The product in this post was provided to me at no cost by Cutting Edge Stencils, but the opinions are all mine!!

I am thrilled to doing this Cutting Edge Stencil Review for you today!! I am also thrilled that one of my loyal readers will have the chance to select a stencil {up to $50} to try themselves!! Be sure to enter below for your chance!! The giveaway will end on Saturday at noon!! I will announce that day just in time for Christmas!! Enjoy!!

I have been wanting to redo my daughters room for some time… it needed a little something.  In my mind it was pulling up her carpet that may or may not have had a half a gallon of pink paint spill on it a couple of years ago and was hidden by a rug tossed over.  I may or may not be the person who did such a thing… but I digress.  I have seen so many people painting their subfloors and I just knew that I wanted to stencil it.  Well, said floors were not smooth subflooring underneath and although stenciling can hide a multitude of sins- floor decking isn’t one of them… So, I decided to use the stencil on her walls!! And I am so glad for the unfortunate flooring.

I have been wanting to try Cutting Edge Stencils  for quite some time.  Why haven’t I? Well it truly is the adhd in me.  I get so overwhelmed at picking one out… There are so many amazing choices that my cart ends up full and that isn’t in my budget and then choosing one I close the tab and try again later… true story.  I decided to go with the Charlotte Allover Stencil Pattern.   Instantly knew it would be amazing on a wall or floor.  I also thought it would be amazing on the back of a cabinet or built-in or wall niche… I could go on and on about the possibilities.  The thing I truly love about the idea of using a stencil… it’s noncommittal.  It’s not like wallpaper, it’s just paint, and paint you can paint over. 

So I am thrilled to do a Cutting Edge Stencil review for you today.

When I received my package from Cutting Edge they included their stencil essentials along with the stencil.  It was a dense roller, level clip, and stencil brush.  To begin the project, even though I had stenciled before I did review the video on their website to be sure I wasn’t missing anything.  They have a wonderful variety of videos on their blog to help you with all the different ways you can use stencils.  If you haven’t already stenciled before it’s a great idea to get a piece of foam core or other sample board to give you some practice.  Don’t be intimidated.  I also used Frog Tape to hold the stencil in place.  You can use stencil adhesive and likely I would have had I given myself more time to find it… but you are okay without it.  Just make sure you use a tape that won’t immediately pull off your paint that you just put up… Frog tape is perfect for this- low tack but just enough to hold in place.  I did have change out the pieces as they lost their lost their grip but that’s easy.

Here’s what the room looked like before… lots and lots of pink!!  And you can see we had pulled up the flooring already… I painted out swatches to see what it would look like… notta good.

Prep your walls and make sure they are clean and dry before you start.  For my project I painted up the wall {eye balling it- you can measure and should if you aren’t sure} a little more than half.  It was approximately 64″ all the way around.  I used Restoration Hardware’s Pumice that I had painted in my living room… And a the stenciled portion I used a $5 mis-tint from Lowe’s {which I will be color matching for future projects… It is almost the same color as Benjamin Moore’s Coastal Fog- in LOVE}  When I gave sneak peeks many of you asked me about my favorite paints.  Here’s the truth from me and what works for me.  I love color and am gravitated towards them.  I have used many different paints and will color match using my favorites.  Benjamin Moore’s are my first choice.  They just are rich and go on smooth.  Second I love Sherwin William’s with a coupon… it’s expensive.  If I am in a big box- I prefer Valspar over the other.  I did paint my daughters room with Olympic One and it was amazing coverage for a deep saturated color in truly one coat… As for paint plus primers… I tend to use a real primer that is tinted first if I think I am going to need a primer.  I do love Gripper primers and believe that priming will save you a ton of time in your final color.

Let’s get started-

Placement of the stencil is key.  In this situation I didn’t measure out the middle and work out.  I started in an area that I wanted to be sure didn’t cut off funny as there is a funny corner.  Make sure you have your clip on level.  You would be amazed that even if you measure out what seems perfect- builders are not.  And lots of pattern can hide a multitude of sins or amplify it!! And you can see that I used the tape to hold it in position.

When you load your roller, be sure to get it good and wet and then roll it out on a paper towel. 

You will have to play with the amount you have loaded and what comes out on your stencil.  As this is really a one coat kind of thing.  So, in your taping you can peel back a corner to see if it is enough or not.  I wanted this pattern to be sort of faded and vintage like so it’s not a perfect application on purpose.  I can’t distress the walls but I can play with the amount of pressure I give in certain spots to give that effect.  You can tell by looking at the photo below that there isn’t a fully painted stencil it is light pressure.  The more pressure you place on the roller you can get paint behind the stencil making unsightly smudges.  That’s not what you are working towards. 

 

The Cutting Edge Stencils are great quality.  The thickness is ideal for a variety of applications.  I have shown you how to use Glacage on furniture and with the different sizes that Cutting Edge has they would be great using with wood icing or other mediums.  Below you can see the entire stencil has been painted out.

Looking at the above you can see that there are 4 round markers for this pattern.  The right side of the stencil is missing some pattern. This is a marker for your next line if you go horizontally.  If you go vertically you see that the pattern is missing on the lower end.  I decided to go horizontally because my space was half a wall.  I likely would have gone in vertical strips if I had a full wall to give my self rows to match up to.

 

 

 

I worked my way around doing just one wall at a time.  Tips for corners… tape only half pretty tight and then hold the other side and use roller on most of what you can and use the brush for the tighter spots. 

The stencil also comes with a top edger that you can use at the top of the wall.  And you can lightly bend the stencil at the bottom and sides to fill in the missing patterns.

Below you will see what the stencil looks like as it is pulled away.

And here’s the room… I will do a separate post on the making of her bed.  But you will see on the flooring I used bead board.  A little unconventional yes, but it was a fun way to hide the floor away until we can find a different option in the budget.  But honestly, with her being just 28 pounds it’s just perfect!! I love how it turned out! It’s painted out in the same color we used on the stencil.  And I used Modern Masters Oyster for the center highlights as well as the stencil on the floor.  You will see I only used the circle portion on the floor spaced randomly for a touch of whimsy.

Isn’t it just perfect.. I love the way it all comes together!!

 

You can see on the floor how the stencil just shimmers… thank you modern masters…

 

 

 

 

 

 

This dresser is on my to do list to redo… but here’s another shot of this wall…  We used all reclaimed wood from Restore to trim out the chair railing… this piece was one of my favorites and I left it the dark wood it was.  I love that they are all different and add such character to the room…

All of the artwork in her room is canvases that her sister and I have painted over the years… such a fun and inexpensive way to add a little something personal.  And the tissue pom poms were for her during her second birthday!! Saved them for instant room décor.  You can see a bit of her ceiling fan in this picture below… It was also painted. 

Now our sweet Mia has a room that’s fit for a princess!!

 

Thank you for allowing me to share with you her sweet room.  I hope you will come back for her bed tomorrow!! I will share how to take 3 beds and create a one of a kind day bed!!  Be sure to share comment and enter the giveway!!

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