Yes, I am still here!! I felt so much better after reading that you are all (most of you) obsessed with Twilight and Facebook too. Crackbook is still fun but it's already wearing off just a bit.

I'm totally lying. Every time I get a new friend request, I get all giggly and I'm obsessed again.

You all have scared the crap outta me about Twilight though. I need to make plans for my family because it sounds like I'll have my nose in a book 24/7 for a week. I'll be ready...soon. I have about 105 things I want to get done first. I'm sceeeeered to start reading!! :)

But I told you I wouldn't let you down...here's a project I've been thinking about doing for a couple weeks now. Remember these walls in my bathroom that I molded-up?? (That doesn't sound good, huh?)

I've enjoyed how clean and simple these were but in the back of my mind, something was always bugging me. I mean...they are frames...meant to frame something...so I had to do it.

Remember these raised jobbies that I showed you here?



Well it's time to show you how to do it yourself!! You will need spackle, a putty knife and a stencil:


I got one of these at Hob Lob for 40 percent off:


I love these stencils...they have so many options and they are LARGE.

Then I found the center of my "frames":

I taped the stencil up, making sure it was level. Then I taped off the spots I didn't want to be included:

If you are using the whole stencil, obviously, you can skip this. Now, here's where I make this take twice as long as it should...

When I say "just mix them together" -- I mean it. It's easy. Just make sure there's not too much paint. You will need VERY little paint. You want the spackle to have it's spackle consistency. It will end up like frosting and you will want to eat it:

Get some on your putty knife:

See, don't you want to take a lick????

Then putty away on the stencil:

I like a real textured look, so I just kind of slap it everywhere. What I love about this stuff is you can also make it really smoooooth and pretty too. It just depends on what you want.

Then pull off the stencil slowly and carefully. If some of your spackle gets under the stencil:

Just wipe it off! It's like butta people, it will come right off. I just use a paper towel and my finger nail to wipe off the excess. If you really mess up, you can wipe off sections or the whole thing, I swear! Just do it within a couple minutes or so.

This is the result:

Ummmm... I LOVE IT!! I was going to keep going with them but decided I like just one per frame...any more would be overkill. (But in a bigger room, that would be GORG!)

Total cost for this project was $9 for the stencil. Serious. Ask your hubby, I bet you have spackle in your house. I like using the lightweight spackle, but I bet any would be fine. And you don't need much! The amount in the bowl I showed you did all but one of these!

Best part is, you can paint over them. Or make them the same color as your walls...use word stencils...the possibilities are endless!! I LOVE this stuff. (And yes...they can be removed, it would be a bit of a PITA but you can do it.)

This project took about 2.5 hours for the whole thing...obviously, the smaller the stencil, the easier and quicker it will be. My powder room stencils took maybe ten minutes. Also, PLEASE experiment first, on a piece of paper, cardboard, whatever. See what you like and see how hard you will have to press, etc.

I have another small project in this room I hope to finish tomorrow, and then I'll show you better pics!

Off to check my Wall. I mean...go to bed....

**Edited to add...for the most part, you will want these were small hands cannot pick at them. They will be tempted. :) The thicker stencils, like my power room, would be harder to pick at than these. But you will be surprised at how strong the spackle is when it dries. If you are worried about kids or people in general bumping into them -- put them high. Professionals space them out around the top of rooms all of the time, for a little detail.