Coastal Wall Art Tutorial with Free Stencil Downloads

Use this coastal wall art tutorial to DIY home decor!

Summer is heating up, and I like to cool off with thoughts of the beach!  Refreshing coastal themed decor helps me bring the beach home.  I’ve shared several beach themed projects recently, like this seahorse wall art. Now I’m going to show how to use homemade stencils to paint your own coastal themed wall art.

Supplies Used in this Coastal Wall Art Tutorial:

• Darice DIY Wood Pallet Art Canvas: Lathe Wood Box, 14×6 inches
• Darice DIY Wood Pallet Art Canvas: Lathe Wood Box, 6×6 inches
• Glass Chips – Cobalt Blue
• Folk Art Ultra Dye
• Stencils:  Seahorse and Starfish
• White Milk Paint

I started with the darkest color, the blue ultra dye, on the wood canvas and brushed it across the lower third of the wood canvas.

I then moved to the next color, overlapping slightly with the blue and covering the middle third of the canvas.

Finally, I added the lightest color, overlapping and covering the top third of the canvas.  I LOVE how easily the dyes blend together and help create an aquatic ombre effect.

Cut out your stencil.  I created a seahorse cut file and a starfish cut file which I then cut using my Silhouette and vinyl.  (Click on the names to download the cut files.) I have included the images so you can cut the stencil by hand if you don’t have a machine.

Stick the vinyl stencil on the pallet and use a pouncer to dab white milk paint over the design.  Be sure to dab the pouncer onto a paper towel to remove the excess paint, and then dab the stencil gently.  The dye will “bleed” into the white paint and tint it slightly.

Add details to your coastal pallet wall art by gluing on small glass chips and a rope “handle”.

I just love the way these turned out!  This pair looks perfect on my patio.  You can easily create more of these in other designs to add to your home decor.  Have fun crafting and creating coastal decor this summer!

I originally published this project on the Darice blog as a design team member.