My Painted & Stenciled Rug AND a Stencil Giveaway

If you've been following my blog, you know I have been slowly updating my office.  It is an office that also serves as a toy storage room and a guest room (futon is dragged up from the basement when guests come into town).  There were 2 inspirations for my office makeover: 1) Schumacher's Chiang Mai Dragon fabric in aquamarine (which I adore) and 2) incorporating a loose interpretation of a bold patterned rug (like Madeline Weinrib's Mandala) but in subdued colors.

So, not willing to spend money on a Weinrib rug and having a difficult time finding a rug in the perfect color, I set off to create my 'own' version.

First, I started with an inexpensive, flat weave rug in a neutral color.  This is where Ikea's Erslev rug comes into play for $29.99.

I wanted to the base of the rug to be a pastel orange/pink color - similar to a peachy color.  I thought this would complement the coral color found in the chiang mai fabric.  I chose BM's 064 Nautilus Shell no VOC latex paint- the perfect peach color to create a calming effect.  Here, I started my first coat.

I used a 4 inch roller and rolled away.  The rug ended up taking 3 coats of paint!  After the rug dried, I was ready for my stencil!  Here is the stencil taped onto my painted rug.

You can hardly tell a color difference because the peach color is very subdued, but in person it looks great.  Like I mentioned before, I wanted a very loose interpretation of the Mandala rug.

I contacted Olive from Olive Leaf Stencils and they agreed to let me try one of their stencils!!  It was a difficult to choose just one because they are all SO fabulous, but I finally decided on the chrysanthemum stencil no. 2.  I liked it for it's boldness and whimsy.

Since the rug was textured, the stencil didn't lay entirely flat.  So after taping it down,  I used heavy objects like these books to add some weight to ensure the stencil lay flat.  You can see here, I used a foam brush to paint the stencil.  

I just dabbed the paint onto the stencil.  I never brushed it - just dabbed the paint on.  Seriously, it was super easy and worked great.  After, doing a total of five stencils I was so happy with the end result.  

What do you think??  Another view:

A complete view of my office:

Don't worry, I plan on changing the fabric on my valences and do you see my dyed lampshade?  And, I couldn't end this post without inserting a picture of my Schumacher Chiang Mai pillows that gave me the color inspiration:

{my inspiration board will be coming down and a FABULOUS mirror will be coming soon!}

So, now here's the part you've been waiting for....the Olive Leaf Stencils Giveaway!!  

To enter:  Go to their site, come back, make sure you're a follower and comment on your favorite stencil.  Easy peasy.  The winner will receive the stencil of their choice worth up to $60!!!!!

For extra entries: 1) tweet about the giveaway and/or 2) blog about the giveaway!!! 

Giveaway ends Thursday night!!!  Good Luck!