How to Create a Raised Stencil in 5 Easy Steps

A raised stencil is an easy way to add flair to your next painted furniture project. If you are like me and hate stenciling because of all of the pounce-pounce-pouncing required to stencil with paint, you might want to give a raised stencil a try.

I used Dixie Mud to create raised stencil designs all over my old jewelry armoire I’ve had since I was a teenager. (It’s vintage — just like me!) I love how it turned out.

Here’s my tutorial for creating a raised stencil with Dixie Belle Mud — in 5 easy steps.

How to Create a Raised Stencil in 5 Easy Steps

This post contains affiliate links for your raised stenciling convenience.

Step 1: Tape Your Stencil in Place

You need a sturdy stencil to stand up to this technique. Stencils made from thicker plastic work better for creating a raised stencil. You will be scraping across it (gently) and need to scrub off the raised stencil compound.

Dixie Belle Paint Company has a nice selection of stencils on their website. For this project, I pulled several thicker stencils out of my stash. I have no idea where I got them!

Once you select your stencil and figure out the placement, securely tape it in place on your furniture.

Step 2: Spread Dixie Mud Over Your Stencil

Dixie Mud is the stenciling compound offered by Dixie Belle Paint Company, the line of no-VOC chalk-mineral paint we sell at our store All Things New Again in Leesburg, VA. It comes in three colors — black, brown and white — and is perfect for creating a raised stencil. I spread it on with a plastic putty knife.

I also use Dixie Mud for other things besides a raised stencil.

See how I created a beachy look with it on this dresser.

Step 3: Scrape Away Excess Dixie Mud (gently!)

Wipe off your putty knife with a paper towel or baby wipe. Then come back and gently scrape away the excess Dixie Mud off of your stencil. If you scrape off too much (like I did in this photo), simply apply more Dixie Mud like you did in Step 2 and repeat.

There are two ways you can do Step 3 for two different raised stencil looks.

If you give it one gentle scrape, but leave the Dixie Mud on fairly thick, you will get a thicker raised stencil in the end like this.

If you come back with a second or third gentle scrape, you will have a thinner raised stencil like this. I experimented with both looks on my jewelry armoire and I like how both look.

Carefully remove the stencil once you achieve the thickness you desire and let the Dixie Mud dry. Don’t worry if your stencil doesn’t look good at this point. You’re not done yet!

Step 4: Lightly Sand After Dixie Mud Dries

Dixie Mud dries fairly quickly depending on how thick you apply it. Once completely dry, lightly sand with fine-grit sandpaper to knock off the rough edges and smooth out any bumpy areas. Here’s what my stencil looked like before sanding. No worries! It was smooth in the end.

Step 5: Paint Your Raised Stencil

I mentioned earlier that Dixie Mud comes in three colors. If you want white stencils, use the white. I knew I was going to paint my jewelry armoire so the color of the Dixie Mud didn’t matter to me. You can paint over it beautifully once it is dried and sanded smooth.

For my armoire, I used several of the Dixie Belle blues and greens: Mermaid Tail, Dixie Belle Blue, Sea Glass, Pure Ocean and Mint Julep. I blended them all together until I loved how it looked. Then I dry brushed a bit of white Fluff over the raised stencil parts to accentuate the designs more.

Here’s my tutorial on how to dry brush.

I finished with a little bit of ReDesign with Prima Decor Wax. The color is called Milky Way and adds a hint of iridescent shimmer around the edges. This is a new product we are carrying at the shop. I am having so much fun experimenting with it.

Here’s my jewelry armoire with the raised stencil designs!

This vintage jewelry armoire has lived a full life! It moved cross-country with us when I was in high school and moved around with me a few more times, including a few months in storage.

Here is our Dixie Belle Paint Company affiliate link again if you would like to recreate this look on your next painted furniture project.

Thank you for supporting our small family business by using this link for your paint purchases!

And thank you for reading my tutorial on How to Create a Raised Stencil in 5 Easy Steps. If you create a raised stencil on your next project (or even if you don’t!), please share photos of your work over in our All Things New Again Artisans Group on Facebook. It’s a fun new group we started with lots of encouragement and advice for furniture painters of all skill levels. Everyone is welcome to join–and invite your friends!

~ Courtney

All Things New Again is a family-owned boutique furniture store and paint studio in Leesburg, Virginia (about an hour or so west of Washington, DC). We sell hand-painted furniture (but not this jewelry armoire because it is MINE!)

We also sell several lines of paint for your next DIY project, including Dixie Belle Paint and ReDesign with Prima Decor Waxes featured in this project. Get hands-on experience creating a raised stencil—and so much more!—at our next Learn How to Paint Furniture Class. Click here for our current furniture painting class schedule.

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