DIY Stencil Project Continued

So, my big stencil project was to somehow reproduce this:

but with these lyrics:

I hear babies cry and I watch them grow,

They'll learn much more

Than we'll know

And I think to myself

What a wonderful world

As I mentioned, the initial trial run was a disaster.  I thought I could do a mock-up on paper and give that to the mother-to-be to unwrap.  The stencil kit I bought at Michael's was proving to be very flimsy and I did not have the correct stencil brush to use in this situation.  You'll see in the below image that the paint bleed through the stencil outline and was just one big mess.

Lesson learned: buy the good stuff.  It is worth the extra pennies to save what is left of your sanity.

We painted the background of the salvaged wood in Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray left over from a wall paint sample.  After some trial and error, we decided that the best option was to trace the letters in pencil and then hand paint the outline.    

This proved to be SO MUCH easier.  Not perfect, but I'm pretty happy with it:

I originally found a step-by-step guide online where they cut out the stencil on contact paper, placed out the wording, painted over everything, and then lifted off each letter so it was like a reverse stencil.  I can't find the link right now (anyone know of it?), but it seemed really time consuming.  I wish I had more patience.  If I did, I would have taken out the drop cloths before this project:

Ooops!  Luckily, this was a $49 find in the "as is" section of IKEA last year.  Great rug, but impossible to remove any type of stain.

Baby Zain Rhys Corey will be the recipient of this project.   Maybe I'll get inspired again for my own little one.  I already have some really fun art picked out for the nursery.  I'll share that with you tomorrow.  Are you just dying with excitement?