the stockings were hung.

Published on by Quandie

I get a lot of my inspiration from pinterest, and I bet a few of you do too.  Quite a while back (probably at least 4 or 5 years ago) I pinned this …

I wish I could give credit for this photo, but there were no links or watermarks or anything.  I really loved the look of that painted and stenciled sock stretcher.

So I started snatching up sock stretchers when I saw them at garage or estate sales.

In case you’ve never heard of sock stretchers (or sock blockers), they are used to keep your woolen socks from shrinking as they dry.  You wash the socks, and then put them over the sock stretcher to dry.

Based on the numbers stamped on the backs, I’d say you must have been able to buy them in your size thus keeping your socks shaped just right for your feet.

The thing I can’t figure out is why every time I’ve seen them at sales, the seller has just one of them.  Wouldn’t you at least need to have a pair?  I don’t know.  But check out this article for more info on sock stretchers.

Anyway, I pulled out my selection of sock stretchers to give them a little makeover for Christmas.  I started by painting them in Dixie Belle’s Sawmill Gravy.  Turns out that a couple of them were bleeders.  This provided me with a great opportunity to show you what that looks like in a side by side comparison.

These were both painted in one coat of Sawmill Gravy. The one on top has an orange-ish stain that is bleeding through the paint.  This was easily fixed by adding a coat of Dixie Belle’s BOSS, letting it dry overnight, and then painting over it.  Then one more coat of Sawmill Gravy was all it needed.

Next I pulled out some of the new stencils that I received from Maison de Stencils.  This time I used Dixie Belle’s Gravel Road paint to do my stenciling.  I like using Dixie Belle paint for stenciling because it’s nice and thick.  People often ask for tips on getting a crisp look with stencils.  Using a thicker paint like the Dixie Belle paint, or re.design with Prima Marketing’s Chalk Paste, helps keep your paint from seeping under the edges of your stencil.

I didn’t use any of the stencils ‘as is’ exactly, instead I just placed portions of words where I thought they looked best on the sock stretchers.  I tried to space them out so they looked uniform, but also so that they filled in most of the space.

Once the paint was dry, I sanded lightly and then gave them a coat of wax.  Some of them needed holes drilled into the top so that I could hang them with string.

I think maybe I need to add some sprigs of greenery to the tops of mine like the one in the inspiration photo has.

In the meantime, the stockings are hung on the pine cupboard with care.  In hopes that St. Nicholas will … well, I guess he can’t really fill them up with any goodies, now can he?

Now, for today’s giveaway!  If you’ve been following along, today is day 10 of my 12 days of giveaways.  I’ve drawn names for the winners of prizes 1 through 8 so far.  You can still leave a comment to win prize 9 from Monday if you leave a comment on that post by midnight tonight.  If your name is drawn as a winner, I will notify you by email so be sure you’re checking your mail.

Today’s prize package includes lots of fun stuff to use when stenciling.

If I draw your name at random you will receive 4 stencils from Maison de Stencils including the very handy grain sack stripe stencil.  Plus these re.design with Prima Marketing products; the mini paint roller (which works fantastically when doing larger all over stencil work like on my velvet inspired wrapping paper), a 1″ stencil brush, their chalk paste in Iron Gate and Vintage Lace and their Decor Wax in Diamond Dust.  Did you know you can stencil with their Decor Wax?  Check out this post to learn more about that technique.

Thank you to Maison de Stencils for sponsoring this giveaway by providing the stencils, and to Prima Marketing for providing the roller, brush, chalk paste and decor wax.  Also, thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for supplying the paint I used on my stockings.

The rules:  to be eligible to win today’s prize leave a comment on this blog post.  If you can’t think of anything to say, just tell me, have you seen any good pinterest inspiration lately?  Your comment must be left on the blog, not on Facebook or Instagram.  You are not required to follow my blog, although it would be awesome if you did!

