Product Description
Now in paperback! -- 35,000 hardcover copies sold! To make a big impression, says stencilling expert Sandra Buckingham, you don't have to re-create the Sistine Chapel. Start small, she counsels, and the rest will follow.
Buckingham's latest book "Stencilling on a Grand Scale" leads do-it-yourselfers beyond the realm of decorative borders featured in her best-selling "Stencilling: A Harrowsmith Guide" to a creative canvas whose limits are determined only by space, time and imagination. The key to her strategy is that a large stencilled work -- be it a door, wall, screen or floor -- can be the seamless sum of its parts. In other words, rather than using an expensive, unwieldy, multi-layered stencil to create a life-sized tree, use three 10 inch stencils of leaf clusters, laying and re-laying them to achieve the desired effect. The only limit to the ultimate size of the finished painting is the room you've set aside for it.
Whether you are fashioning a greeting card or a 40-foot mural, Buckingham recommends the same modest techniques. The methods used to faux-finish a wall -- a vine rambling up a corner, windows stencilled onto an actual door, a false shelf with flowerpots stencilled in an alcove -- can likewise be applied to furniture or folding screens and can be used on any scale.
A technical review of traditional and new stencilling tools is followed by a refresher course in basic stencilling methods, including stencil cutting, hard-surface stencilling, stencilling on primed canvas, overlays, registration and special effects, among them shading, shadows, plant detail and painting skies and landscapes. A chapter on freeform stencilling, with and without masks, prepares readers for the larger-scale works that are the book's central objective.
Buckingham advises perfecting your free-form skills on less ambitious projects (lampshades, borders, placemats) before moving to grander subjects. By the later chapters, stencillers will be comfortable tackling everything from picket and wrought iron fences, lattice work, garden gates, French doors, veranda doors and curtains to paving stones, terra-cotta tiles, carpets, mosaic floors, stone columns, balustrades, terraces, garden walls and room dividers. As always, Buckingham's genius lies in inspiration, and "Stencilling on a Grand Scale" introduces a how-to-world that has no boundaries.
Average Customer Review:
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Stencilling on a Grand Scale, 2007-01-04
I have enjoyed thinking about doing some of this. The book gives fine guidance
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Good Technique and Steps IF you like Folk Art type decor, 2005-12-02
The projects in this book were well-detailed and gave some good information on composition and layering of stencils. I checked this book out of the library and don't intend on buying it BUT I do recommend it if you like the more folkart type decor. I was looking for something more realistic in floral decor. The trellice project was very cute and would look great with a cottage country look.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
The Best For Beginners, 2002-09-19
I came across this book in my local library and loved it so much I bought a copy for myself. Ms. Buckingham manages to create beautiful trompe l'oeil work with simple techniques that are easy for even the absolute beginner. An added bonus is that her stencils are available online...
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
Great for beginners and Experts, 2001-10-28
I purchased this book 2 years ago. At the time I did not know they sold stencils until I purchased a few stencils on their website along with their video. The book is easy to follow and they give you many ways to incooporate simple stencils. This book encouraged me to create a mural from a small picture and brought out a talent that I never knew existed. Well done. Fantastic pictures with great color which I feel either makes or breaks a simple stencil or a 5 layered stencil. I would highly recommend their book, stencils and their video. If I can learn, anyone can!!!! A+++++
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
Hard Cover Quality In a Paperback, 2000-09-22
Grab this book without hesitation!I saw the author on the show, "Home Matters" and was instantly motivated to buy this book. When I saw that it was available in both hard- and soft- cover verrsions, my decision was difficult. Usually saving a few bucks on the paperback version of any book means sacrificing quality; thin paper, fewer illustrations, shortened versions. etc.
When I opted to buy this in the paperback form, I was expecting the usual compromises. I was, joyfully, wrong! This book not only boasts the easy instructions and wonderful pictorials of the hardcover version, it also has wonderful, high quality paper stock rarely found even in hardcover these days. The quality of this book will stand up to years of planning and crafting!