Oriental Lanterns

Combining traditional, reusable mylar stencils with Modello Decorative Masking Patterns can offer the best of both worlds when it comes to decorative painting.  The Modello Silhouette patterns are ideal for quickly blocking in large shapes, either with paint or plaster. Random stencil patterns add customization, color, and detail.

We put these to great use for a recent project in our studio. We had previously done the ceiling in the office in oriental allover patterns in black and green, but the walls were quite plain and uninspiring. Our new Oriental Lanterns Silhouettes combined with stencils from the Royal Design Studio Kimono Collection really brought the whole room together!

Color Palette  
I chose colors off the Benjamin Moore deck and had them mixed in their Aura base. I love the Aura paint base, as it covers well and dries very quickly, meaning you can get to the fun part fast! The color used for this project were: Coral Essence, Cherry Wine, Olive Moss, Adobe Orange, Semolina, and Sanctuary.

Step 1
Place the Modello Silhouette patterns on the surface. I wanted my lanterns to be fairly close together so trimmed off some of the surrounding vinyl so I could cluster them easily. Add tape to tape off around the lantern shapes (the tassels and hangers are painted black later) and around the edges to protect your background. VERY IMPORTANT: Seal the edges of the Modello pattern with Clear Setcoat from Faux Effects or any water-based varnish by rolling a generous layer over the exposed areas and especially around the edges of the vinyl pattern. My walls were smooth, so one good layer was sufficient but if your walls have any surface texture you may want to apply two coats and allow to dry. This prevents any paint seepage and helps to avoid any touchups at the end.

Step 2
Use a small short-nap roller to apply two coats of your desired paint colors. These little pink rollers are available in the paint department at the big box stores and I find them indispensible!

Step 3
When the paints dry, leave the Modello Silhouette patterns in place and start adding the stencil detail, using the same palette of Aura paints that you used for the larger shapes. The Aura paint works beautifully for quick stencil coverage, although it IS a bit more difficult to clean off your stencils. I have found that simply soaking them in a tub of Simple Green concentrate for a day or two works wonders!

Step 4
The Oriental Lantern shapes come with a short length of “string” in the pattern that can be extended with tape, but I decided instead to use black silk ribbon, which was actually much faster to apply and adds a cool, third dimension to the look. I simple secured it with thumbtacks and then covered those with some adorable matching felt flowers that I found in the scrapbooking section of the local craft store. They came with a sticky back, so were easily peeled and placed over the flat thumbtacks.

Here's another wall in the room. I kept the same stencil patterns over the same colored backgrounds even though the lantern shapes changed. This helps to unify the patterns throughout the room and keep it from getting too busy.

You can find the Large Oriental Lantern Silhouette Modellos and kimono-inspired Japanese mylar stencil patterns by clicking here!

Also shown: TransBor129