Stencil DIY: Tablescapes for a Delicious Fiesta!

My children LOVE mexican food ­ cheese quesadillas, chips and salsa and, of course, tacos! Every Tuesday is Taco Tuesday in our house, with this in mind, I thought I’d share a fun Ikea Hack! I saw cute cork placemats and trivets the last time we were shopping and thought they’d be cute with a little Chalk Paint and a fun Royal Design Studio stencil print! To complete the look, I stenciled ceramic tiles bought from a local hardware store into fun Mexican themed coasters.

Love the look? Here’s how you too can get it!

Supplies for Placemat and Trivets

•  Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan – Paris Grey, Pure White, Napoleonic Blue and Louis Blue.
•  Royal Design Stencil ­- Otomi Mexican Folk Art Stencil for Furniture and Mini Version
•  Cork Placemats and Trivets from Ikea
•  Royal Design Stencil Brushes
•  Painter’s Tape
•  Artistan Enhancements Clear Topcoat (to protect surface once painted)

I first planned out where I wanted the colors on this playful print. I knew my boys were going to love all the animals and thought several different shades in blue and gray would be nice and subtle for a celebration in our sunroom. I wrote a cheat sheet on a print out of the pattern.

Then I poured out small cups of paint and got a stenciling station organized. I had plenty of paper towels on hand to blot the brush and I also taped the stencil in place with painter’s tape so it wouldn’t slide.

The Otomi Folk Art Furniture stencil was the perfect size for the placemats. I used the larger furniture stencil on the cork trivets.

Once all the placemats and trivets were dry I applied one coat of Artisan Enhancements Clear Topcoat to seal and protect.

This top coat dries pretty quick, be sure not to put it on too heavy, it can discolor.

The placemats are adorable!

The coasters were a little trickier than I thought they’d be but in the end I found the perfect solution. I originally intended on painting the coasters with the same chalk paint but the tiles were just too slick. So I tried sharpie pens and read online that I should bake them in the oven. Well, my kitchen smelled horrible as the sharpie was burning on the tile. Sigh. DIY gone wrong! For these pretty coasters I used Sharpie Oil Based Paint Pens made for ceramics. Here’s how to create these pretty coasters for your Cinco De Mayo Margaritas!

Supplies for Ceramic Tile Coasters

• Square White Tiles from the Hardware Store
•  Royal Design Studio Talavera Tiles Wall and Furniture Stencil
•  Sharpie Oil Based Paint Pens, Medium Tip
•  Painter’s Tape
•  Adhesive Cork for the back

These tiles are pretty slick so it is important to tape the stencil. There are six tile designs included in the Talavera Tile stencil set so you can make all different coasters.

I placed other tiles outside the tile I was stenciling to tape the stencil in place. This helped a lot. I found that the oil based paint pen could leak under the stencil so I tried to just outline the stencil on the bigger areas and fill in after removing the stencil.

I used a lot of the blue on my coasters and ran out trying to do a 5th one. I allowed them to dry before using! To protect your table tops, place adhesive cork along the bottom of the tile.

The Otomi and the Talavera Stencils added so much fun pattern to our Mexican tablescape.

My little boys were so excited to celebrate a fiesta. We enjoyed homemade guacamole and chips, spicy salsa and mini chicken tacos with mock margaritas!

From our family to yours Happy Cinco de Mayo!