keep it clean.

Published on by Quandie

A little while back Dixie Belle sent me some of their new silkscreen stencils from their Belles and Whistles line.

I’d never actually tried using a silkscreen stencil before, so I decided to do a little playing around with one this past weekend to see how I liked it.

I pulled out a little wooden bench that my picker found for me and gave it a coat of Dixie Belle’s French Linen, followed by taping off some grain sack style stripes and painting them in Drop Cloth.  Once all of that was dry, I sanded it down with some 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the ridges left by the taped off lines and distress the edges.

Then I pulled out the Fresh Eggs stencil from the Farmhouse set and saw that it was going to fit on my bench perfectly.

Silkscreen stencils are a little different from typical reusable stencils.  First up, they are slightly sticky (on the sticky scale, I’d say they are sort of like a post it note) on the back and they come stuck to a backer sheet.  You’re going to need that backer sheet to store your stencil, so don’t toss it away when you peel it off for the first time.  They are also not rigid like a typical stencil and can be curved around an edge which could be a handy feature.

I peeled the stencil off its backer sheet and applied it to my bench.

A couple of things at this point.  First, you’ll see that I have yellow tape on the edges.  That’s not because I need it to hold the stencil in place, the stickiness has it firmly in place.  I added the tape because I used a large stencil brush and I didn’t want to get any stray paint over the edges of the stencil.

Second, I do kind of wish these weren’t made out of that darkish purple material.  It’s a little difficult to get your placement right because you can’t see through it terribly well.  I wonder if we can convince Dixie Belle to make them in a more transparent color.

Next up I grabbed my Dixie Belle paint in Gravel Road and applied the paint using my stencil brush.  I have to admit, I did that “wrong”.  It wasn’t until after I was done that I realized the little plastic thingie in the package was for applying the paint.

You can simply scrape the paint over the stencil using that bit of plastic (you know, as in ‘silk screening’).  Ooops!  Well, no worries, because my method worked beautifully too.  Clearly these silkscreen stencils are much more forgiving than traditional stencils.

The really great thing about using a silkscreen stencil is that you get a nice crisp result with very little effort.  No need to worry about getting too much paint on your brush and getting a sloppy, splotchy looking result.

So for those of you who struggle to get a crisp, clean edge with traditional stencils, a silkscreen stencil might be just the ticket.

Once the paint was dry, I sanded over the stencil to give it a more blended, faded appearance and then I coated the entire bench with some clear wax.

It seriously couldn’t have been any easier.  Recently someone asked me if the sticky stencil would pull off fresh paint, but I didn’t have any issues with that at all.  I don’t think it’s sticky enough to be a problem.

Now, here’s the kicker.  These silk screen stencils can only be re-used about 8 to 10 times, and then only if you wash the paint out of it after each use.  In other words, you have to keep it clean people.  I know myself well enough to know that I’m going to find that tricky.  I always intend to keep my stencils clean, and I always start out that way.  But two or three uses in I usually slack off.  We’ll see how many uses I can get out of this one before throwing in the towel.

So let’s recap the pros and cons of silkscreen stencils.

Cons:  You have to clean them, and even with dedicated cleaning they are only good for about 8 to 10 uses.  It’s difficult to see through the dark purple stencil material when placing the stencil.

Pros:  It’s much easier to get a crisp, clean result.  They can have a much higher level of detail than traditional stencils.  They don’t need to have those bridges in letters that you have to fill in later.  They are more flexible, so you could stencil around a corner.

I thought it might be fun to give away a couple silkscreen stencils so one of you can give them a try.

The rules:  Simply leave a comment on this blog post to be eligible to win.

Your comment must be left on this blog post, 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 Wednesday, June 30, 2021 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 $50, if the prize is not claimed by Friday, July 2, 2021 another name will be drawn at random to win, blah, blah, blah.

As always, thanks to Dixie Belle for providing the paint I used on this little bench as well as their silkscreen stencils.

73 thoughts on “keep it clean.”

  2. Love the cute little bench you stenciled. I would love to try using one of these new silkscreen-type stencils. Thanks for the opportunity!

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  3. Silk screening is interesting. I wonder if you use the plastic thingy you put a lot more paint on the stencil. I like the shading effect the stencil brush makes. Your work is very inspiring keep it up😍

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    1. I think you would definitely put on more paint using the plastic thingie, maybe even giving you a slightly raised effect. I’ll have to give it a go and see if that’s true or not 🙂

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  4. Love this and I’ve often wondered what silk screening actually is. This design is darling and the perfect thing for that little bench. Love the way it can curve also. Now that would be handy for so many things!

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  10. Intriguing! I would think it would be hard to “silk screen” if it’s curved around something though. Love your bench with the grain stripes – it turned out great. I don’t want to win but I always like to comment on your posts! Your blog is a fav of mine!

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  13. Those stencils look so interesting; I’ve never used on before, but would love to try. Thank you for this opportunity!

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  14. How cut is that bench? I really enjoy hearing your honest views on a product and always learn from your process.
    The chance at the giveaway is always appreciated, too!

