Sprucing Up the Patio and Stenciling Fabric Rockers

Now that the weather is warmer, it's time to clean off the winter grime with a little TLC and give your patio some love! Our patio is starting to show it's age after seven years and needs a bit of sprucing up! There are several things you can do without costing a lot of money. Flowers are the number one way to instantly spruce up an area. And of course you can always add accessories like pillows, lanterns and accent tables. I found this wonderful website, Wikibuy, that lets you shop at tons of popular online retailers and finds the best prices for you by applying a coupon code at checkout. And the best part, if you're not ready to buy just yet, they'll notify you when the price drops! How cool is that! Check out this adorable umbrella table I got here https://wikibuy.com/

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Using paint is another quick way to spruce things up - but my way of painting is a bit more decorative! You know I love all kinds of rocking chairs - indoors or out - I just love to rock!  I've had a set of folding outdoor rocking chairs for about fifteen years now. I can't remember where I got them but I can say that they've held up pretty well throughout the years. But lately I've wanted to do something with them since they do look a bit drab and plain. And after considering a few options, I decided to dress them up by stenciling flowers onto the back! It's amazing how a little paint and a fun stencil can go a long way to enhancing an outdoor space. Here's a few pictures of what they looked like at our former home:

 

 Some wonderful memories here - I re-upholstered the sofa and made pillows to match.  We left all of our outdoor furniture for the buyer, except the rockers.

 I'm sorry that I don't have a recent picture of the rockers on our patio. It's been raining so much that I've kept them in the garage to stay dry for this project. And it's still raining so I'm going to stencil them inside.

Let's begin by cleaning the fabric. I used water and a bit of Dawn dishwashing detergent to remove any dirt, and let dry.

 I'm using a wall stencil called Garden Anemone Flowers from Cutting Edge that I taped onto the back facing of the rocker. The rocker fabric is synthetic and the painter's tape did not stick too well. I had to wrap it around the back and use duct tape to help secure the stencil in place.

 I used a stencil brush that was much better to use with the outdoor acrylic paint because of the texture of the fabric instead of using a sponge spouncer - which I tried.

 Once the flowers were stenciled, I did the stems and leaves and  .  .  .

 quickly removed the stencil to reveal a lovely design! Because of the texture of the fabric, the lines were not as crisp - but still it looks wonderful!

 I allowed the paint to dry for several hours and then painted on an outdoor clear drying varnish over the flowers.

Don't you just love this! Simple and Fun!

 

Now if it would just stop raining!

Thanks for stopping by

and take a little time to enjoy,

Happy Crafting!