How To Stencil Step-by-step

Basic Stenciling Instructions: Learn How To Stencil Step-by-step     This is a simplest stenciling technique, shown here step-by-step. Great for beginners! Before stenciling: Get your stenciling supplies and stencils ready, work out your  technique and color combinations on a sample board first. It is always a good idea to make a sample. Use a wall in the garage, a piece of cardboard, or even an old pizza box as your sample surface. Make sure you like your color combinations and are comfortable with your stenciling technique  before hitting the real wall! READ FULL ARTICLE >>     Basic Stenciling Instructions: Learn How To Stencil Step-by-step HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED Stencil(s) Sample board (poster board, cardboard etc) Latex or acrylic paints, including some basecoat paint Dense foam roller with rounded ends, stencil brushes Paint tray or a large styrofoam plate Low tack painter’s tape, Spray adhesive (optional) Cutting Edge Stencil Level (optional) Paper towels or rag, cleaning tools & liquid soap Step ladder (optional) GETTING STARTED Very important: Work out your technique and color combinations on a sample first. It is always a good idea to make a sample. Use a wall in the garage, a piece of cardboard, or even an old pizza box as your sample surface. Make sure you like your color combinations and are comfortable with your stenciling technique before hitting the real wall! Make sure your walls are clean, dust free and in good condition. Any cracks or chips should be repaired, filled, primed and painted prior to stenciling. All base coats should be fully dried for at least 24 hours prior to stenciling. You can stencil over flat (recommended) latex house paint, faux finishes, plaster textures, wood, furniture, paper, fabric and even some wallpaper. Position your stencil on the wall where you like it, and tape it to the wall with few pieces of low tack blue painters tape. We love using Scotch Blue 2” painters tape. Do not use regular white masking tape because it’s way too sticky for most painted surfaces and will likely pull off the base paint when you remove your stencil. You can also use a spray adhesive to achieve even cleaner edges. If your stencil needs to be perfectly vertical or horizontal, use our innovative Clip-on Stencil Level (pat. pend.) to help with positioning. This step is not necessary for organic designs like branches, birds etc. Simply place them where you want them. Now pour some acrylic or latex paint on a foam plate or a paint tray. You don’t need much, about 2-3 tablespoons of paint is enough to start with. Have your dense foam roller (stencil brush) ready. Load your foam roller by rolling it over the paint a few times until it absorbs most or all of it. Use only dense foam rollers with rounded edges. These are available on our website. Regular fluffy rollers will not work, they hold too much paint! Now blot off the excess paint on a folded paper towel by rolling it back and forth a couple times. There should be no visible paint on a roller surface, it should look almost dry. Remember, it’s better to have less paint on your roller than too much paint. About paint: Any waterbased paint should work. Craft acrylics are great, regular latex paint will work but the best in our opinion is Benjamin Moore paint called Ben. This paint is very economical and covers really well with 1 coat. It has just the right consistency for stenciling. OK, now you’re ready to stencil! STENCILING WITH A ROLLER Roll the stencil with your roller using light to medium pressure. Excessive pressure may cause paint bleeding under the stencil. Be careful not to roll over the outside edges of the stencil! We design most of our stencils with at least a 1” frame to give you some rolling room. Strategically placing blue masking tape on the narrowest edges can help prevent “roll-overs”. You can easily check how you’re doing by carefully un-taping and lifting one corner of the stencil and taking a peek. Do you like what you see? Enough pressure or can it use a little more paint? If it’s too pale, just put the stencil back and roll it a couple more times back and forth, slightly adding more pressure. When stenciling lighter colors over darker colors, you may need 2 coats to achieve good coverage. Let the 1st coat dry for a couple of minutes and then roll the stencil again. Now remove the stencil and enjoy your artwork! A note for the impatient: Don’t just yank the taped stencil off the wall! It’s always a good idea to remove it somewhat slowly so the blue tape doesn’t accidentally pull off any background paint. Continue stenciling by repositioning your design until all walls/repeats are done. No need to clean the stencil in between repeats. Each stencil is good