Stenciling Throw Pillows for Children’s Rooms |
| Friday, August 22, 2008 |
When adding décor to your child’s bedroom or playroom, your options are virtually unlimited. The furniture, wallpaper, flooring, accessories and bedding all work together to create a unified theme or color scheme. However, have you considered using stenciling, to enhance the items in the room? Stenciling can be used on objects in the room, ranging from walls to floors, and from lampshades to window shades.
Use stencils to enhance accessories for your children’s bedroom, including throw pillows for bunk beds. Bunk beds are attractive, space-efficient, and most importantly for your son or daughter—fun! Here are some tips to help you to stencil more effectively:
1. Storing forever-flat brushes. Your stencil brushes must remain flat at all times. Place them between two pieces of cardboard, and then position the brush in the middle of a phone book, or “War and Peace.”
2. Do not overdo it. Avoid adding too much paint to the brush, to avoid the paint from leaking underneath the stencil’s edges. The tips of the brush’s bristles should be uniformly coated. You can use a cloth or paper to remove any extra paint.
3. Guinea pig paper. To help prevent an error on the real surface, test the stencil on a piece of paper, to determine if you will get the results that you want.
4. Two is better than one. It is wise to apply one coat, let it dry, and then apply a second coat. This is more effective than applying one thicker coat.
5. Use the right tools for the right job. Use quality stenciling brushes, a sponge, or small roller. Stenciling brushes are round, with bristles that are short and rigid. You should quickly move the brush up and down, to pat paint onto the stencil. This movement will help to avoid the paint from seeping underneath the edges.
6. Stay there! Secure the stencil by using tape at the top and bottom of the stencil. The best type is low-tack tape, as it will prevent paint from being pulled off the surface, and is a cinch to pull off.
7. Brush from the outside-inwards. Instead of working from the stencil’s center to the edge, work from the edge to the center. This will keep paint from seeping underneath the edges of the stencil.
8. Cleanliness is next to godliness. Constantly clean your stencils in warm water, to keep the edges paint-free. This will create a cleaner pattern. Paint can be easily wiped off card and paper stencils, then the remaining paint needs to dry. However, acetate stencils are more ideal for using the same stencils multiple times.
9. The colors of the rainbow. When adding multiple colors to a single stencil, use masking tape to block areas that you want to paint a different color.
Stencils are the perfect tools for enhancing the décor in your son’s or daughter’s bedroom or playroom. They can even be used on throw pillows, to make lovely, fun-filled, safe bunkbeds, even better! Following some basic guidelines can make stencils stupendous. |
posted by khanggareng @ 9:24 PM  |
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Add Accessories to a Children’s Bedroom |
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What would a tuxedo be without a bow tie? How about a gown without a necklace? What would a sports car be without a spoiler? Accessories are important in complementing a variety of objects in life. When designing and decorating a bedroom for our son or daughter, accessories are also important. Whether they include throw pillows on bunk beds or hair clips on lamp shades, accessories are important in improving the overall appearance of the bedroom. But where do we begin? Here are some tips to help guide you when choosing accessories for your son’s or daughter’s bedroom:
Sleeping in style
To decorate your child’s bunkbeds, use quilt covers and pillows with themes and patterns. You can change these accessories as your child grows out of them, and pass them down to younger children. Also, it is advisable to choose beddings that can be washed in washing machines, and particularly those for the youngest children.
Fun and functional window draperies
For younger children, blinds and curtains with cartoon prints or bright colors, are ideal. The key is for the draperies to be appealing, yet functional. When your children become older, let them select their own patterns.
Make sure to follow some safety precautions regarding draperies. All decorations should be embroidered securely onto the draperies. Also, the draperies should never be too lengthy, as children often pull them in curiosity. You should also opt for the new “breakaway cords” for blinds, which can help to prevent strangulation.
A little help for furniture
Accessories can even include pieces for furniture, which can be matched up with the theme or color scheme of the room. Furniture accessories can include:
·Bookends
·Clocks
·Coat hooks
·Cork boards
·Door plaques
·Pencil boxes
·Picture frames
·Plush sports balls
Whether your child is a fan of sports, pets, or flowers, the right accessories for furniture can add the perfect touch to his or her bedroom.
Go off the wall for the walls
Think of the walls in your child’s bedroom as a canvass. You can add paint and wallpaper, but that is just the beginning. Use shelves to display trophies, or whatever your child collects (i.e. dolls, stuffed animals, baseball caps, etc.)
You can also use a wall as a sort of gallery. Include framed photos of friends and family members, or artwork that your child has created. Another idea is to include a year-to-year timeline of photographs that feature your child growing up.
Stenciling: not just for paper
As schoolchildren, we used stencils to make professional titles for poster boards. You can also use stenciling to personalize children’s room. From teddy bears to race cars, and from gardens to rockets, stenciling can add some pizzazz to any wall of a children’s bedroom. With the right tools and some creativity, you can help to make your child’s dream occupation, a reality.
Whether they are used for fashion, vehicles, or bunkbeds, accessories help to bring everything together. Accessories can contribute to the overall theme of your son’s or daughter’s bedroom, so you should start today: accessorize, accessorize! |
| posted by khanggareng @ 8:48 PM |
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