Birch Forest Craft Stencil

This is one of our favorite nature-inspired stencil designs. Serene Birch Forest brings a sense of peaceful relaxation into your life. This stunning overall stencil pattern looks great as a background on a solid piece of art canvas or as your tablecloth or placemats. Very interesting effects can be achieved with shimmering metallics or glazes. Registration is built into the stencil pattern for ease of installation; simply use birch "spots" to align the stencil on all directions. Stencils are a great for recycling old furniture or small rugs. Did you know you can stencil on fabric too? Yes, you can create custom stenciled curtains, pillows and table cloths with our stencils! When stenciling on fabric, stencil adhesive is very helpful. First, tape your ironed fabric to the surface so it doesn't move around while you stencil. Use stencil brushes, or roller, and add some textile medium (sold in craft stores) to your acrylic paint. You can also get a special fabric paint, but, frankly, good craft acrylics with a dollop of textile medium work just as well, and costs way less too! :) Let the stenciled image dry completely, 24 hours is best, then heat-set it by ironing the fabric for about 20 seconds (more or less) on a LOW setting through the piece of cloth. Heat-setting will cure the paint and prevent it from being washed off in the washing machine. Always experiment with a sample of your fabric first to ensure good results. I've stenciled on silk, cotton, linen and even sheer fabrics with great results. It's always better if your fabric doesn't have too much texture. When stenciling on furniture, you want to insure good adhesion. If the piece has a varnish or a glossy finish you'll need to break the sheen. You can do this with a scotch brite pad, steel wool or fine grit sandpaper. Lightly sand the surface and then wipe down the piece with a damp cloth or paper towel. Next, basecoat the piece if you want to change the overall color. Most acrylic and latex paints work well, but to insure good adhesion you may want to use an adhesive primer such as Stix or Zinnser 1*2*3. These primers can even be tinted to the color you want. After your primer/basecoat is dry you can start stenciling with whatever paint you like. FolkArt acrylics and Benjamin Moore paints work great. You can just tape your stencils with pieces of blue painters tape, or use spray adhesive for a crisper look. If you want to protect your artwork, you could then topcoat the table with a clear topcoat (spray or brush-on). Please make sure you watch our short step-by-step Video Tutorials! You'll find them extremely helpful for your stenciling project. While prior experience is helpful when working with repeat interlocking stencils, even beginners get great results! Need some stencil inspiration or looking for stencil room ideas? Check our our Stencil Stories Blog it's packed with expert stenciling advice for DIY decor, illustrated step-by-step tutorials, room ideas and style advice and color inspiration. Decorating in Beach style? Check out our entire Beach Decor Stencil collection for more ideas for that breezy, beach house vibe you're trying to bring to your room! The stencil is made out of durable 12 mil clear plastic stencil material. This material is strong but flexible, reusable and easy to clean. We love it so much more than standard 5-8 mil Mylar! It's not brittle, user friendly and just so easy to work with. In our many years of professional stenciling this material has proven to be far superior in quality to any other stencil material we used. Our customers love it too, and we are sure that you'll notice the difference! Our stencils will last a long time and are a pleasure to use.