🌾 A Soft & Meaningful Easter Round with Layers of Love

There’s something special about creating decor that feels meaningful and handmade. In this project, Essential Stencil ambassador Sharon Hankins of I Restore Stuff walks through how to create a soft, layered Easter round using paint as a stain, subtle background stenciling, and a beautiful rub-on transfer.

This technique is perfect if you love understated texture, visible wood grain, and gentle contrast — and it works just as beautifully on furniture as it does on small decor pieces.

Table of Contents

• Materials Used
• Step 1: Create a Soft Painted Stain
• Step 2: Add a Subtle Wheat Stencil Background
• Step 3: Apply the Easter Rub-On Transfer
• Helpful Tips from Sharon

Materials Used

Step 1: Create a Soft Painted Stain

Instead of fully painting the board, Sharon uses paint as a stain to let the natural wood grain shine through.

Start by applying Homestead Blue with a damp cloth, working it into the surface rather than brushing it on heavily.

Flip the cloth over and gently wipe away excess paint to soften the color and reveal the grain.

This technique creates instant depth without hiding the character of the wood.

Step 2: Add a Subtle Wheat Stencil Background

Once dry, it’s time to layer in a soft stencil pattern.

Using the wheat design from the Fall Botanicals Pattern Stencil Set, Sharon lightly applies Woodwick paint with a stencil brush.

The key here is restraint. Very little paint is loaded on the brush and gently offloaded before touching the surface.

The result is a barely-there wheat pattern that adds warmth without overpowering the transfer.

Step 3: Apply the Easter Rub-On Transfer

Cut out the “Bless This Bread” design from the He Is Risen Rub-On Transfer Set.

Center it on the board and burnish firmly using the Essential Transfer Tool, working slowly to ensure all details release cleanly.

If any small details stay on the plastic, simply lay it back down and burnish again.

Helpful Tips from Sharon

If you love layered finishes and subtle texture, this technique works beautifully on trays, furniture panels, and seasonal decor.

Shop the He Is Risen Rub-On Transfer Set to recreate this look or put your own spin on it.

Follow Sharon Hankins of I Restore Stuff for more furniture upcycling and layered paint techniques.

Watch the Full Tutorial

See Sharon’s full process, including paint-as-stain techniques and transfer application tips, in the video below.