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Friday, April 27, 2012

Feature Friday: The Backporch Shoppe Signs

When Laura first started designing stencils, signs for home decor were her bread and butter.  To a large extent, they still are, but crafty folks have realized you can stencil on anything from burlap to plaster to ceramic.  We thought this week we'd highlight a wonderful customer who makes stunning signs with Laura's stencils.  They can really transform a space from dull to dramatic.  Take a look at the handiwork of Darline from The Backporch Shoppe.

They are so good, I couldn't pick just one.  (Isn't that a potato chip slogan?)





One of the things we like most about Darline's signs is they have great shapes.  They aren't just rectangles or squares.  The scrollwork shape here on this Paris Flower Market sign really emphasizes the vintage feel of her work.



Doesn't her paint look perfectly chippy and old?  We loved that weathered look she's able to create.  She does a lot of decor for weddings, (in fact, we featured her in last Wednesday's Etspiration) like the sign above, but she has art for other occasions as well.



As she wrote in her email to me, she uses Laura's flourishes extensively in her signs to add that little extra bit of interest.  If you have never looked, there's a whole category at the Maisondestencils store dedicated to Flourishes and Scrolls and the possibilities are endless as to where you can add them.  Signs, pillows, labels, homemade wrapping paper.  You name it!


Isn't this Air Postale sign just the coolest?  I love the postmark, it adds that special authentic feel to the sign. 

Many thanks to Darline for use of her images.  Please check out her Etsy shop here, it has the greatest stuff.  

Have you made a sign using a Maisondestencils stencil you'd like us to feature?  Drop us an email, we'd love to hear from you.

Take care, have a wonderful weekend.  I see blue sky here on the coast so I think I'll unplug from the computer for a little bit!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Special Promo Wednesday

Hiya Readers!

We are taking a break from Etspirations this week to talk about something near and dear to our hearts!  Promotions!

We want our little blog to have more viewers, and we want your blog to as well.  To that end, we are offering a button trade! 
We'd love to put your button on our blog, and please feel free to grab our button right over there to the left. 

If you are unfamiliar to this concept, there are around a million tutorials on the web, here's a nice, easy to follow one.


Speaking of your blog, have you made something with a Maisondestencils stencil you'd like to show off?

We'd love to feature you as part of our Feature Fridays segment.  If you are interested, please email us
and we can have a chat about your work and how we can best showcase you on our blog.

Here's a link to my email if you're interested!


Thanks so much for reading!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Happy Sunday!

Greetings Readers!

I hope you are having a marvelous Sunday!  I don't have anything stencil related to post, but I wanted to share the glorious weather we're having here in Oregon.


I hope wherever you are, you're having as much fun as my little boy Graham did eating sand.  :)

 

Friday, April 20, 2012

One Month Anniversary Giveaway Winner!

Drumroll please! The winner of the free 12x12 stencil is Tricia! Tricia, I've got your email, I will be contacting you shortly. Many thanks for all the lovely comments. Have a wonderful weekend!

Feature Friday: The Burlap Throw

Good Morning!

It's 46 degrees and pouring rain here this morning on the Oregon Coast and I am well armed with a cup of piping hot coffee and a snugly baby. I could, however, use a nice blanket. I can't think of a more stunning addition to any living room than this burlap and linen French blanket made by Funky Shique.


Isn't it amazing? I love how large it is! Perfect for keeping on the couch or in a bedroom for extra warmth.

The stencil used is Lucas Moller, which we saw a variant of in our first guest feature, The Galvanized Garden Bucket.


Funky Shique used fabric paint for durability, which is great. You can really live with this piece and not worry about fragility.


You can check out Funky Shique's blog here, and here's a link to her etsy shop. She is a magician with burlap!

You can find the stencil used here at the Maisondestencils store.


Stay tuned later this afternoon and I'll put up a post with the winner of our anniversary giveaway. If you somehow missed the post, there's still time, go make a comment here!

Au Revoir!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Etspiration Wednesday: Weddings

June is right around the corner and that means Weddings galore on Etsy. It's amazing how whole businesses revolve around the trimmings and trappings of weddings. We've got a number of great customers who purchase stencils from us for wedding related decor and we're going to highlight them individually in our next couple Feature Fridays. For now, here is a quick spin around Etsy of wedding related items that you won't have any problem saying, "I Do!" to.


1A: Mr and Mrs Burlap Banner Image Courtesy FunkyShique
1B: Bride and Groom Stencils Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
1C: Save the Date Wedding Tote Image Courtesy RachelWalter

My husband and I went to Vegas to get married, so there was no saving of dates! I love the idea of a Save The Date reminder that has function too, so props RachelWalter!


2A: Just Hitched Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
2B: Ring Bearer Pillow Image Courtesy Freshline
2C: French Journal Guestbook Image Courtesy GreenTrikePress

I just want to note that Diptic cropped the journal in 2C kind of strangely. It's really stunning, in fact all of the papercraft GreenTrikePress does is terrific. Really worth checking out.


3A: Custom Save The Date Postcard Image Courtesy 0NamesLeft
3B: Wedding Ampersand Sign Image Courtesy TheBackPorchShoppe
3C: Mr and Mrs Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
3D: Fleur De Lis Merci Bags Image Courtesy JennifersCookies

Love the postcard in 3A. Laura and I both do vintage postcard illustrations (hers stencil, mine digital) and I really love the look captured here. The red is perfect!


4A: Vintage Table Number Cards Image Courtesy KindredSpiritCrafts
4B: Playbill Wedding Invitation Image Courtesy HeSawSparks
4C: Guestbook Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils

I really love the playbill invitation in 4B for its typographic selection. I feel that in the past, wedding invitations were just a sea of script fonts. It's such a breath of fresh air to see bolder fonts and antique type set to work on really unique invitations.


