IKEA Stencil Hack: Transform a Vittsjo Table With Stenciling

Supplies for this stencil project:

IKEA Vittsjo Laptop Stand

Triangulations Furniture Stencil from Royal Design Studio

Royal Stencil Creme Paint: Flat Black

Metallic Gold and Silver Sharpie Pens

Rustoleum Metallic Gold Spray Paint

Stencil Sponge Pouncer (Martha Stewart)

Dead Flat Varnish from Modern Masters

Misc: Q-tips, Single-edge Razor Blade, Painter's Tape, Ruler, Denatured Alcohol

Step 1: First things first. It's from IKEA. You've gotta assemble ask some one to assemble it!

Step 2: Take it outside when the air is still and give it several thin coats of Metallic Gold Spray Paint. Let it dry between coats so you don't build up too much paint at once, which can cause drips and sags.

Pro Tip! Try to resist pressing your finger into the paint while it's still wet-to see if it's dry. Unless of course you want your fingerprints to be a part of the finished project

Before starting make sure your glass is completely clean. Isopropyl or Denatured Alcohol works well when used with a lint-free towel.

Step 3: Center your stencil in the glass and secure with tape.

Step 4: Trace through the stencil onto the glass with the Metallic Sharpies. I used mostly gold and added in one random triangle shape per row with the silver color. JUST to keep things interesting. ;)

FULL DISCLOSURE HERE! I first tested this technique on a scrap piece of glass and it worked like a charm. HOWEVER, the IKEA glass is an obviously cheaper product and seems to have some sort of slick film on it. This caused the Sharpie to slip and bleed a bit on the surface. So.

Step 5: When you remove your stencil use a single edge razor blade to carefully scrape off any random bleed-under. Use a Q-tip with denatured alcohol to remove any additional Sharpie residue in unwanted areas.

Step 6: Back to the Sharpies! Retrace over the original stencil tracing with a hard pressure to build up the color more solidly.

Flip the glass over to check your look from the other side. Remember this is "reverse" stenciling. The side you are working on now will be facing down and you will be seeing the pattern through the opposite side.

I actually loved the look of just the Sharpie tracing through the stencil. While that alone might be perfect for some other glass applications, it just seemed like the pattern was going to get "lost" on the tabletop. I decided to fill it in solidly with black.

Step 7: Place the stencil over the outline and stencil using Flat Black Royal Stencil Creme with a stencil sponge pouncer. Normally I would avoid using one of these craft store stencil pouncers, but they really do seem to work well on glass techniques. As also, do not use too much product to avoid bleeding. A few coats will be needed to achieve a solid black. Always allow the paint to dry between coats.

Step 8: Once the stencil cream is completely dry, stencil over it with a coat of water-based varnish to seal and protect the paint and allow you to clean the glass later without removing all your work. Use the stencil pouncer again. Apply 2 coats and allow to dry overnight before cleaning gently with glass cleaner.

Is this a cool look, or what?! The triangle shapes are reminiscent of martini glasses for many, so this might make the perfect little bar table that would make even Don Draper proud. Find more stencil ideas, tips, and tricks on Paint + Pattern!