Beautiful Birch Trees & A Giveaway!

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This giveaway is now closed!  Thanks!
For a long time now I’ve complained about how boring my bedroom is!  Just the decorating people…
And how it’s the place that collects everything from all the piles of laundry that need putting away, to all the craft stuff that has no home, to all the toys and dirty clothes the kids (and husband) leave around.
Why is it that my room has this effect?  Gah.
But, one of my Home Goals for this year is to tackle my room.
Make it beautiful.
Make it ours.
Make it a retreat.
One of the main projects I wanted to complete, was to create a feature wall of some kind behind our bed.
I had tossed around the idea of doing wainscotting, or a gallery wall or wallpaper.
I had also seen images scattered around the internet of walls covered in birch trees, and I was smitten with them!
I’m an earthy elements kind of gal so I was immediately drawn to their gorgeousness!
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I grew up surrounded by birch trees.  Love.
But I never thought much of them again because I thought it would be too hard…so I just forgot about the idea…
…until Cutting Edge Stencils contacted me about using one of their stencils.
I had a look at all of their fabulous stencils, and lo and behold there was a birch stencil!
‘Cue angel music… ahhhhhhhhhhh’
So I absolutely agreed to try it out and give a tutorial on how we applied it, as well as our honest opinion of the stencil.
I’ll just say off the bat that we LOVE our feature wall.  LOVE LOVE LOVE.
It is gorgeous and well worth the effort!
So here goes…a little glimpse into our stenciling efforts.
I have to fully disclose here that I did not put forth any effort of my own.
Yes the hubby did it all.  I sat and watched.  Made him some lunch.  Kept the kids out of the room.
I am not ashamed.  😉
But in all honesty, for us, it really is a one-person job.  Don’t need 2 cooks in the kitchen, know what I’m saying?
First order of business…I chose the Birch Forest All Over Stencil.
Check.

Then we made sure we had a clean, smooth, dust free work space.
Got our supplies together:
1 mini dense foam roller & paint tray.
1 foam brush for touch ups.
1 can of white, semi-gloss paint.
Painters cutting tape.

Cutting Edge Stencils supplies you with a level that attaches to the stencil.
This is genius!
It makes lining up the stencil as you go, so easy!
Once the stencil was level, we applied the painters tape to secure the stencil to the wall and got down to business!

Apply husband (or whomever should you choose).
Apply paint.
We found that the roller should not be drippy with paint at all.  At all.
Even strokes with a non drippy roller is the way to go.
Gentle roll.  Gentle roll.  Until you have even paint coverage.

Remove the stencil, then start on the next section.
Making sure to line up the stencil using the markers assigned to keep things even.  
You will see these markers on the stencil. 

Just keep rolling, swimming, swimming…
Encourage.  Clap.  Whatever it takes to get this thing done before dinner time.  
Just sayin’.

What we learned:
–  This is a doable project.  I would even say it is easy!
–  Don’t have too much paint on your roller.
–  Don’t rush.
–  Have good lighting so all the paint is applied evenly.
–  The end result is AMAZING!

Would we do it again?  Heck ya.
If you would like a more in depth tutorial on how to apply stencils, check out their video…

So let’s have a look at the BEFORE shall we…

And now the AFTERS…

I’m in love.  Truly.
I love this feature wall SO much.
It has completely changed the look and feel of our room!
Every time I walk in our room I smile at it.
Now I’m on a mad hunt for the perfect bedding and lamps…

____________________________________________________________________________
Now for the best part?  It’s time for a giveaway don’t you think?!
Cutting Edge Stencils is graciously offering one stencil up to $50 for one winner!  Whoot! 

Ok, ready?!

~ Here’s How to Enter! ~
If you like, please follow me here, or on facebook or on twitter!
I like friends! 😉
Mandatory Entry:
Go visit Cutting Edge Stencils
then come back and leave a comment in this post on my blog, letting me know
what stencil you would love to use in your home!


(And please make sure to leave an e-mail address (don’t be a no reply blogger!) 
I need to be able to get in contact with you if you win!)
~ Bonus Entry! ~
Like Cutting Edge Stencils on their Facebook page.
Then come back here and leave a comment letting me know that you did.