for many repeats before it will need to be cleaned. it’s time to clean the stencil when your paint build-up starts to compromise the design. If you would like to do your next repeat in a different color, make sure that the previous color has completely dried on the stencil so it will not transfer to your next print. It’s a good idea to clean the stencil if you want to flip it over to create a mirror image. We recommend a separate foam roller for each color. You can certainly use the same roller by cleaning it well under running water and drying it as much as possible before the next use. When you need to take a break from stenciling in the middle of the project, just cover your paint tray with plastic wrap, and tightly wrap a piece of plastic or foil around the roller to prevent the paint from drying up. When you’re ready to re-decorate, lightly sand your walls and simply roll 2 coats of basecoat paint over your stenciling and it’s gone. STENCILING WITH STENCIL BRUSHES You can also use stencil brushes to stencil your design although it is much faster with a roller. For smaller, more intricate designs, multi-colored and shaded designs, it’s better to use a stencil brush. You’ll need to dedicate a separate brush for each color. Load your brush with paint by simply squeezing a dollop of acrylic paint onto a foam plate or a into a paint tray, then dipping just the tip of your brush into the paint. Distribute the paint on the brush tip by doing a few circles on a foam plate. Now, lightly rub off some paint onto a folded paper towel and you’re ready to stencil. Your brush should have very little paint on it. Remember, less paint is better for stenciling! It’s best to use a dabbing motion or a light circular motion with your brush. Just dab or swirl in a light sweeping circular motion, covering all of the design. (Here: Wisteria Border). You can add various colors where needed by dabbing with a different color next to a first one. Create dimension with shading by adding a darker color like Raw Umber to the edges of the openings. Just make sure to avoid a straight sweeping motion towards the edges of the openings, since that can force the paint under the stencil and mess up your work. TIPS, TRICKS AND OTHER NOTES CORNERS First, don’t be intimidated. Corners are no big deal if you follow our instructions. For best results tape and paint one wall at a time. Secure half of the stencil in place leaving the other half unattached. Roll it straight into the corner ( or use your brush), then carefully un-tape the finished half while holding the stencil in place with your hands. Now secure the other half with tape and roll that half into the corner.  Detail the corner crease with a stencil brush. Don’t worry about filling every little bit of design right inside the corner crease.  The eye fills the gaps and makes it look complete even if there are some unstenciled areas left. Now you can remove the stencil. A couple more corner tips: Taping the stencil to both walls at once usually does not produce good results. Using spray adhesive may help with holding a large stencil in place when working on corners. To do the Bottom edge or side edges: Tape off the edge with bue tape. Then, simply bend the stencil where it meets the corner or edge, tape it in place and roll right into the crease. You can get deeper into the crease with a stencil brush. MISTAKES Usually it’s enough to just wipe off a fresh mistake with a wet cloth, baby wipe or moist q-tip. It is always a good idea to have some basecoat paint at hand in case you need to correct bigger mistakes. In this case, just re-roll or re-sponge your basecoat over a dry mistake. It may take 2 coats to cover. Let it dry completely and now you’re ready to re-stencil the area. About seepage and imperfections: Even with a proper loaded roller and correct technique you might get some minor seepage here and there. In most cases it's not noticeable, especially from a couple of feet away and it can be easily touched up with a small brush. Don't forget that you're creating a "hand-painted wall finish".  