Cutting Edge Stencils: Allium Twins and a Giveaway!

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I'm so excited to tell you more about the incredible products from Cutting Edge Stencils! If you saw my post on Monday, then you know how happy I was when I used one of their stencils to make an art piece for my dining room. But now I'm going to tell you about another project I had with them. Their tagline is "awesome stencils for walls," so I figured them best way to try them out would be on a wall, right?

I have recently had the pleasure of moving out of the mini-room that used to be my craft room, and into the room that was formerly our office. It has been a few months coming and I was thrilled when my husband suggested it, but was looking for a way to spruce it up a little bit without a complete wall color overhaul, so I turned to Cutting Edge Stencils. Most of the walls are covered up with desks and shelves, but I had this one little neglected nook that really needed something, and that something was these Allium Twins.

I was so thrilled to receive this huge and beautiful stencil in the mail! In addition to the stencil, I received one of the most all-inclusive set of instructions that I have ever received. Even if you have used stencils before, which I have, you will definitely learn something new! When I was reading over the instructions, I got the distinct feeling that the company really wanted me to succeed in achieving a beautiful product, and that their work was not done now that they had my money. I was walked step-by-step through my project, including a section on painting with a roller and on painting with brushes, how to stencil in room corners, what to do if you make a mistake or need to take a break in the middle of your project, pros and cons of spray adhesives, cleaning, storage and repairs of the stencils. There were also dozens of tips throughout. Truly, they thought of everything, and as a consumer I felt very taken care of! I couldn't wait to get started!!

The instructions recommend working out your technique on a sample board first, and I'm so glad that I did, because this is how I realized that a rounded edge roller just wasn't going to work for me on this project. I made a few attempts, but I just couldn't get the hang of it. I think I may have just done too much wall painting recently, and I was having a difficult time restraining myself against pushing the roller down just a little too hard to try to squeeze out a bit of extra paint and it was getting under the stencil. So after a few tries, when I realized that I didn't have the patience to apply multiple very light coats, I turned to the old faithful, a stiff stencil brush and stencil paint.

I sprayed the stencil lightly with a tacky adhesive spray, smoothed it over the wall, and attached the top and sides with blue painter's tape. I then started filling in the holes with my stencil brush and stencil paint. I was glad that I opted for the stencil brush, since this stencil had lots of teeny tiny holes that were only a millimeter wide or long and I was able to be really precise with my painting. The stencil was good and thin, and laid completely flat on the wall with no curling, which made it so easy to work on the design!

I couldn't be happier with the allium twins! The little petals and spikes are sharp, clear and fun! They added a nice, bright floral element to the room and are exactly what I was looking for.

So I added a few more.

Aren't they great?!

I was able to get really sharp lines on the edges, which I was extremely happy about. This is on a wall where people will be standing just inches from it, as opposed to behind a piece of furniture or on a feature wall, so sharpness was really important to me.

That said, if you use the oil-based stencil paint that I used here, be prepared for it to take a long time to dry. It said on the label 24-48 hours and I don't know why I doubted them. Or why, when I excitedly showed it to my husband, he couldn't resist reaching his thumb over to touch one of the petals and smudging it. Or why I drug my hand halfway across the bloom the next morning (still not dry then). It just looks so cool, you can hardly resist touching it!

Having used this stencil, and the Spring Songbirds which I showed you on Monday here, I think I might be quickly becoming addicted!

Onto the great news, Cutting Edge Stencils has agreed to give away one of their incredible stencils to a Lemon Tree Creations reader! Simply head on over to their site here, look around, and then come back and leave me a comment telling me your 2 favorite designs for a chance to win. For a second entry, blog about this giveaway, and leave a comment linking back to your blog.

Here are a few of my other other favorites from their website.

**THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!**