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Monday, January 28, 2013

Stenciled Coffee Table

I belong to a Facebook group of moms in my neighborhood where people post anything from suggestions for plumbers to advice on child raising. Not too long ago, someone asked if anyone was interested in redoing a coffee table for her. Of course I jumped at the chance! We don't know each other (though we have a few mutual friends) so I was surprised that she took me up on my offer.

Here's a sneak peek at the final product (I photoshopped the background out since I don't have a picture of it in its final spot, only in my junked up basement work area).



The coffee table was in pretty bad shape to start with. I'm not sure how much of it was original to the piece and how much was added on after the fact.


You can see from some of these close-ups that I had my work cut out for me!



I spent a loooong time sanding it down. It was not easy! The woman gave me a belt sander (which I have never used before) and man, are those things heavy! But it got the job done, that's for sure.


The next step was two coats of gray primer. Since she wanted black as the base coat, I figured that a tinted primer would make the job easier.  I used a sample size of black paint (because it's a small surface) and did two coats of that also.


The woman bought this Indian Inlay stencil (from Cutting Edge Stencils) that she wanted me to use on the surface. Now, when she originally told me that she wanted it stenciled, I thought it was one of those sheets that you just use a roller across. You know what they say when you assume... This particular stencil comes with five separate pieces! Please don't believe it when it says that this is a beginner level stencil. Each strip has to be measured and centered so you don't end up with half a design when you get to a corner and want them to meet up.


Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed working on this project, but it took many, many hours.


Here's a close up where you can see some of the imperfections (that naturally go along with stenciling). I used the same foam stencil brushes that I used on my book crate, with different size brushes depending on the size of the stencil. As a final step, I put a few layers of a satin polycrylic to protect all my hard work.


And here it is in its finished state:


I think it came out great, even though not everything is perfect or exactly centered.


And my new facebook friend loved it so much, she asked me to do another project with her dining room table! Woohoo! Do you have any favorite stencil tips or tricks? Please share!


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7 comments:

  1. That's unbelievably amazing - I've wanted to buy that stencil for awhile now - ( some else did a dining table with here in blogland )
    Gorgeous job!!!!

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  2. Wow! What a beautiful table! Thanks so much for sharing it at my Twirl & Take a Bow party! It's great and you've inspired me to head to cutting edge stencils! Have a great week.
    Leslie
    House on the Way

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  3. Wow! I can tell it was a ton of work, but it turned out beautifully!

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  4. shut the front door!!!!this is amazing and you should be way proud of yourself, love the leave the sides rough and the top stenciled marvy again....wow

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  5. It's spectacular! Happy to find your blog through MMS :)

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  6. This is gorgeous! You did a great job!

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  7. whoa! that looks amazing, and i am sure it was time consuming but worth it.

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