Rustic Pearl Finish Over Stencil Relief

Artists and faux finishers are raving about the new line of stains from Bio Savvy Brands! Our wood stains penetrate raw wood to enhance the natural beauty of the grains, but their uses go far beyond the typical wood stain. These stains layer amazingly well with Artisan Enhancements art products and techniques. Here we have used Bio Savvy’s Dark Walnut stain over a stencil relief and a Pearl Scumble glaze. The resulting finish is an antiqued iridescent effect that was so simple to achieve.

We started by painting our simple wooden box with a couple coats of creamy yellow. Next, we used our Color Shaper tool to trowel a thin layer of VP Antico over our Blossoming Scroll stencil.

As soon as we finished covering the design, we carefully removed the stencil.

After allowing the stencil relief to dry completely, we positioned our (clean and dry) stencil back over the design. We used our stencil brush to add color to the VP Antico stencil relief.

While we waited for our detailed painting to dry, we mixed a custom pearl glaze with a teaspoon of Scumble and about one third teaspoon of Pearl Plaster. This was more than enough glaze to cover our painted box.

We used our round brush to apply a thin even coat of our translucent, pearl glaze. This effect gives a beautiful, subtle shimmer to any paint finish. We gave our pearl glaze a good hour to dry completely before proceeding. Dry times will vary depending on your Scumble to Pearl Plaster ratio and how heavily the glaze has been applied.

Using our round brush once again, we applied a coat of  wood stain in Dark Walnut.

Working in sections, we used a damp, lint-free cloth to wipe back the stain, leaving it darker and heavier around our stencil relief.

We were able to easily manipulate the stain to create the finish we had envisioned. Where we wanted a darker effect, we brushed on more stain and where we wanted it lighter, we simply wiped it back. The stain settled in around the stencil relief creating a wonderful shadowed effect.

This aged pearl finish is a unique effect that brings a rustic edge to the elegance of our popular Pearl Plaster Scumble glaze. We hope you’ll give it a try!

Be sure to hashtag #artisanenhancements in your own project social media shares! We can’t wait to see the finishes you create!