Painted on thick: a new addition to our living room gallery wall - DIY decor
![Painted on thick: a new addition to our living room gallery wall - a paint craft](/imgc_ukjq_800_.jpg)
![Painted on thick Gallery wall addition 1](/images/Blog2013/05-May/Painted-on-thick-Gallery-wall-addition-12.jpg)
Today's project is subtle but its a great effect and more noticeable in real life than on pictures. I added a white on white stenciled detail to a white framing mat. Can you see it? It's there... right there... see?
![Painted on thick Gallery wall addition 1](/images/Blog2013/05-May/Painted-on-thick-Gallery-wall-addition-1.jpg)
For this craft I used an inexpensive black frame, a white 8x10 mat board, some heavy body white paint, a stencil, and a spatula.
![Painted on thick Gallery wall addition 1](/images/Blog2013/05-May/Painted-on-thick-Gallery-wall-addition-2.jpg)
First I cut a mat board to my picture. I used one of the photos I took on our trip in January to Palm Springs. To cut the mat board I looked up my own tutorial on how to cut a mat because I can never remember how it is you start with the measuring tape... But once I re-read it, I got it right away ha ha.
![Painted on thick Gallery wall addition 1](/images/Blog2013/05-May/Painted-on-thick-Gallery-wall-addition-3.jpg)
Next, I put my stencil over the cut mat and troweled on some of the heavy bodied white paint.
![Painted on thick Gallery wall addition 1](/images/Blog2013/05-May/Painted-on-thick-Gallery-wall-addition-4.jpg)
Then, still using the spatula, I scraped off the excess leaving me with paint in the thickness of the stencil on my mat.
![Painted on thick Gallery wall addition 1](/images/Blog2013/05-May/Painted-on-thick-Gallery-wall-addition-5.jpg)
Then I carefully lifted off my stencil.
![Painted on thick Gallery wall addition 1](/images/Blog2013/05-May/Painted-on-thick-Gallery-wall-addition-6.jpg)
And repeated on the other side of the opening.
![Painted on thick Gallery wall addition 1](/images/Blog2013/05-May/Painted-on-thick-Gallery-wall-addition-7.jpg)
With my finger, I smoothed down the paint on the 45 degree angled cut around the opening.
![Painted on thick Gallery wall addition 1](/images/Blog2013/05-May/Painted-on-thick-Gallery-wall-addition-8.jpg)
Here you can see the slightly raised effect of the paint and the shadow and highlight effect it gives the stenciled paint the mat. I love that.
![Painted on thick Gallery wall addition 1](/images/Blog2013/05-May/Painted-on-thick-Gallery-wall-addition-9.jpg)
Next, I put my picture behind the opening. I thought my picture looked way too blue - on the left - compared to the warmer white of my mat and paint, so I re-printed my picture in a warmer hue - on the right
![Painted on thick Gallery wall addition 1](/images/Blog2013/05-May/Painted-on-thick-Gallery-wall-addition-10.jpg)
It's probably easier to see here. On the right I used a 40% chocolate black and white on top of my regular black and white using the same action as in this project. Then it looked just right.
![Painted on thick Gallery wall addition 1](/images/Blog2013/05-May/Painted-on-thick-Gallery-wall-addition-11.jpg)
One of the advantages of using a mat for your picture is that you don't even have to put it in the frame straight. For my picture it looked best from the front when I angled the print slightly like this.
![Painted on thick Gallery wall addition 1](/images/Blog2013/05-May/Painted-on-thick-Gallery-wall-addition.jpg)
I added my newly framed photo to my gallery wall above my couch. This was at 8 o'clock this morning, so I made sure to give a heads up to my still-in-bed-family so they didn't get startled by me hammering away...
Sharing over at Framed Frosting
If you had a hammer,
would you hammer in the morning?
Would you hammer in the evening?
Would you hammer all over this land? I need to know these things
![;)](/images/Emoticons/wink.gif)
More DIY - Do-It-Yourself Projects
![Katja Kromann](/images/SCA/avatar11.jpg)
About Katja Kromann
I am a Danish American decorating life in Seattle. I love all things design and DIY.
I can’t think of anything more fun than coming up with project, making it, photographing it and sharing it with you on my websites.
I am a Graphic Artist, a remodeller and home maker by day.
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