~ Good Luck! ~
This giveaway closes on Tuesday, January 24 at 9:00PM (MST) is now closed.
This giveaway is open to the United States and Canada.

I linked up this tutorial to I Heart Naptime

Hi I'm Jo-Anna Rooney, the creator, director, baker, maker and home decorator here at A Pretty Life in the Suburbs! I'm sharing a simple home life through fresh and easy recipes and uncomplicated home tips and home decor.

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116 Comments

  2. Jo-Anna, lovely job your husband did with the stenciling … so clean with lots of flair. Yes I did like the Cutting Edge Stencils, as it is something I think a couple people I know might like to also know about. You should be able to sleep soundly amongest the soft whispher of branches gently blowing in the wind …

    Reply

  13. WOW – so hard to pick, but I love the idea of doing the wall behind our bed so the first one that caught my eye was the Hand Forged Allover Stencil. I will definitely go back and look more thoroughly at their entire site.

    Reply

  14. I love the birch! We moved about 6months ago and have a huge blank wall in our bedroom…that might be just what we need!
    Thanks for the chance to win!

    Reply

  16. Your trees look lovely!

    I have a little wall I’d like to jazz up…maybe with the Anna Damask stencil? There are so many great patterns.

    Reply

  19. Wow this is amazing… I have a home goal to reinvent our master bedroom (which infact is just a blank slate because we worked on our 3boys rooms first) this year & these stencils are the key to creating our personal sanctuary!! I’m over the moon with the Spring Songbirds but the large Tree & Birds is running a close second… Thanks for offering such a great giveaway!! Also I have them liked on my FB!!

    Reply

  31. So, I would totally go for the birch stencil- I think it would make the perfect backdrop for our bed, too! LOVE it. (turbotuba@yahoo.com)

    Reply

  32. I love Cutting Edge stencils! I’ve been wanting to try the stencils for months now! I would like the Birch Tree stencil as well; I have a small bathroom I’d like to do this in.

    Reply

  44. This looks fabulous! My sister wants to use the same stencil in her laundry room. I will make sure to direct her to your site for a chance to look at your job and possibly win one!

    Reply

  51. Amazing! I have the same wall color in my bedroom and I was thinking about about one of their geometric patterns but I am in love with those birch trees now! Thank you so much for sharing the helpful tips! Hubby did a great job!

    Reply

  52. Liked! Found you from Cutting Edge on FB. I have been eyeing the birch trees for a while, but I can’t decide if I want to paint a small wall or large wall.

    Reply

  56. I have been wanting stencil my guest bedroom for quite sometime now! I love all the stencils over at Cutting Edge, but my favorite is definitely the LG Allover Rabat stencil.

    I liked Cutting Edge on Facebook and would like to enter the contest. My email is mrspmock@gmail.com.

    Reply

  80. I’m curious how you got the stencil all the way to the ceiling. In the photos, it looks like the border of the stencil leaves a border of non-stenciled wall showing, but your finished photos show the stencil pattern going all the way to the ceiling. How did you match that up so perfectly?

    Reply

  81. Great idea with the paint, tray, tools in the box .. saves on a messy floor and provides a place to clean the roller. Your husband is brilliant as well as handsome!

    Reply

  84. Love the birch trees! Thanks for the tutorial. I had a difficult time picking just one…probably the bambo for my bedroom…or polka dot for my daughter’s room…or paisley allover for my bathroom…

    Reply

  91. Ooo, I love how your bedroom wall turned out. I’d love to try the Birch Forest Allover Stencil too. OR the Casablanca Allover Stencil… both are so great!

    I follow you here already and I like cutting edge on FB.

    Sweetsunday@hotmail.ca

    Reply

  92. I LOVE the Sakura and Birds Wall Stencil but we are also redoing our 10yr olds room and would love to add a geometric feature wall with the ‘missing link’ stencil…fun!!!

    Reply

  107. I would use the Paisley All Over stencil in my bathroom. I go in there every morning to get ready for work and wish that there was some pop to it. Something to make me feel great about myself. That stencil sure would!

    Reply

  112. this is amazing … love love love it … want want want it in my house 🙂 this very same thing LOVE birch trees

    emailiza at hotmail.com

    Reply
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