My friend Julie inspired this idea. She framed some fall leaves in a large clear acrylic frame. I loved its simplicity. These Coach picture frames that I received as a gift years ago were perfect for spelling out a word. I had five frames, but I was set on spelling hope, so I added a dove to the fifth frame. (I know: Doves are the universal symbol for peace, but to me a dove with an olive branch—from the story of Noah’s Ark—symbolizes hope.) You could also frame other obvious words such as peace and love—or your name or the initials of the members of your family.

Framed silhouette words

Supplies and tools

• 1 sheet black construction paper
• scissors
• printed stencils (see below)
• magnetic acrylic frames (find similar ones at Bed Bath & Beyond and Amazon.com)

1. Use a computer graphics program to spell out and print the word you’ve chosen. Change your text to outlines to save printer ink. (The font I used was 430 pt Minion Pro Semibold.) Or print the stencils I made. Download the hope stencil here, and the dove stencil here.

2. Place your stencil on top of a sheet of black paper and cut both sheets around the stencil. Discard the stencil when done.

3. Insert each letter into a frame. That was easy!

I bought this little library table on Craigslist last year for $15. I loved its cute shape, but it needed lots of repairs. I pulled 21 (mostly bent) nails out of this thing—and filled twice as many holes. Then a few coats of shiny silver paint and a handmade stencil gave it an instant update. Like the stencil? Download the pattern to make your own. And the pink books? I covered a few beloved paperbacks with coordinating 12- x 12-inch scrapbooking paper.

Silver stenciled library side table

*Please see the note at step 7.

Supplies

• spray primer
• chrome spray paint
• white latex paint
• newspaper or drop cloth
• sandpaper or sanding block
• wood filler
• photo mount spray adhesive
• stencil board (available at art stores)

Tools

• tack cloth
• latex gloves (optional)
• utility knife
• self-healing mat
• small round paintbrush
• printer and paper

1. First, disassemble and repair the table you are refurbishing. For me, this required pulling out lots of nails and gluing some broken pieces.

2. Fill holes and nicks with wood filler, then let dry. Sand smooth with fine sandpaper. Remove dust with a tack cloth.

3. Paint two coats of primer. Let dry at least 15 minutes after each coat.

4. Spray 2-3 coats of silver spray paint, letting dry about 20 minutes between coats. Let dry overnight.

5. Download the stencil here. Don’t like my pattern? You’ll find some more free stencils here. Print it out, then attach it to a stencil board with spray adhesive.

6. Using a utility knife and a self-healing mat, cut out the stencil. It’s easier and more effective to turn the stencil, not the knife, when you cut round shapes.

7. Spray a light coat of adhesive on the back of the stencil, and let dry a minute or so. Or you can use stencil adhesive. Adhere the stencil in place. Using a fairly dry paintbrush, apply paint to the stencil in a thin coat. The stencil tends to bleed slightly, so immediately remove the stencil and paint a thicker coat of paint by hand, smoothing out the bleeds as you go.

*Note: The instructions above are how I did it, but I think there’s a better way. After step 3, spray a couple coats of white paint in the general area where you’re going to stencil, then skip to step 5 and 6. Trace the stencil onto Con-Tact paper and cut it out. When the paint is dry (I’d give it 24 hours), remove the backing and adhere the Con-Tact paper stencil onto the table. Continue with step 4, then peel off the Con-Tact paper. (If you try this, please let me know if it works for you!)

8. Let the paint dry. All done.

My apologies to those of you who had difficulty with my site this week. I tried something that didn’t work. It’s back to the old design until I work out the kinks. While I do that, I thought I’d post a project from two years ago. I bought a bunch of canvas tote bags, fabric markers, and stencils and went wild. While I admit I overdid the “It’s easy being green” theme, I had a lot of fun—and they made great gifts.

Reusable shopping bags

Supplies and tools

• canvas tote bags (I found the best deal at Dharma Trading Co.)
• fabric markers ( I used FabricMate permanent chisel-tip fabric pens, also found at Dharma Trading Co.)
• water-soluble fabric marker
• stencils
• images from the Internet

1. Choose your stencils and plan your design. Alternatively, find pictures you like on the internet, and draw them freehand with a water-soluble marker. (That’s how I drew the tree illustrations.) Fill in the stencils (or outlines) with permanent fabric markers. The colors mix together just like dyes, so try blending shades. The dyes are permanent without heat setting, but let them dry for a couple days before spraying or dabbing with water to remove any visible erasable-pen marks.

