Tutorial: Folk Art Painted Furniture

Melissa Meares
Mar 17
2 min read

I've wanted to try folk art ever since I rediscovered my American Girl Doll Kirsten's trunk. Theres just something so fun and carefree about adding folk art to furniture. Pa from Little House in the Big Woods did it (although I think his was carved), and Feyre from A Court of Thorns and Roses did it (although there is some debate in the book community on whether or not it actually looked good). It's all over shows like Frozen.

Painting was my pandemic hobby, but still, the idea of taking paint to antique furniture made me a bit nervous. Enter my Cricut Joy Xtra. This blog post is not sponsored by Cricut, however, the project itself was a Cricut partnership, and I loved it so much, I wanted to write this tutorial for everyone!

I spent longer than I care to admit researching the best way to make a stencil on the Cricut. There are two ways you can make a stencil: a resuable stencil using craft plastic that only works for non-intricate designs (think word stencils or simple shapes. The other way is with a one time use stencil made out of vinyl. This is what I used!

Supply List

Cricut Machine (I used the Joy Xtra but any Cricut will work!)

Removable vinyl or vinyl stencil

Tutorial: How to Make the Stencil

Open up the Cricut Design Space app (comes included with the machine). Select CANVAS then IMAGES and search "Folk Art." Select the image you want for the design.

Note: You need to select an image that only has one layer of basic cuts, or else it will not work.

Black and pink folk art designs, including floral and heart patterns, displayed in a digital gallery interface titled "folk art."

Add the folk art you like to your canvas and stretch it to size.

Black floral silhouette with three flowers on branches, set against a grid background. Central flower has heart-shaped cutout.

Go to SHAPES and add a rectangle. Stretch it to size until it completely covers the art.

A black floral silhouette on grid paper with a gray rectangle overlay showing dimensions.

Once it is in place, use the mouse to highlight both the folk art design and the rectangle. Then in the bottom right corner, click SLICE.

Black stencil of a symmetrical flower design with heart and leaves on a grid background with measurements along the top and side.

Remove the inside layers (the original design) so that only the rectangular stencil shape remains. Duplicate it for however many stencils you will need. Click MAKE and print!

Floral stencil design with two flowers and a heart on a dark background, set against a grid.

Once printed, use the weeding tool to remove the inside of the stencil. Simple poke the end of the tool into the vinyl and you can pull it right up. Cover the stencil with transfer tape, and use the scraper to attach the transfer tape.