A few imperfections and some paint seepage here and there are natural and inevitable for this type of work. To avoid seepage, use spray adhesive and less paint on your roller and brush. A WORD OR TWO ABOUT BRIDGES Bridges are the small sections of the stencil pattern that hold the stencil together. Some people prefer to paint over the gaps left by the bridges when the stenciling is complete. Doing this can sometimes improve the look, but is not always necessary. In general, we try to design our stencils in such a way that the bridges blend with the flow of the organic designs and are not too obvious, or in a way that they contribute to the pattern. If they still bother you and you want to make them go away, simply paint over them by connecting them with a small artist brush. These hand painted touches can be a lot of fun. ABOUT SPRAY ADHESIVES We find that it is not necessary to use spray adhesives with stencils. However, if you want to minimize paint seepage or are using high contrasting colors, adhesive  is very helpful (Elmer's spray adhesive seems to be the best). Make sure you shake the can well and lightly mist (not drench) the back of the stencil, and let it dry for a moment before positioning it on the wall. This step will prevent the adhesive residue transferring to the wall. You'll need to re-mist the stencil after a few repeats. Clean-up tip: Spray the stencil with Simple Green to help to remove adhesive residue. CLEANING AND STORAGE The stencil will eventually accumulate a thick layer of paint after many repeats, so it will have to be cleaned. You can let it dry completely and simply peel off the paint skin, or you can give it a brief soaking in a tray or tub of water and then wash off the paint. Best cleaning method we have found is to place the stencil on a flat surface like a large baking tray, and scrub it with a dish cleaning brush under running water. The paint comes right off and the stencil doesn’t get entangled or damaged this way. Please don’t let pieces of paint go down the drain. It’s bad for your plumbing and for the environment! Always insert a mesh strainer into the drain hole and then shake out the paint pieces into a trash can. After the stencil is clean, place it on paper towels to dry, and pat it with a roll of paper towels to speed up the drying process. For a large project it may be smart to purchase 2 or even 3 stencils to save time on cleaning. Store your stencils flat, in large drawers if you have them, or under the bed interlaced with paper. Alternatively, you can hang them clipped to a clothes hanger, but don’t store them rolled, unless it’s the only option. Brushes are best cleaned under running water using this smart cleaning tool (see pic.) which helps to get out all the paint particles. Add a drop of Murphy’s Oil soap for better cleaning and for conditioning of your brush bristles. Liquid soap also works. REPAIRS If you accidentally break one of the “ bridges” in the design while stenciling or cleaning, you can easily fix it by attaching small pieces of clear packing tape on both sides of the break.     DOWNLOAD OR VIEW PDF PRINTABLE INSTRUCTIONS >

Damask Stenciling Instructions, Learn How To Stencil Step by Step Damask stenciling is not as complicated as it may seem at the first look. In fact, it is one of the most efficient and best money-making stenciling techniques. There are few tips and tricks to learn, but once you get it - you'll stencil those damasks like a pro. Many beginner stencilers  got fabulous results by simply following our Illustrated instructions. READ FULL ARTICLE >>   Damask Stenciling Instructions, Learn How To Stencil Step by Step HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED Stencil(s) Sample board (poster board, cardboard etc) Latex or acrylic paints, including some basecoat paint Dense foam roller with rounded ends, stencil brushes Paint tray or a large styrofoam plate Sea sponge or utility sponge for background faux finish Low tack painter’s tape, Spray adhesive (optional) Cutting Edge Stencil Level Paper towels or rag, cleaning tools & liquid soap Chip brush Step ladder (optional) GETTING STARTED Very important: Work out your technique and color combinations on a sample first. It is always a good idea to make a sample. Use a wall in the garage, a piece of cardboard, or even an old pizza box as your sample surface. Make sure you like your color combinations and are comfortable with your stenciling technique before hitting the real wall! Make sure your walls are clean, dust free and in good condition. Any cracks or chips should be repaired, filled, primed and painted prior to stenciling. All base coats should be fully dried for at least 24 hours prior to stenciling. You can stencil over flat (recommended) latex house paint, faux finishes, plaster textures, wood, furniture, paper, fabric and even some wallpaper. First mask out the baseboards and ceilings (or ceiling crown molding) using low tack 2” painter’s tape. We love using Scotch Blue 2” painters tape. You can now proceed to stenciling. The pattern can be applied over a regular flat house paint. However, we find that simple faux finishes best compliment the allover/damask patterns. To create a simple mottled sponged background, you’ll need 2 (or 3) flat latex paint colors and a sponge. Use a sea sponge or a utility sponge with a similar texture. Pluck off the edges of the utility sponge to break the straight lines. Stir your paints well. Here we used Benjamin