hi thanks for tuning in I'm Susan and today I want to show you how to use Venetian plaster through a stencil to get this raised effect now this is a board I've already finished and I'm going to show you step-by-step how to do this process let me start by saying that Venetian plaster can come in any color you choose also you don't have to use Venetian plaster to get this effect you can use textured paint or even old paint that has gotten too thick this is a fleur-de-lis that I added to this little chest of drawers it's on there pretty thick which you probably can't see from that angle and the reason that is is because the stencil holes were kind of big if you don't like that look just get a smaller more intricate stencil okay let's get started I have a sample board here that already has two coats of the base color on it I've placed the stencil where I want it and use tape to secure it so it doesn't move around you can use this technique on pretty much anything furniture kitchen cabinets doorway stairways pretty much anywhere you want if you get tired of it all you have to do is sand it off my Venetian plaster is so old it's gotten this thick in fact I even had to add a little water to it just so I could work with it now I'm gonna use a rubber spatula to spread it on the stencil I'm just gonna put a glob on and start smoothing it out making sure I get all the areas of the stencil this is a messy process so make sure you have plenty of paper towels around and a trash can I should have put more tape down here well if it messes up you can always correct it with your base coat I'm getting it on there pretty thick but you don't have to so personal preference so just continue until you got the whole stencil done and here's something to note too you have to clean your stencil between each time you use it and I've got like an old icing knife that I used to kind of scrape it off oops hopefully it'll be okay it'll fix it to make sure you get everything covered where you want it I think we're good all right it's the moment of truth I'm gonna pull off the stencil and then all you have to do is let it dry overnight looks pretty good this is what I mean about cleaning your stencil it's kind of hard because your knife will catch the edges of your stencil but it's caked on so thick and you take forever to just wipe it off but it's important to clean your stencil each time you use it this is my sample board that I've let dry overnight and I'm holding it at this angle just so that you can see all the peaks and valleys of the Venetian plaster because the next step is I'm gonna take some sandpaper just sort of kiss it and knock off all those Peaks all right I've made my little touch-ups and I've got it where I want it and now's I'm gonna do is seal it with water-based polyurethane I always stir your poly color your thing don't shake it also get air bubbles and I use a foam brush just because it doesn't leave brushstrokes and usually I put on two coats just because it's kind of hard to tell where you've been and most of the time if I just use one coat I miss an area and that's pretty much all there is to it be creative have some fun and send me your pictures