In sunny Tampa, Florida, we come upon a studio giving a new, inspired second life to furniture pieces.  Stiltskin Studios combine creative decorative paint techniques with lively ornamental patterns and stencil designs.  We’re so happy to feature their work for our Stencil Star™ series, which seeks to showcase creative artists and their inspired work.

ABOUT STILTSKIN STUDIOS

Michele and Kenny Hiley of Stiltskin Studios are a husband and wife design team who have both made creativity a priority in their lives. They re-imagined many items for their homes and once their friends laid eyes on the possibilities, a business (along with an Etsy shop) was born! Although they offer a full-service design studio, their passion is to take vintage and antique furniture and transform them to fit into a more modern home. Their name was inspired by the fairy tale Rumplestiltskin because he turned a seemingly worthless object, straw, into Gold.  They like to do the same with cast-aside furniture and uninspired interiors!

Gorgeous dresser transformed with Chalk Paint™ decorative paint in Florence, our Cherry Blossoms stencil and Royal stencil cremes!

How do you determine which pattern will work for your project?

So many things influence our decision on which stencil to use…sometimes, it’s as simple as using a stencil as a fun accent, such as the Cherry Blossoms we used on a dresser face…other times, it’s to add interest to something that is mundane, like the leaves on a dining table. Often times, we will have a theme in mind…a general direction, such as a Parisian Apartment or a French Chateau feel, that helps guide our decision; other times, we utilize stencils to do something completely unexpected, like a Moroccan inspired tabletop on a French Provincial table.

Frequently, we’ll be painting a piece when out of nowhere, inspiration strikes and suddenly, we decide to incorporate a stencil that was not in the initial design plan. Painting, for us, is a very organic experience. We enjoy the process and stencils are another bespoke element to make each piece truly special.

This lovely and artistic dining room set was painted with Chalk Paint™ and our Small Ribbon Damask stencil on the leaves. We love this inspired idea and so we featured it here on our Stencil Ideas blog.

Please share your top Stenciling tip with us.

A very wise and charming faux painting artist taught me to make sure all the excess paint was removed from my brush before I applied it to the stencil. That seemingly small tip brought us both over from not being huge stencil fans to wanting to stencil everything!

Additionally, there is no substitute for proper tools. They make the job go so much smoother and help ensure perfect results. Cheap tools typically beget cheap looking results!

What would be your “dream” stencil project?

Right now, I’m dreaming about stenciling my kitchen cabinets! We completed the upper cabinets last year (removing the doors to create open shelving) but the lowers are still hideous 1970’s brown laminate. I’m quite excited to have the option to stencil them…we feel the project will be very much representative of us and our style.

Stiltskin upcycled this vintage find with both our Paris Postage Stamp Wall Stencil and Postmark Wall Stencil! Unexpected and beautiful.

How does stenciling enhance your creative business?

My husband and partner, Kenny, has an art degree and is a skilled fine artist; I, on the other hand, can barely paint a straight line. I have much more imagination than skill when it comes to the details of hand painting. Stencils really allow me to create what I’ve imagined. I’m also slightly lazy, so I’ll not make the effort to put a design on the projector, sketch it on the piece, and then hand-paint the intricate design. Stencils alleviate all that work for me. Royal Design Studio stencils really are simple to use, the results are consistent, and I look like a creative genius when it’s all done! Because they are so durable, we can mix it up with different colors and looks using the same stencil. They’ve enabled me to bring my creative vision to life!

So stylish! This hutch was updated with our popular Springtime in Paris lettering stencil, metallic stencil cremes and Chalk Paint™!

We hope you’ve enjoyed the beautiful fairy-tale stylings of Stiltskin Studios.  Do be sure to check their Facebook page and their wonderful blog, too! Please feel free to pin these pics to keep sharing the creative love of pattern and paint!  You can always follow our Pinterest account as well for design and pattern inspiration and keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram, too!

 

DIY stencil projects and how-to stencil tutorials  are sprouting up all over the web, which we LOVE to see. In fact, we love to see them so much we decided to create a blogging contest to encourage MORE! Our trip to the SNAP! Conference last April provided the perfect opportunity. We handed out an assortment of Royal Design Studio stencils to scores of creative bloggers and invited them to submit stencil projects for a fun and inspiring contest we are calling….

We had 9 crafty bloggers beat the deadline, and each has created a special stencil tutorial post that we have pinned to a special Stencil Star Blog Contest Pinterest Board for your viewing and voting pleasure. You can find complete details on our website, but the most imp0rtant thing is that viewer get to pick the $250 stencil shopping spree winner through the number of likes, pins, and comments and one of those “winning commenters” will be randomly chosen to win a second $250 stencil shopping spree. How fun and easy is THAT?! The voting is all done on Pinterest, but there is a nice recap in this post below…..

How to stencil wrapping paper pin from Hello, New Day blog. Catherine cleverly used repurposed packing paper and stamping inks to create this fun, colorful paper with our Hollywood Squares furniture-sized stencil.

How to stencil a toy shelf pin from Sugar Bee Crafts blog. Mandy used our Hollywood Squares furniture-sized stencil here in her guest room, so when she has company this versatile piece can accommodate luggage instead of her toddler’s toys!

How to stencil a Summer welcome sign pin from Happy Looks Good on You blog. Megan stenciled a canvas with our new Beehive allover stencil for furniture, and then dressed it up with a fanciful garland and vinyl lettering stencils. So cute!

How to stencil furniture drawers to create adorable planter boxes pin by Queen B and Me blog. Andrea rescued some dresser drawers that were set to be thrown out, decorated them with our lacy Indian Paisley wall stencil, and filled them with sweet flowers. I LOVE this upcycling idea so much!

Here is another cute planter box idea from Michelle.  How to stencil house numbers on a planter box pin from The Scrap ‘Shoppe blog. Michelle used our French Numbers Stencil on an old tote box, then filled it with burlap and flowering pots.

How to stencil Bee garden markers pin from the Danish Mama blog. This looks like a super fun project to do with your kids and is designed to teach them about planting and growing….and hopefully picking the fruits of your labor! Kathy used the sweet Bee from our The Buzz  furniture stencil.

Summer from Summer Scraps blog crafted a custom sign, which would be perfect for a house warming gift using one of the flower stencils from our Japanese Garden stencil set. You can find the How to stencil a sign pin here.

We have many stencils that are perfectly sized for small craft project, such as our For this how to stencil a frame pin Lina of Fancy Frugal Life used the Endless Moorish Circles furniture-sized stencil to frame a family photo with a fresh, colorful accent.

And finally, how about creating a custom stenciled door mat? Brittany of Pretty Handy Girl blog did just that with our popular Chez Sheik Moroccan stencil.

Please show some love and support for these fabulous ladies and their amazing stencil project. Visit our Blogging Stencil Star PinBoard on Pinterest and like, repin and comment on the projects that inspire you! If one of the project you comment on ends up being our winner, your comment on that pin enters YOU in the running to win a $250 Royal Design Studio stencil shopping spree along with the lucky blogger!!

Full details on our Snap! Stencil Star Blogging contest here.