil brush, natural white bristle, and the small Nagoya allover stencil I was sent to review.  Both the stencil and brush are available at Cutting Edge Stencils.  After a little experimenting with the stencil I decided to also use a little temporary spray adhesive, the brand recommend on the website.

Step 1: Paint your canvas a base color.  Two layers covers nicely.

Step 2:  Since I was using a wrapped canvas, which is not a solid surface, I put a book into the space that is not backed with the wooden frame.  Then I lightly misted the stencil with the temporary adhesive, waited a few minutes as directed on the product, and then lightly attached to the canvas.  I also taped one end of the stencil to the canvas to help hold it in place.

Step 3: Using the stencil brush, I lightly painted in the stencil using a swirling motion, moving it once to stencil over the entire canvas surface.

Step 4: Ta-da! Here it is.  I love this stencil pattern, so pretty and the contrast between the green and blue is just beautiful!

Here's a close up.  Excuse the poor lighting, I was painting after the kids went to bed.  The finished pictures below have better true to life colors.  The project is almost done.  All that was left, was to attach a mounted photo I had made at a local photo lab.

Doesn't it look great!  I love it, it's just as I imagined and because I used a stencil to create the background I was able to match my home decor and the photo exactly.   I may eventually add a little bit more embellishment, but for now I really like how the stencil design really stands out.

This was my first time painting stencils and I'm so pleased by how it turned out.  The stencil was very easy to use and made out of thick, but not too thick, material.  The edges of the design stayed in place well and it wasn't hard to paint in the details.  Clean up was very easy too.   I found the tips and videos on the Cutting Edge Stencils website invaluable.  They're an excellent resource and highly recommend you view them before staring your project.   You can also get more tips and ideas on the Cutting Edge Stencil blog.

I will have another project using this same stencil but in a very different way next week.  I'm excited to show you have versatile it is.  Have you used a stencil before for either a wall, home decor, or another DIY project?  I'd love to see what you've done.  Link me up in the comment section!



Disclosure: A complimentary stencil package was provided for review.  The experiences and opinions related within are both personal and unbiased.

The mounted photo was created at Meijer Photo, and was provided via Buzz Agent free of charge with my participation in their program.  I will be reviewing it in a separate blog post.