Another year got here 3 months ago and I want badly to get back to my decorating! But for me, sadly, it’s going to be awhile. Business taxes are in the final stages of being prepared, website emails are pouring in, new designs are being worked in the computer and my laser machines are running night and day! So my hands are just a bit full! But I will MAKE time in the near future!

I’m happy to say that I finally “made time” to update the website with exciting new stencil decorating projects! Wait till you see them! I’m excited, and you will be too!

Lynn Low has a ceiling to floor tree in a multi-million dollar hair salon that’s going to curl yours for you!

Diane Sekste did the most beautiful fireplace with plaster stencils,

Barbara Faustrum did a raised plaster tree that is just adorable!

Fay Forsythe re-did an UGLY cinderblock wall in her back yard that totally transformed the whole area in to something really cool! Wait till you see the portal!

Jenny McManus did a twisted tree design that literally reaches the ceiling!

John Runner has two pages with tinted plaster stenciling and some stunning faux finished walls……… fabulous ideas!

Phyllis Katheder blew me away with her Raised Plaster Walls and two-toned colors

And Shanon Braden turned her bath in to an incredibly beautiful room with Verdigris Ironwork!

Plus, you finally get to see the projects I’d planned to put up last month and never got to!

Oh, and just wait till you see the gold raised plaster trees on lipstick red walls that are coming later this spring.

See them all at www.victorialarsen.com

I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for making us such a popular website. I’ve had counters on the website for 2 years but I had no idea that they only count people who entered from that particular page! In checking with our host, I’ve found we have had over 600,000 visitors in the past two years and I thought it was only 78,000!!! I about blew a circuit! Yipee! And thanks again to all of you.

LOTS of news and info in this newsletter so grab your coffee and sit back and enjoy the education!

A quicker drying compound to stencil with!

Joint compound is certainly easy to stencil with, but are you in a hurry and want to complete your project quicker? Here’s a tip from one of our valued customers!

“I have bought 6 of your stencils not long ago. I decorated large areas

with them already, with Beadex 20 minute set (silver set, have to mix

with water), it sells in all hardware stores and costs little, I did all

work fast, no waiting time, it don't need to be dry completely, spackle

and remove stencil and go on and on. I think if you mention this in all

your selling items many buyers will later be less frustrated.”

`Stenciling textured Walls or ceilings`

Stenciling highly textured walls is a buger to say the least! But here are some tips. First of all, if you have that ugly old “popcorn” ceiling from back in the 70’s, get rid of it! It’s not only out dated, it’s difficult to clean (if not totally impossible) and it’s an eye sore in today’s world of Venetian plaster and highly detailed stenciling.

So how do you do it? Get on a ladder, spray that puppy down with water (from a spray bottle is fine) and start scraping with a spatula! It comes off really easy! Be sure to protect the floor with old sheets or a painter’s cloth as you go. It’s going to make a mess but you will be delighted when now there is a whole new surface you can decorate with plaster or ceiling stencil designs!

Highly textured walls? Need a smoother surface? Simply dig out your handy electric “hand sander”, you know, the one you bought at home depot 6 years ago that has now gotten lost in the garage? Dig it out! Fire that baby up and rev it right over those walls. Smooth the area you wish to stencil then simply paint the color of your wall before stenciling. It goes really fast and easy. Protect anything “electronic” from the dust with old sheets, etc. Now, add that mural you’ve been dying to do!

Plaster stenciling over textured surfaces

No problem! In fact, with the texture beneath the smoothly scraped plaster stenciling, the effect is totally cool! Warning! If your surface is textured and painted white and you wish to leave your plaster white as well, it won’t show up very well. Choose to either paint the wall a slightly different shade (darker) such as cream or beige or your favorite pastel, or tint the joint compound with fabric dye to make it stand out against the white wall (yes, you can tint it beige or cream) and that’s enough of a difference to make your project just fabulous!

Making Plaster Stone or brickwork look totally REAL!

I’ve found the secret and it’s awesome! (Soon to be featured on my website!).

Stones and bricks are NOT one solid color. Take a look at one, I mean, REALLY look! In a red brick, you also see browns, black and white. In a gray stone, you might also see yellows and beiges and deeper grays or blacks. Every type of stone has its colors. Mimic those the easy way!

Take a nice big scoop of joint compound out of the bucket. Now choose the main color you want your stone to be. (Greens? Brown? Gray? Taupe?) Tint that portion of the compound with that color in powdered fabric dye or stucco or cement powdered colors. Apply it to the stencil. Don’t worry about all the batches coming out perfectly the same color. Nature doesn’t make stone or brick uniform in color, does she? (Get that “she” part?)