Moore 1069 and Navajo White. Apply both colors to the sponge with a chip brush as shown. Sponge the wall rotating your wrist with each dab. This helps to disguise the sponge shapes and to blend the two colors together. To lighten the finish, add more white paint to your sponge, and to darken add more darker color. Keep blending the colors on the wall until the desired mottled look is achieved. A hint: latex paint always dries a bit darker. Work in small sections and keep sponging until all walls are done. For edges and corners use a chip brush with both colors on it. Simply stipple and dab with the brush to blend the colors. Since you will be adding a pattern on top of your faux background, don’t worry if your finish looks less than perfect or a bit dramatic. Your eye will later go to the pattern and all those imperfections in the sponging will not be as noticeable. In fact, if your background is too even, it is less desirable since it will look more like flat paint under the stenciled pattern rather than a faux finish. Let your sponged background dry fully before proceeding to the next step. You can lightly sand off any rough spots using fine 220 sandpaper. DAMASK STENCILING It is smart to start with the least visually “important” wall, like the corner above a door or top left corner on the wall.  This gives you an opportunity to work out your technique in a less conspicuous area. By the time you reach an "important" wall, you’ll be so comfortable with your technique you’ll feel like a pro! For an Accent/feature wall, it's smart to start on a section of the wall that allows you to do an un-interrupted floor-to-ceiling row of the pattern. This way you establish a perfect vertical pattern from which to extend left and right. Position your damask stencil on the wall and secure it with 4-6 pieces of low tack masking tape. Don't bend the stencil, just place it flat on the wall and tight against the ceiling  crease. There will obviously be some gaps left from the stencil frame, but we'll take care of them later. Do not use regular white masking tape as it is way too sticky for most painted surfaces and will likely pull off the base paint when you remove your stencil. You can also use a spray adhesive to achieve even cleaner edges. Using our innovative Clip-On Stencil Level (pat.pend.) check that your pattern position is level. Correct your positioning if necessary. Our clip-on level is light weight and can stay on the stencil during the entire project and will help you to correctly position each imprint. Our Stencil level clips to either the top or the bottom of the stencil. You can also use a plumb-bob, traditional bubble level or a laser level. Now pour some acrylic or latex paint onto a foam plate or into a paint tray. You don’t need much, about 2-3 tablespoons of paint is enough to start with. Any waterbased paint should work. Craft acrylics are great, regular latex paint will work but the best in our opinion is Benjamin Moore paint called Ben. This paint is very economical and covers really well with 1 coat. It has just the right consistency for stenciling.  Have your dense foam roller ( or stencil brush) ready. Load your foam roller by rolling it over the paint a few times until it absorbs most or all of it. Use only dense foam rollers with rounded edges. These are available on our website. Now blot off the excess paint on a folded paper towel by rolling it back and forth a couple times. There should be no visible paint on the roller surface. It should look almost dry. Remember, it’s better to have less paint on your roller, than too much paint. When you need to take a break from stenciling in the middle of the project, just cover your paint tray with plastic wrap, and tightly wrap a piece of plastic or foil around the roller to prevent the paint from drying out. Roll the stencil with your roller using light to medium pressure. Excessive pressure may cause paint bleeding under the stencil. Be careful not to roll over the outside edges of the stencil! We design most of our stencils with at least a 1” frame to give you some rolling room. Strategically placing blue masking tape on the narrowest edges can help prevent “roll-overs”. You can easily check how you’re doing by carefully un-taping and lifting one corner of the stencil and taking a peek. Do you like what you see? Enough pressure or can it use a little more paint? If it’s too pale, just put the stencil back and roll it a couple more times back and forth, slightly adding more pressure. When stenciling lighter colors over darker colors, you may need 2 coats to achieve good coverage. Let the 1st coat dry for a couple of minutes and then roll the stencil again. When you are done with your first print, un-tape and reposition the stencil right below the finished