The Christmas Nutcracker | Colorful Stencil Project
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When I see a Nutcracker….the soldier kind…I always think of Christmas.
I love the bright colors and the varying “uniforms”. I remember my mom having a few as Christmas decorations when I was growing up. When I spotted the Nutcracker  Christmas Stencil on the Royal Design Studio website I fell in love.
I immediately started thinking about color combinations. Red and Blue were my top choices.
The stencil comes in two parts which makes it so much easier to do the details!
 
I taped the main stencil to a previously painted white board and went to work I know it looks a mess but trust me…it’s okay.
 
See! The first layer was pretty simple. I used a variety of paints. Stencil paints work best because they are a little thicker than other paints. The secret to a good stencil job is a very dry brush. I dip the brush bristles in the paint then remove most of the paint by swirling the brush on a paper towel. If you do this one step you want have blobs of paint leaking under your stencil.
 
While the first layer of paint was drying I washed the stencil with soap and water. I also used a soft bristle tooth brush to loosen the paint. The clean-up is easy. I love the thickness of the Royal Design Studio stencils. I don’t have to worry about bending the cut edges as I do with some other stencils.
 
The second layer is for the belt, hat details, coat details, etc. I lined the second stencil up with the first layer of painted nutcracker and went to work. And that was it.
You guys know I’m the distressing Queen, right? I distressed the finished nutcracker just a little.
It’s perfect! What do you think? Do you display nutcrackers at Christmas or remember them from Christmas pasts? You can leave a comment below…I read every single one. Kathy
