Wall Stencils

The view below is looking into my kitchen prep area from the eat-in area.  I have vaulted ceilings over the cabinets.  Who knows why!  It's just wasted, hard-to-decorate space.  The old owners had it wallpapered, but yikes, it wasn't my style.  So that came down (not without a fight, though).  And I painted my green that I love.  But still, it needed more. 

I had a friend come over when I said "I need help stenciling my kitchen" - she later admitted that she didn't know what I was thinking because she, like most people pictured some little vine stencil thing.  But stencils can be cool!  Here I am with the actual stencil sheet product, pulling off the first wheel.

I got better with each one.  The detailed instructions say to use minimal paint on your roller, but I was in a hurry to see the results so I used too much paint - there was a little bleeding, but I could only see it up close (and I don't plan to let people climb on my cabinets, so it doesn't matter).  The hardest part was deciding placement.  After my friend left I had to rely on my five-year old, as I held the stencil and asked her "does that look like it's in the right spot"

Actually, maybe the hardest part was the heat.  Hot air rises, and I swear it was 20 degrees hotter up on top of my cabinets than on the floor - really!  Phew, it was a doozy.  But well worth it.

I had one stencil size - the large - but to get some smaller wheels I just used that stencil and didn't paint the outer rim. Here I am with the small roller that's available through the same site - loved it!

What I loved most is that a stencil is reusable!  It gives the look of vinyl decals that is so "in", but you can use it over and over.  Perfect.  Now I look up and see this instead of my boring wall of nothingness:

The black plays up our built-in desk area which is in the eat-in kitchen (so basically in the same room) and the yellow is in my curtains.  It's hard to get a good shot of the whole room, but I tried:

I wish I could invite you all over to see them - - they look AWESOME in person.