This small sweet detail cost under $10, and sets the tone before customers even walk in the front door of my shop.
I painted a floral entrance on the cement of the front verandah. Being a handmade boutique, I wanted something to dress up a rather industrial facade. A little clue, that what lies within is different. A place where little details matter. A home of lovely things with care and love invested.
Let me share the process
If you are thinking of doing something like this on your patio or any cement surface it is pretty simple. The biggest factor is time. Believe it or not, this took me 6 hours to do. Granted I was 6 months pregnant with twins!
Step 1: To make the stencil I bought a $1 plastic placemat from a homewares shop. I actually think it was a placemat for a dogs bowl. It was 2mm thick. Another cheap option is a sample square of floor vinyl or those super thin plastic chopping mats. Whatever you use, it should be soft enough to cut with a blade, waterproof and heavy enough to sit flat without flapping in the breeze.
Step 2: I drew free hand two different flowers. A large and a smaller one. Using a blade knife, I cut out the shapes. For the small circles near the centre of the large flower, I used a leather punch.
Step 3: Wash the cement with water and a scrubbing brush. Allow it to dry.
Step 4: For paint I used regular oil based interior/exterior house paint. The light blue paint was water based. I am lucky as our local rubbish tip, sells tins of house paint for $1 a litre. Usually tins that people have half used. The paint is still in good condition and the range of colours is impressive. That said, the cement was not as thirsty as you would imagine. There was no need for a second coat either.
Step 5: I laid the stencil on the cement and using an artist brush (tapered edge) I dabbed the paint inside the stencil. This gave me more control then a roller as the stencil was not flush with the surface. There was some seepage on the edges, but overall the homemade stencil worked brilliantly.
Step 6: I alternated the large flower with cream paint and then darker blue paint.
Step 7: Using the light blue water based paint, I added pops of colour with the smaller stencil flower.
Step 8: Allow the paint to dry for a full 24 hours before walking on.
This paint stencil has been out the front of my shop for two and a half years and looks as pretty as the day I did it. I have not needed to re-coat or touch up at all and the wear with age only adds to the character. It is undercover can get wet during rain.
A little note on colour - red is the fastest fading colour. So for cement exposed to sunlight avoid this colour if you want to retain vibrancy. I learnt this fact after putting up a giant red heart above my shop. I can verify this fact too as I usually have to re-paint it every six months.
FYI - there was already lots of little paint flecks on the cement (incase you are thinking my paint work was sloppy) haha.
I regularly use the cement stencil as a background for various product photography. It reminds me of a natural linen screen printed fabric and absorbs light well. You may have seen it featured before.
Customers often comment on the stencil and I give it away in the shop for free, if anyone asks me.
Feel free to use the exact same floral design. I don't mind. Sharing is caring.
Until next time,
xx Isabella
Your shop is SO beautiful!!! Thank you for sharing your creativity!
Thanks @onetree. It has been a work in progress for the past few years. It will probably never end, so many ideas... :)
I just can't get enough of the photos of your shop - it all looks so delicious! Beginning the process of convincing hubby that it would make a lovely Sunday drive destination ;-)
Aww thanks @sammie. It is a great Sunday drive spot or even weekend destination. Just up the road from us is a handful of wineries, a cheese factory, apple juice cidery. All up there is over 60 wineries here and great fresh produce plus all the national parks. We also created a trail map of the other vintage/second hand places in the area from Warwick to Tenterfield - you can view the map here www.nothingnewcountry.com. It is the coolest place in Queensland (literally). I have only lived here for a little over 3 years but it has won my heart. If you do ever pop in, do say hi!
I wish I had some concrete to paint on! A wonderful feature.
Thanks @opheliafu. Looks like you are kept pretty busy with other divine painting at the moment anyway :)
Your shop looks so beautiful :) Thanks for sharing
Very kind @leneg
SWEET shop!!!!!! I love your focus on upcycling and the simple elegance of your vision.... Great stencil instructions, thank you... oc
You are most welcome @optimistic-crone. Thanks for your kind words.
That's awesome! now I have some idea like U. Thanks :)