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  15. Such a cute little bench! The stencil fits perfectly. Once again your creativity, color choices and techniques are amazing! Love your blog. So inspiring.

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  19. What an adorable little bench! I love the color combinations you chose and really love the silk stencil. I can’t wait to try them myself. Thanks for sharing!

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  20. Thanks for your beautiful projects and your always honest opinions about products you use! I would love to try these stencils since I’ve never had much success with regular stenciling.

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  22. Another “cutie”. I’m anxious to try these. Stenciling is very hit or miss for me 😏. Dixie Belle is coming out with some great new products!

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  23. This seems like a great new product. I like that it is already sticky, that’s a pro for me. I don’t care that you can only use them so little, because I don’t like to have them all look alike. Keep up the great job you do!

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    1. Great point Jane, it’s probably fairly rare for me to use a stencil more than 8 to 10 times (although I do have a couple of favorites that I have used over and over).

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  24. have not used stencils in years & would love to get back to “IT” with these beauties. thanks for the review.

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  26. The stool turned out adorable! I love the concept of a silk screen stencil, I took a silk screen class and had a love/hate relationship with it. Since I closed my shop and no longer sell Dixie Bell I guess I’ll have to find a dealer and purchase one. I totally know that “keep it clean” directive but chalk paint is really difficult to get out of stuff. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Good point about the chalk paint Laura. I wonder if I’d be better off using a traditional acrylic craft paint with the silkscreen stencils instead of chalk paint. I might have to consider that.

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  28. I do love stenciling but have found corners and curves to be challenging (I lack some patience — ok, I am REALLY lacking in the patience department), so I’ve defaulted to transfers in those cases. The ability to stencil around and through corners (both flexibility-wise and sticky-wise) could be a game changer!

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  29. I have never tried a stencil before. The Dixie Bell stencils look like the perfect one to try.
    Love your commercial free blog. (those blogs with a gazillion pop up adds)

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  30. I adore the bench! Somehow, you can always take a plane-Jane project and make it unique and something everyone would love to have in their home.

    I love to stencil and do it often. My favorite way to add character and interest to cabinets, boxes, and plane furniture is to apply raised stencils. But, I’ve never tried using a silk-screen stencil, though I’ve been intrigued by them. The details one can obtain with them are incredible. Thank you for the opportunity to win one! As always, your tips are supremely helpful.

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  31. French Linen & Drop Cloth make for the best grain sack stripes. I love these two colors together and they work beautifully on this bench. I’ve been eyeing the DB delicate lace stencil since it debuted. It’s gorgeous – as is the mosaic. Thanks for the chance to win them!
    As an aside – I recently bought another brand of silk screen type adhesive stencils when I decided to paint a bookshelf while visiting my mom and needed a stencil quick. I’m already wondering if I could use a weak spray of an aerosol adhesive on the back when it is no longer sticky enough on its own. Seeing videos where people use spray adhesive to hold large regular stencils in place gave me the idea. No idea if it will work on no longer sticky enough adhesive stencils, but it seems at least possible it will… 🤔🤷🏼‍♀️

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    1. I always hesitate to use those spray stencil adhesives because I wonder if they’ll leave a sticky residue behind on my freshly painted piece, so I’ve never tried it. You’ll have to keep me posted if you give this a try.

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      1. When you use a spray adhesive to help secure a stencil, if you spray the stencil lightly, then adhere it to a blue paper shop towel (or other lint-free cloth) before you apply it to the surface, no adhesive boogers will be left behind. However, the stencil will still be sticky enough to stay in place and prevent bleed-under. My first Q-Tip (or this would be a C-Tip!) just for you!

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  33. Can you use “regular” Dixie Bell paint with these stencils, rather than having to use a special paste paint made just for them, like with Chalkology?

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  34. Those might be too many cons to overcome although I probably haven’t used any stencil more than 8x- just get easily distracted by the next cool stencil! It looked quite crisp though. Always love what you do.

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  38. Can’t wait to try them!! But i have to admit that i usually forget to wash things out. I get distracted really easily!!

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  41. Super cute bench and stencil. I have been wanting to try these for awhile. Good reminder to wash them right away 🙂

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  42. Wow!! Silk Screen Stencils…I didn’t even know they were available ( I’ve been at my Mom’s taking care of her while she recovers from back surgery, and haven’t been able to be creative). I love that they have the sticky back! Your bench looks fantastic! Can’t wait to they these.

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  44. It’s a cutie!! Thought maybe you would make it a Christmas stool but this one is nice. Bet it sells fast. Kaye

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  47. I am with you on these stencils. On one hand they are amazing because you don’t have to worry about getting crisp lines. The negative is the time they will actually last. I feel like I am pretty diligent about cleaning my stencils but it comes down to whether or not the plastic will live on like Mylar does. Regardless, I do love these and hope they make it to my collection!

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  48. As always, you have good, inspiring ideas. The stencils would be fun to try even with the limited usage. I probably wouldn’t need to use them multiple times! I can see your point about the dark color, though.

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