I used to do quite a bit of stenciling when I first started out in business, but as I grew as an artist requests became fewer and fewer. Recently, one of my very early clients contacted me wondering if I could stencil on a valance to match a shower curtain. I told her I probably could, but with no details I still wasn’t sure.

She brought me the valance she had made out of a similar fabric and the shower curtain she wanted me to match, but I couldn’t find any stencils that would even come close to coordination with the fabric. I usually can figure out just which stencil or technique to use in any situation, but this one was tough. So, I designed and cut out a queen annes lace stencil, requiring a two overlay simple pattern to do the work. Designing and cutting out stencils requires patience and a bit of engineering skill to plan the design out so it works. It’s a challenge, that’s for sure. In this case, I think I did a pretty good job.

The shower curtain is under the valance here, I used metallic paints in gold, silver and bronze to coordinate with the all over pattern, simplifying it and creating a border on the valance. The design is a pretty close match to the original fabric, although it is not quite the same. I like this soft and simple design, don’t you?