Once it’s dry, replace the stencil, and with a sea sponge (creates more of a spotty, uneven coat than your kitchen variety), sponge in various other colors. For instance, on a dark brown stone, sponge in deep beige, black, rust and maybe a brown. You can even use an artist’s brush and add streaks of these colors! These can be simple undiluted craft store acrylics. Now, as a special treat, before the paint dries, sprinkle on gold glitter! Let it fall where it may and then press lightly in to the wet paint. You’ve seen “fool’s gold” in the river…. Now add it to your wall!

The difference between Victorian and Traditional Decorating

You know, I wasn’t really aware of what my true decorating “style” was until I developed the plaster stencil line and did so much research on the subject. I knew I loved the “designs” of the Victorian Era, but I also knew I didn’t like the actual decorating.

I found that I was more “traditional” and in comparing styles, designs and even furnishings, here’s what I found:

True “Victorian” decorating began in England and migrated over to the United States long before the turn of the century. Their style was highly ornate and in many cases, they actually preferred “Faux Finishing”, over actual marble, wood and tile. So you thought faux finishing was something new? Hardly, it’s simply a revival of a long admired craft.

Victorian Decorating was also very “cluttered”. Many items covering tables, shelves, many items on the walls, the use of very heavy fabrics and lots of draped tables and windows rather than standard draperies of the era.

“Traditional” decorating is a much more simplified version of the Victorian decorating we see in books in magazines. It fits our lifestyles of no time to clean, a love for more open space with less of a “closed in” feel and lighter fabrics yet with the same highly ornate designs as were popular in the Victorian Era. A feel of true “elegance” that is discovered more in the “way” that we present them than in how much they cost (evident in my own home).

I knew right away that the style I had been decorating in for years was “Traditional”.

I’ve long loved the elegant styling of Victorian designs and you see that love in my stencil designs. I find great pleasure in having a simple home that is “elegant” in styling with the designs I’ve chosen to create and use for my personal space and revel in the comments I receive regarding how “elegant” my home is, yet it cost me pennies!

Use cast plaster to create your own curtain tie backs (super cheap) and “draping ornaments”.

Are you even ready for this one? Do you know how dad-gummed much I have spent on ornate tie backs for the windows in my home? I use them at the top and sides of windows and doorways to drape sheer material.

Well, now there’s a cheap way to make your own with a simple mold, some long, heavy-duty screws and a bit of Plaster of Paris!

Choose your favorite mold (we have some awesome ones that would work perfect for this project!), cast it in plaster (it’s easy, really, just mix the plaster with water in a 2 to 1 ratio, pour in to the mold that you sprayed with Pam cooking spray or other release agent, add the screw head to the back before it dries, let it cure, pop it out and there is your tie back! Too cool!).

Now, paint it gold, silver, or whatever you choose and you have nearly instant tie backs at a total fraction of the cost of the ones you purchase in the decorator store! Now, where could YOU put yours?

Want “antique” looking tie backs? Simply add black powdered fabric dye to the plaster of paris as you mix it. Then cast as usual. When dry, wipe with silver, copper or gold acrylic paint and wipe the excess off. They come out lovely!

Have a “desire” for a particular plaster stencil design? Email me at stencilstoplaster@yahoo.com I’m working on new designs now! Yours just might be one of them! Certainly it will at the very least be added to the “must design in the future” list!

Stenciling for gold leaf!

Love the look of REAL metallic gold, silver, copper or bronze? It’s easy to achieve!

Gold leaf kits simply come with a bottle of gold leaf adhesive and small, thin sheets of gold leaf (very delicate!).

Tape your stencil to the intended area. Instead of stenciling with paint, simply dip your brush in to the gold leaf adhesive and stencil as normal, covering every bit of the opening. Again, the key is not to use too much liquid to avoid runs and keep the design crisp. Once it’s dry, (it will remain a bit tacky), place a sheet of gold leaf over the stenciling and rub the design (you can feel it beneath) with your finger. This presses the gold leaf in to the adhesive. Gently remove the gold leaf and Voa La! There it is, in brilliant metal! And it’s just gorgeous! If you missed a place or two, simply replace the sheet over the top of the missing area and rub again. This is super easy! Give it a try on items such as furniture, cabinets, vases and so on.

To all of you, I wish you a happy spring! It’s here! It’s here! Let’s get our homes looking fab for those beautiful summer months so we can be outside!

Thank you all for being here……….

Victoria Larsen

To be removed from this newsletter list, simply send an email with the word “remove” in the subject box to: stencilnewsletter@yahoo.com