Sunday, March 30, 2008

Decorating With Stencils

I've put wallpaper and wallpaper borders up on my walls for years. I love the way it looks but the hate the way it looks years later. I stopped putting wallpaper up years ago (for the most part) and just stuck with wallpaper borders. Even these didn't really do well over the years, especially in the bathrooms where there is so much moisture. That's probably why I started faux finishing my walls and not bothering with wallpaper at all. It's too much work to put up and too much to take down.



If I really want the look of a border I can just stencil instead. It's more time consuming but very satisfying when it's all finished. You have complete control over the style, design and colors which really appeals to me. Some of my rooms are painted plain and have stenciled borders and other rooms have faux painted walls with no stenciling. Buying stencils templates could not be any easier. They are available on the Internet and in craft stores. Extensive varieties are there for you to pick from. I use blue painters tape to keep my stencil up there. I also use "dry" stencil paint that comes in small tubs. The beauty of stenciling is that you can shade with lighter and darker colors. Here is a stencil that I am currently working on in my guest room. In this particular case I just wanted something very neutral with not much color.


I'm not completely finished with this stencil project but I'm happy with the way it's coming out. Usually I prefer color but in this particular room I stuck with very neutral tones of white and gold.



Stenciling may be more time consuming to actually place all around a room, but when it's all done the final results are beautiful. The good news is that it won't curl at the edges or eventually come away from the wall. When you get tired of the design..............simply paint over it.01 02 03
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8 comments:

  1. What a beautiful border! I'm impressed!

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  2. I really want to stencil scripture on the wall in the girls room. This tutorial will really help me! Your border looks great
    Kyle

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  3. Thanks for your post. I think the border is awesome. I'm doing my first one now and am having a hard time avoiding bleeding. I tried the stencil glue and it didn't work. I'm guessing because it's a room wall border and the walls are textured. The stencil would not restick on the second time. So now I'm using paint tape and blot the stencil paint (oil in a small tub that can fit in your hand) on. The stencil looks okay but a little bumpy on the edges. I can live with that but here's the real dilemma: after I've done a few stencil repeats, the paint on the back of the stencil messes up the wall so I have to clean the stencil a lot. It's so time consuming. What am I doing wrong? I'm using dark brown stencil paint on the light blue/green surface. Help!

    Thanks
    Grace

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  4. Grace:
    Sorry to hear you are having such a problem. I use "dry" stencil paint that comes in a small tub. It is so dry that it will not run. If you are applying onto a textured wall, dry going to the craft store and buying the dry stencils. They work great. Now the problem will be matching the new paint with the old. I never have a problem using the dry paint and don't have to clean the stencil each time. It really sounds like your paint is "too wet" and that is causing it to leak under the stencil.
    If you can't find the dry stencil paint then try this: put the paint onto your brush and wipe it onto a paper towel so it drys a bit. Remember to move your brush up and down, not side ways. The blue painters tape usually works very well for keeping the stencil on the wall. I hope this helps you! Let me know how this works out for you.
    Christy

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  5. as someone who loves making art I think this is beautiful..

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  6. I ran in to this googling stencil ideas....I'm planning on linking to this on Monday's post at poppiesatplay.blogspot.com. Hope that's okay....this is beautiful! Great job!
    Hannah

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