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What better way to express your love than to create something that’s meant just for that special someone. There is no better way to enjoy Valentine’s Day than to get personal and artistic. Revamp those old plain T-shirts in the back of your closet, or personalize a new sweater by using our Valentine’s Day stencils! Whether you’re spending this Valentine’s Day with friends, a loved one, or even yourself, this project is bound to inspire you.

Things you will need: 1 T-shirt or sweater of your choice, fabric paint, low tack spray adhesive, Arrows stencil, Heart stencil, tape, brushes, and cardboard.

Step 1: Put a piece of cardboard inside the sweater to hold its shape, and to prevent the sweater from moving around during stenciling. Fold the arms behind the sweater to get them out of the way.

Step 2: Determine where you want to place the Arrows stencil on the sweater. Once you decide the placement, apply your low-tack spray adhesive to the back on the stencil. Once tacky, place onto sweater. Put masking tape on the edges to prevent painting outside the stencil.

Step 3: Now it’s time to paint. Using a clean, dry stencil brush, begin stippling the paint over the stencil. Depending on what finish you want, you can either apply an opaque layer for a crisp look, or a light layer to create more of a distressed effect. We used Jacquard paint in this DIY.

Step 4: Carefully lift the stencil from the sweater, and allow to dry completely. Seal the paint if necessary, depending on the fabric paint you used. Jacquard fabric paint requires you to use a hot iron on the reverse side for 1 minute once completely dry.

Voila! your very own, personalized sweater is done! Use your Cupid arrows wisely though.

Want more of a statement on your old T-shirt? Try using the Heart stencil, combined with the Arrows stencil to create this unique design. Simply changing the color of paint can give this project a whole new look, allowing you the further personalize your shirt.

With your newly personalized shirt and sweater, you’re ready to take on Valentine’s Day with a bow and arrow. Keep them for yourself or give them as a gift. Share your projects with us @Stencil1! Enjoy your Valentines day!

I love my SOMA water carafe, it filters my tap water and comes from a highly eco-conscious company that helps provide clean water to developing countries. It also adds an element of beautiful design to my kitchen counter and I thought it deserved a nice place to stand each day so this DIY is about customizing a wood slab for your SOMA to proudly sit on!

Stencil1_Soma

The materials you will need for this are:

A wood slab from an art supply store
Paint
Stencil brush
Arrow 6″ x 6″ stencil

A slab of birch with the bark still on it, so simple and beautiful, the perfect canvas…

Spray the back of the stencil with some low-tack spray adhesive and let it dry for 30-60 seconds. Place the stencil where you want your stencil design to appear on the wood.

Using very little paint on your brush, fill in the open areas on the stencil.

Carefully lift your stencil to reveal your skills!

And there it is! Now it needs some company…

We stenciled mason jars in the past and think this black heart mason jar goes swell with our arrow birch SOMA carafe holder!

It adds a fun graphic element to our kitchen!

Time for some clean water.

Cheers! Hope you liked this DIY. Please share your project images with us @Stencil1.

You can find out more about SOMA here.

Recapitulation, a practice used by an ancient warrior tribe in Mexico, is the act of replenishing lost energy to oneself. Today, recapitulation is a meditation practice where, at the end of the day, you wind down by thinking in under 5 minutes all you did in that day. It’s a little bit of time to decompress, be mindful and feel your accomplishments. Well, what about applying it to an entire year?

The world moves so fast that it’s easy to get buried by the details, the emails. In thinking about 2016, we want to take stock of 2015. What did we accomplish, what do we want to do more of, what do we want to do differently, who do we want to work with?

“I think looking back at the year for anyone is empowering and keeps you going,” Ed says. “So this exercise of recapitulation is key.

As a small business owner, you wear many hats and are often overwhelmed and this exercise allows me to feel successful and energized for 2016.”

A few Stencil 1 2015 highlights:

February was a boon when we were awarded Product of the Year for our repeat pattern wallpaper stencil kit. It’s a consumer-voted award, which felt extra gratifying.

Ed continues, “Events always feel great, since we tend to work in a bubble most the time.” (Speaking of our bubble, it just got a beautiful new makeover a la The Container Store, pics and story to come soon!)

“Seeing people embrace creativity keeps me going.” Last year, Stencil 1 participated in a variety of celebrations: Clarks Shoes’ 65^th anniversary of their desert boot, a pop-up shop at Le Bon Marche in Paris, a community mural at the Brooklyn Museum for their show, Art Off the Wall: The Rise of Sneaker Culture, and a personalized T-shirt event with kids and teens in Miami at the Soho Beach House.

“I think the exercise in looking back and writing a list of your accomplishments, well, it gives you a boost for the year ahead and also reminds you of why you do what you do,” Ed says. “I design stencils and other creative tools to empower people with creativity and hopefully make them happier in some way.”

So what about you? We’d love to make this area of Stencil 1 a conversation space. Let us know what you’d like to see more of? What kinds of projects are you looking to do? How can we assist? We’ll be thinking of you in our daily recapitulation.

Okay, so you got through your clutter by organizing them in these awesome, sleek Bigso drawers. Next step is to get them labeled so you know where everything is!

Stenciled_bigos_getorganized

These Grey Bigso Marten Paper Drawers are not only perfect for storing papers, but also for many other tools and materials. It is super compact, while adding a touch of elegance to your office. With its perfect canvas, label these drawers using Stencil1’s 1/2 in. Tall Industrial Stencil Font stencil like how we did here!

Sophistication and organization at its finest!

Tie up your room or office space with a cork bulletin board to keep you organized, and at the same time, stylish! Cork bulletin boards are perfect to pin up your reminders and to-do lists.

Using the Shifted Rectangles repeat pattern, we stenciled an entire large cork board and placed it on a large, empty wall that definitely needed some love. This cork bulletin board will make sure you will never forget a thing!

What are some things you do to keep organized? Share it with us @Stencil1!

The Container Store provides a huge array of solutions to your cluttered spaces. With their simplistic storage products, you can decorate and personalize your space, making them your own works of art.

What better way to start the New Year than to get organized and clean up all your clutter from the year before. These whitewashed trays from The Container Store are beautiful, elegant, and can store anything from fine gold jewelry to little terrariums and air plants. They are also the perfect canvas to unleash your creativity and paint on!

Things you will need: 3 Whitewashed Wood Tapered Trays, paint and paintbrushes, painter’s tape, and Stencil1 Small Image and Pattern stencils.

Step 1. Gather your materials. Using the painter’s tape, take a long strip of tape and place it diagonally across the tray.

Step 2. With the stencil of your choice, spray some low-tack spray adhesive behind the stencil to prevent the paint from bleeding underneath the stencil. Place the stencil on the tray in your desired location. Here, we are using the Triangles Repeat Pattern.

Step 3. Grab your paint and paintbrush and start painting away! Trying using a dry brush technique by dabbing the excess paint onto a paper towel or plate and painting over the stencil, gradually intensifying the color.

Step 4. Once the paint is dry, carefully remove the stencil.

Step 5. Grab your next color. Here we used a metallic copper color to contrast the subtle gray-beige color. Paint over the other side of the tape to give your tray a look as if it was dipped in copper.