print. No need to wait for the previous repeat to dry. The flat basecoat is very absorbent so there should be no smudging. Our Allover/Damask stencils are designed to lock-in with themselves. Simply line up your stencil with the previously painted parts, check for level and continue. Don't worry of it doesn't line up perfectly and don't roll over the previously painted areas. This gives you a seamless look and allows you to continue around the room. To do the Bottom edge or side edges: Tape off the edge with bue tape. Then, simply bend the stencil where it meets the corner or edge, tape it in place and roll right into the crease. You can get deeper into the crease with a stencil brush. When all walls are done, you want to fill the gaps in the pattern at the ceiling line. We often use a special top part stencil designed just for that. You can fill those gaps with your large stencil too, but it’s much easier with the separate Top part stencil. TIPS, TRICKS AND OTHER NOTES CORNERS Don’t be intimidated. Corners are no big deal if you follow our instructions. For best results, tape and stencil one wall at a time.  Once you get to the corner, gently bend the stencil and place it into the corner. Make sure  your pattern lines up with your previously stenciled damask. Secure that half of the stencil in place leaving the other half unattached. Roll over your stencil and then roll directly into the corner crease. Detail the corner crease by using a stencil brush. Now we're going to move to the right side. For this we're going to install our clip-on Stencil level. Since we're starting a new wall, we want to make sure our pattern is level. Simply slide the Level onto the top of the untaped right side of the stencil, making sure the Level sits firmly against the plastic. Once you've checked for level, secure the right side of the stencil with painter's tape, and untape the left side. Now we're going to roll the right side just like we did the left side. Roll the stencil straight into the corner and detail the corner crease with your stencil brush. Now carefully remove the stencil, and there you have it: the corner is conquered! Continue stenciling your pattern by simply aligning the stencil with your previously painted design  A few more corner tips: Taping the stencil to both walls at once usually does not produce a good result. Using spray adhesive may help with holding a large stencil in place when working on corners. MISTAKES Usually it’s enough to just wipe off a fresh mistake with a wet cloth, baby wipe or moist q-tip. It is always a good idea to have some basecoat paint at hand in case you need to correct bigger mistakes. In this case, just re-roll or re-sponge your basecoat over a dry mistake. It may take 2 coats to cover. Let it dry completely and now you’re ready to re-stencil the area. What to do if the stencil repeat doesn't quite line up? Just what every pro would do: cheat a little! ;) Align the pattern the best you can, level it and roll away. Your eye will never notice the discrepancy. Just make sure not to double-roll the parts that were already stenciled. Don't forget that you're creating a "hand painted finish". A few imperfections and some paint seepage here and there are natural and inevitable for this type of work. ABOUT SPRAY ADHESIVES We find that it is not necessary to use spray adhesives with stencils. However, if you want to minimize paint seepage or are using high contrasting colors, adhesive  is very helpful (Elmer's spray adhesive seems to be the best). Make sure you shake the can well and lightly mist (not drench) the back of the stencil, and let it dry for a moment before positioning it on the wall. This step will prevent the adhesive residue transferring to the wall. You'll need to re-mist the stencil after a few repeats. Clean-up tip: Spray the stencil with Simple Green to help to remove adhesive residue. CLEANING AND STORAGE The stencil will eventually accumulate a thick layer of paint after many repeats, so it will have to be cleaned. You can let it dry completely and simply peel off the paint skin, or you can give it a brief soaking in a tray or tub of water and then wash off the paint. Best cleaning method we have found is to place the stencil on a flat surface like a large baking tray, and scrub it with a dish cleaning brush under running water. The paint comes right off and the stencil doesn’t get entangled or damaged this way. Please don’t let pieces of paint go down the drain. It’s bad for your plumbing and for the environment! Always insert a mesh strainer into the drain hole and then shake out the paint pieces into a trash can. After the stencil is clean, place it on paper towels to dry, and pat it with a roll of paper towels to speed up the drying process. For a large project it may be smart to purchase 2 or even 3 stencils to save time on cleaning. Store your stencils flat, in large drawers if you have them, or under the bed interlaced with paper. Alternatively, you can hang them clipped to a clothes hanger, but don’t store them rolled, unless it’s the only option. REPAIRS If you accidentally break one of the “ bridges” in the design while stenciling or cleaning, you can easily fix it by attaching small pieces of clear packing tape on both sides of the break. When you’re ready to re-decorate, lightly sand your walls and simply roll 2 coats of basecoat paint over your stenciling and it’s gone.   DOWNLOAD OR VIEW PDF PRINTABLE INSTRUCTIONS >