5A: Just Hitched Wedding Banner Image Courtesy TheArtofHandmades
5B: Custom Timber Wedding Book Image Courtesy Lorgieandme
5C: Save The Date Magnet Image Courtesy DifferentDesigns10
5D: Love Is Patient Canvas Wedding Tags Image Courtesy TheCaterpillarsDream

The guestbook in 5B is totally amazing. Lorgie+Me make laser engraved wooden books (among other things). They have a baby book too which is just lovely.

As always, thanks to our superb participants for use of their photos. If you haven't already, be sure to leave a comment here for a chance to win a free 12x12 stencil. I'll announce the winner on Friday.

Have a great day!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Freebie Friday: 12x12 Stencil Giveaway

Happy Friday the 13th!

We've been blogging for a month already, can you believe it?

How about a giveaway in honor of this momentous occasion?

We're offering one free 12x12 stencil to one lucky reader! You can check out our selection of stencils at the Maisondestencils store.

If you'd like to enter the running, just leave a comment to this post with your email address.

We'll pick a winner on Friday, April 20 so stay tuned!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Etspiration Wednesday: The French Market

Another late post as we spent all day flying back to Oregon. Oh how I missed our pine trees and cool weather! Glad to be home.

Our theme for this week is the French market. I just watched Midnight in Paris (it's really cute) and the main character has romantic notions of living in Paris, strolling the boulevards, and enjoying one of the most beautiful cities in the world in the rain.

Technically, I've been to Paris. I spent 11 hours in DeGaulle on a layover. But my goodness, I don't think that counts nearly well enough and I made myself a promise that one day I'd get back there and shop, shop, shop.

So as a way of getting started, I took a scenic trip to Etsy and found some inspirational items for a digital voyage to the French Market.

On y va!


1A: Large BonBon Tin Image Courtesy FrenchFollie
1B: Boeuf Cooking Print Image Courtesy MorrisandCo
1C: Marche de Paris 1815 Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils


2A: Grocery Printers Block Image Courtesy Spacerocketstore
2B: Vintage French Market Price Tags Image Courtesy TheFrenchArtisan
2C: Boulangerie Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils


3A: French Vintage Sweet Tin Image Courtesy AuvergneMemories
3B: Patisserie Label Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
3C: Chicken Rooster Tote Image Courtesy Stituation
3D: French Meat Tea Towel Image Courtesy RandomNicole


4A: Rive Gauche Bistro Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
4B: Champignon Tea Towel Image Courtesy Giardino
4C: Paris Market Carrot Bag Image Courtesy jlquilts
4D: Blue Metal French Street Sign Image Courtesy RueDesLouves


5A: The French Market and Brocante Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
5B: French Bakery Pillow Image Courtesy HeidiDevlin
5C: Marche Vintage Hat Box Image Courtesy momsfavoriteshop
5D: Hand Painted African Butcher Sign Image Courtesy Secousse

As always, thanks to the Etsy shop owners for use of their images. See you Friday!

Friday, April 6, 2012

Feature Friday: Schoolhouse Cabinet

Dear readers, I've been remiss. I've been hosting a blog for Maisondestencils for one month and I haven't mentioned Chalk Paint once. I know many, many of you are familiar with this fabulous paint. It is the perfect way to give any project an aged, slightly distressed worn look. Our feature this week comes courtesy of the fabulous blog, Lady Butterbug and it is a Chalk Paint masterpiece.


She found an old schoolhouse cabinet at a yard sale for $50 and transformed it completely. The two Chalk Paint colors used are Paris Grey and Old White. She mixed the Old White with Clear Wax and waxed over the Paris Grey.


She scraped, sanded, and used steel wool to distress the cabinet for an aged look that feels 100% authentic. She also went over the doors with Dark Wax for contrast.


For an interesting twist, our feature this week utilizes the same stencil from our last feature, the Thonet Chair.

She used Hotel L'Avenir on each door of the cabinet and stenciled with graphite.


One great tip she mentions is to use a long level for cabinets where doors are uneven (and let's face it, many antiques have quirks like this) so you can level your stencils more easily.

The finished product is really terrific. She keeps the cabinet in her Chalk Paint room as a way of demonstrating painting techniques.

Lady Butterbug's original post can be found here.
Her blog is here.
The stencil used can be found here.

Thank you very much to Lady Butterbug for use of her images.

Happy Friday!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Etspiration Wednesday: Crowns

Sorry for the late post, we spent all yesterday traveling! Woohoo for babies and airports.

Our Etspiration this week is all about crowns and regal imagery. Crowns seem to be a mainstay in interior design and jewelry (they're perennially popular on Maisondestencils), and it was tough to choose from so many great items on Etsy.

Get royal and check our latest Etspiration images!


1A: French Crown Necklace Image Courtesy Candies64
1B: Queen Silhouette Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
1C: Place Cards with Crown Image Courtesy BagofTags


2A: Queen's Jubilee Tea Towel Image Courtesy TaylorsType
2B: Jean - Luc Beauvais Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
2C: Queen Tote Bag Image Courtesy demontoya


3A: Necklace Framed Prince Bird Pendant Image Courtesy ALostFeatherNY
3B: Marie Among The Roses Tote Image Courtesy RuPiperDesigns
3C: Wax Seal Crown Pendant Image Courtesy RQPStudio
3D: French Postage Stamp Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils


4A: Handpainted Groom Pillow Image Courtesy Nanaandmecreations
4B: Family and Friends Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
4C: Crown and Crest Burlap Pillow Image Courtesy ForeverLovelyDesign
4D: Handpainted Bride Pillow Image Courtesy Nanaandmecreations


Thanks to all our wonderful designers for use of their images! See you Friday!