I will randomly draw the name of a winner for today’s prize from all of the comments left on this post by Friday, December 20, 2019 at the stroke of midnight (U.S. Central time).

The fine print: no purchase necessary, you must be 18 years of age or older to win, void where prohibited by law, the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning, approximate retail value of prize is $100 if the prize is not claimed by Sunday, December 22, another name will be drawn at random to win, blah, blah, blah.

Good luck!

97 thoughts on “the stockings were hung.”

  1. Great job of duplicating the inspiration piece. They turned out great! I have a couple of stocking stretchers. I always assumed they just put both socks on there at once. IDK, maybe they wouldn’t dry like that. Anyway they make great decor pieces now days.

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  2. I’ve never seen or heard of these but it makes total sense. I personally can’t stand wearing wool socks but love the look of so many of them. I’ve been on a stencil kick lately and am working on a chinoiserie inspired bombe chest using a raised stencil. I think the grain sack stencil would be one tgat would get a lot of use.

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  3. Pinterest is amazing. I’ve seen so many things that inspire me. Pinterest is what helped me to start painting furniture which led me to my antique and vintage decor business!

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  11. Those sock stretchers are perfect against the cupboard doors!! I’ve never found two (or even one) at a garage or estate sale, but you can bet I will be on the lookout now. Rollers on stencils…I’d love to give it a go! I just recently tried using a makeup sponge on an intricate stencil (I know, I should have listen to the hype earlier, as it worked out very well) so a win might keep me from being the last to try the roller/stencil technique as well.

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  12. Oooooh! I love the sock stretchers! You definitely did them justice. I so want to win this giveaway! I’m a stencilling fiend and this has all the products I’ve wanted to try. Fingers and toes crossed!

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  14. Love the cabinets in the pic!!

    On Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 7:02 AM q is for quandie wrote:

    > Quandie posted: “I get a lot of my inspiration from pinterest, and I bet a > few of you do too. Quite a while back (probably at least 4 or 5 years ago) > I pinned this … I wish I could give credit for this photo, but there were > no links or watermarks or anything. I rea” >

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. The stockings look great…now I have to fish through my stash to find mine to try to make them look as good as yours! Thanks for the inspiration…I think!

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  21. Love the sock stretchers, I have several that I have been debating about passing on, but now that I see them painted & stenciled I think I will give that a go…have not seen these shown on Pinterest, but bet we will now. Already a viewer on your blog.

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  22. The sock stretchers are so neat! That is one thing i have never came across in my thrifting. I will have to look harder!! Thanks for your awesome ideas…

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    1. Last time I stamped on one (you can see that post here). And in case you’re wondering, I did paint over the stamped one. I think I prefer this painted look. But the stamped one was pretty fun too!

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  26. I love sock stretchers…my mother in law gave me a dozen metal ones 20+ years ago (she was going to throw them out) and through the years I’ve picked up some nice wooden ones..I have them hanging on one of my cupboards in my washroom all year long

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    1. Are you thinking of those wooden shoe maker forms? If so, I’m thinking those would be hard to stencil because of their curves, but they could be a really awesome candidate for some Prima transfers!

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  30. thanks for the inspiration. I picked up my wooden socks at a yard sale, didn’t know what they were but I liked the look of them. Now I know what they are and what I will do with them. Merry Christmas.

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  34. I have not seen sock stretchers before but I love how they turned out! I may have to be a bit more observant the next time I am browsing an antique or vintage store. I recently stenciled a small bench and love how it turned out so I will have to find something else to decorate with a stencil. Hint, hint! : ) Have a very happy holiday season!

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  36. Obviously I missed this post on Wednesday. I love the inspiration photo and your version too! Never seen those sock stretchers either except in magazines. Had no idea wha they were. Charming way to reinvent them for the Christmas season.

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  38. I noted how they need the pine cupboard as background. That piece says “If you ever paint me, I will die.”♥️ PS Am in love w/ your painted Xmas children-chairs. And the stenciled toy shelf. Merry Christmas!

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