My new friend, Heika DeHart, shared these images of her daughter Aspen’s adorable bedroom. Nearly every decoration in the room was created from scratch by Heika herself. My favorite project is the stunning dresser. I loved the result so much, I asked her to share her instructions. She tells how she made her own stencils, how she cut silhouettes of her daughter, and more. Thanks, Heika!

Stenciled dresser

I bought this old dresser at a university auction for $15. It was structurally sound but in serious need of a face-lift. Paint and new knobs did the trick. Here’s how to do it:

Supplies and tools

• sand paper or steel wool
• paint roller and tray (if latex paint is used)
• interior latex paint or spray paint
• polyurethane clear finish (optional)
• stencil adhesive spray
• sponge paint brush
• butcher paper
• craft knife (such as an X-Acto knife)
• overhead projector
• glass drawer pulls

1. Prep
Remove all hardware, and take the drawers out of the dresser. Lightly sand all the surfaces that are going to be painted with low grit sandpaper or steel wool, which will help the new paint adhere better.

2. Paint
Two options for painting furniture that work well:

Latex interior paint: I recommend rolling it on rather than using a paintbrush where possible because the result is smoother. Use a foam brush to get in any tight corners or hard to reach places (dabbing paint on with a foam brush will give the same appearance as the rolled-on paint). For the dresser, place it on 2x4s or anything that will raise it off the ground so that you can easily paint all the way to the bottom. Coat everything twice or until it looks completely covered.

Spray paint: This is my preferred method of painting furniture. The only drawback is a limited color palette to choose from. After sanding, prep the dresser by taping over any surface you don’t want painted. The trick with spray paint is to stand back and try to achieve a light, consistent coat, which will minimize drips. It dries to a tacky phase in about 15 minutes and can be given multiple coats in a short period of time.

3. Make a stencil
Find a picture with simple lines, then transfer the image onto a clear overhead projection page. Tape a big piece of butcher paper onto the wall and project the image onto the paper. After measuring to make sure the image is the desired size, trace the outlines of the picture onto the paper. Then cut out the positive spaces of the stencil with a craft knife. You can also use a pre-made stencil. The Stencil Library has a huge selection.

4. Paint the stencil
When the paint on the dresser is completely dry, paint the stencil on. Lay the dresser on its back and replace the drawers, so the drawers face up. Spray stencil adhesive to the back of the stencil and place the stencil on the drawers. Tape off any exposed parts of the dresser front that you don’t want to be painted, then spray paint over the stencil. (Spray paint makes a much cleaner line than dabbing paint on, which inevitably bleeds under the stencil.)

5. Optional top coat
To give the paint a tougher kid-proof finish, paint a layer of polyurethane clear coat onto the dresser. It will keep the paint from getting scratched easily and will make cleaning  children’s messy fingerprints easier.

6. New hardware
The finishing touch for the makeover was new glass drawer pulls. Replacing hardware is a quick and easy way to update any piece of furniture.

Paper silhouettes

This was a simple, inexpensive project. I thought it would be sweet to have silhouettes of my daughter hanging on her wall but found it impossible to keep her still long enough to trace her outline. I settled on this solution. I found these simple frames at a dollar store. The entire project cost less than $10, but it adds a personal touch to her room. Here’s how to do it:

Supplies and tools

• photographs
• scrapbook paper
• glue stick
• white card stock
• frames
• double-sided tape
• printer or photo copier
• scissors

1. Search your photo collection to find images that are profile or silhouette shots. Copy or print them as large as possible on an 8-1/2- x 11-inches sheet of paper.

2. Tape the photo page and scrapbook paper back-to-back then cut out around shape of the child in the photo.

3. Glue the silhouettes onto white card stock and frame them.

Update: I found an awesome photo tutorial for making silhouettes using this same process at Simple Gifts. Check it out here.

