Raindrop Stenciled Craft Organizer

If you know me at all, you know I LOVE geometric shapes and patterns. So of course, when I received this amazing set of Handmade Charlotte stencils full of fun geometric patterns, I was thrilled! Although, how was I supposed to pick just one for this project?

I've had this boring unfinished wooden shelf that I bought at some craft store on clearance years ago, and never got around to painting. I knew it would be perfect for this project, and would look great in white and yellow, a vibrant and invigorating color. I had also decided to use spray paint for most of this project, and to touch up with FolkArt acrylic paints. I ended out choosing the raindrop stencil, although I was seriously tempted by the geometric triangles, polka dots, chevron, and hexagon stencils.

What I did:

1. Clean your surfaces and sand any uneven areas. Spray paint the outside and front edges of the shelf white.

2. Use painter's tape to tape off the front edges.

3. Spray paint the inside of the shelf yellow. Use two coats.

4. Prepare to stencil. Tape the stencil to a corner of one side of the shelf. Make sure that the stencil is sitting completely flat against the wood.

5. Spray one light coat of yellow spray paint evenly over the stencil. Make sure to stay at least 12 inches away from the stencil. I immediately removed the stencil and let it dry away from the shelf to keep them from getting stuck together.

6. When the first section is dry, move the stencil up so that the bottom rows of the new stencil line up with the top rows of the first one. Spray this new section yellow. Repeat the same process to cover the extra area on the right as well. Then stencil the other side of the shelf in the same way.

I was worried that the cardboard stencils wouldn't hold up well, but they worked perfectly with the spray paint. I could easily use the same stencil over and over again without any wrinkling or tearing from the paint. There were a couple of places where I got the can of spray paint too close to the shelf and the paint smeared a little past the stencil. I used white FolkArt acrylic paint to touch up these spots. If I hadn't made that mistake, I don't think I would have needed to touch up any areas at all.

I wanted to use this beautiful shelf as a craft organizer for my ribbon and paint. I found a dowel at the craft store that fit through the middle of spools of ribbon, and then drilled three evenly spaced holes through the top of the shelf. (I actually drilled these holes before I painted the shelf.) Then, I cut the dowel into three pieces that slightly stick out of the top of the shelf. Right now this organizer is sitting on the shelf next to my desk, but I will probably end out mounting it to the wall next to my crafty peg board.

Here are some other great projects you could make with the other AMAZING stencils from this same set. I will definitely be using these in some other upcoming projects!

Connect with Plaid: Plaid on Facebook, Plaid on Twitter, or Follow Plaid on Pinterest

*I wrote this post as part of a sponsored campaign with Plaid and The Blueprint Social. All opinions in this post are my own.

.
Check out some of the other projects from this campaign: