DIY Design Ideas: Flower Stencil Wood Stain Decor

Nikki from the blog The Ambitious Procrastinator recently completed a very unique DIY project! Full of great decor and design ideas, she used a flower stencil to update her cabinets, but instead of using paint, Nikki used wood stain to "maintain the linear look of the wood grain that continues across all the cabinets." Design ideas are truly endless when it comes to stencils! Here's how Nikki did it, and how you can, too!

Flower Stencil Decor

Nikki chose the Dandelion stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils for her DIY project. She applied a mixture of wood glue and water over the flower stencil before applying the wood stain. This DIY decor technique allows the wood to be left in its natural color once it has been stained. Some advice from Nikki to those who are looking to take on similar DIY decor projects: "Just like you would stencil with paint, you want to make sure your coverage is very thin and build it up from there." This step is always so important when it comes to stencils!

DIY Design Ideas

Nikki admits that once she was done with her flower stencil, it was a little bit difficult to see exactly where she had stenciled since the wood glue and water mixture was quite clear. She suggests tilting your DIY decor project in order to allow the light to catch the mixture. When the mixture is fully dry, it's time to stain! Nikki used an old t-shirt to apply the wood stain over her flower stencil. According to Nikki, the process is super easy: "Just dip in in the stain and spread it over the wood. Don't worry about where you stenciled, you can stain right over it." Following, Nikki took another old t-shirt, a dry one, and took it over the surface of her DIY project to soak up the extra stain.

Decor with Stencils

Almost finished with her DIY flower stencil decor project, Nikki let the stain dry for a day and then sanded down the rough edges left from the wood glue and water mixture before applying two coats of poly to finish her cabinet doors off. For more details and photos, check out Nikki's full blog post on how to stencil with wood stain, and look around the rest of The Ambitious Procrastinator for more fabulous decor and design ideas! Do you love Nikki's creative project with DIY stencils as much as we do? What design ideas do you have in mind that could use this decor technique? Please share your thoughts and comments! Thanks for reading! Emily and the Cutting Edge Stencils Crew