Stenciled wall

This project was quite time-consuming, but the final product was worth all of the work. I made this stencil the same way I did for the dresser. I originally saw this stencil painted on a wall in Domino magazine and fell in love with it. It is such an unusual and fun way of breaking up the wall space in a room. Here’s how to do it:

Supplies and tools

• 2 shades of interior latex paint
• paint roller and tray
• photo paper
• stencil paintbrush
• craft knife (such as an X-Acto knife)
• small tip artist paint brush
• stencil adhesive spray
• edging tools
• measuring tape
• level
• masking tape
• drop cloth
• overhead projector

1. Make the stencil
Photocopy an image (I copied the page from Domino), then have the image transferred onto a clear overhead projector sheet. (I went to Kinko’s, but the sheets can also be run through regular copiers.) Measure the projected image to make sure it’s the desired height, then trace it onto photo paper (it’s thicker paper that holds up for multiple uses). The stencil should be at least 1-1/2 of the pattern length so that it’s easy to line up later. Cut out the negative space (light pink) of the stencil using a craft knife.

2. Pre-prep
Move furniture out of the way and cover with plastic. Cover floor with drop cloth.

3. Create a guide line
Measure up from the floor 3-1/2 feet. Using a level, tape off a line.

4. Painting walls
Paint the top half (light pink) first, from ceiling to the tape line. Use edging tools to make crisp lines at the ceiling and around moulding. Once it’s dry, remove the tape and paint the dark pink (again using edging tools around moulding) up to the light pink. (My stencil is about six inches tall, so I painted the dark pink a little more than six inches higher than where I wanted the stencil to start.)

5. Stencil
When the paint is completely dry, measure again and tape off a level line at three feet from the floor. Next spray the back side of the stencil with adhesive spray (the adhesive spray remains sticky enough to use the stencil many times before having to reapply it). Then line the stencil up with the top of the tape line and stick it to the wall. Using the light pink paint and a stencil paint brush, I stenciled around the entire room, making a border between the two colors of paint.

Tip: It’s difficult to keep paint from seeping under the edge of the stencil (even with adhesive spray), especially when the stencil is used repeatedly. I wanted the lines to be crisp because the two pinks were quite close in color. So, after the stenciling was dry, I took a fine tip artist brush and dark pink paint and touched up any splotches, where paint seeped under the stencil.

Poof flowers

I can’t take any credit for these. I bought a Martha Stewart kit. Of course, once I found out how easy they are to make, I cursed myself for spending $20 on a kit when I could have just bought the tissue paper for $5 and made them entirely on my own. Oh well, live and learn.

I got this idea from the plastic adhesive window coverings Sarah Gaffney used in Sunset’s Menlo Park Idea House. It took me hours and hours to do—and I don’t like it. That is, I don’t like how Plan A turned out—mostly because I apparently got a defective roll of clear Con-Tact paper (see the streaks?). Plus, doesn’t it look like someone took a steamy shower inside of there?

It was obviously time for Plan B. Thanks to a can of frosted glass finish, it looks much better now.

Faux frosted glass

Supplies and tools

• glass cleaner
• rags or paper towels
• craft knife (such as an X-Acto knife)
• Expo Vis-à-Vis wet erase marker
• clear Con-Tact paper
• large stencil (I found mine at Michaels)
• Plan B: Krylon Frosted Glass Finish in white (also at Michaels)

1. Clean the glass well. Any speck of dust will create a bubble in the Con-Tact paper. Peel a few inches of the backing off, stick that edge to the edge of your glass, and start smoothing it down side to side. Keep about an inch overlap on all sides. Smooth down as you unroll a few inches at a time. When you get to the end of the glass, leave an overlap and cut the roll off. If you miss a bubble, pierce it with the tip of your craft knife and smooth it down.

2. Run your fingernail along the edge to get the paper to stick right up to the wooden frame.

3. Trim along the edges right up against the frame.

4. Peel off the excess.

5. Decide what pattern you’re going to create with the stencil. Trace it using a wet erase marker, which is easily wiped off but won’t smudge as readily as dry erase marker.

6. Now this is the time-consuming part. Cut out each piece with a craft knife.

7. Lift out the pieces using the tip of your knife.

8. Wipe off the excess ink with a damp rag. This is the end of Plan A.

9. Spray the stenciled portions with the frosted glass finish. Shake the can well. Hold it 10 to 12 inches from the glass. Apply even layers in a side-to-side motion. For a deeper finish: Let the first coat dry, then apply a second coat. Let dry. (I covered the exposed shelving with the discarded Con-Tact paper backing.)

10. Peel off the Con-Tact paper. Voilà: Plan B. If you change your mind later, the finish can be removed with lacquer thinner—or easily scraped off with a box-cutter blade.