Dimensional Stenciling Instructions, Raised Plaster Technique Dimensional Stenciling is a type of stenciling when one uses plaster or textured material instead of paint. This will make your stenciled image raised or 3-dimensional. This stenciling technique also called 3-d stenciling, relief stenciling or raised plaster stenciling. We'll teach you how to create dimensional stencil images. It's easier than you might think! This technique is perfect for our Fossil Stencils. READ FULL ARTICLE >>     Dimensional Stenciling Instructions, Raised Plaster Technique HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED Stencil(s) Sample board (poster board, cardboard etc) Plaster of your choice Trowel, metal or plastic spackling knives Glaze, tints or universal colorants Whizz roller for glaze application, spray bottle Low tack painter’s tape, Spray adhesive (optional) Fine grit sandpaper Paper towels or rags Step ladder (optional) GETTING STARTED Very important: Work out your technique and color combinations on a sample board first. It is always a good idea to make a sample. Use a wall in the garage, a piece of cardboard, or even an old pizza box as your sample surface. Make sure you like your color combinations and are comfortable with your stenciling technique before hitting the real wall! Make sure your walls are clean, dust free and are in good condition. Any cracks or chips should be repaired, filled, primed and painted prior to stenciling. All base coats should be fully dried for at least 24 hours prior to stenciling. Raised stencils look best over textured plaster backgrounds, but you can also use them over flat paint or faux finishes. For the Prehistoric Fossils we first apply a coat of colored plaster to the walls. You can use either texture paint, joint compound or one of the many fine decorative plasters available on the market. Our favorite is Versiplast by DuRock. We prefer to custom tint our plasters with universal colorants but you can also get your plaster pre-tinted to the color of your choice. Apply 2 coats of plaster with a trowel or spackling knife to achieve your desired texture. Lightly misting the surface with a spray bottle is very helpful for achieving a nice texture. Let the plaster dry between coats and fully dry before the next step. Decide on the placement of your stencils and position them with long pieces of low tack painters tape. We love using Scotch Blue 2” painters tape. You can use stencil spray adhesive to secure your stencils as well. This helps to achieve even cleaner edges. Do not use regular white masking tape because it’s way too sticky for most painted surfaces and will likely pull off the base paint when you remove your stencil. For stenciling you can use either the same plaster material that was used for your background, or a different one, like Lusterstone, Venetian plaster or Crackle paste. For a more dramatic look, use a lighter or darker colored plaster than your background. Here we used dark beige Venetian plaster (Behr, Home Depot) for our fossils. Your plaster should be about cream cheese consistency. Do not use plasters that are too runny. PLASTER STENCILING TECHNIQUE Stir the plaster well and put some of it on your spackling knife. Trowel right over the secured stencil keeping the angle of your knife almost parallel to the surface. Try to avoid going back and forth too many times since it may disturb the stencil and create undesired seepage underneath. You can just barely skim the stencil for the slightly raised look, or apply the plaster thicker, covering all of the design for a highly dimensional raised plaster look. When your design is fully covered with plaster, lift the stencil straight up while the plaster is still wet. If you see any imperfections in your design, you can carefully correct them by hand by using a small spatula or a toothpick. Let your stenciled design dry fully. Make sure to clean the stencil before the plaster has dried on it. (See cleaning tips) Now that your raised designs have dried, you can gently polish them with a stainless steel knife or sand them with a piece of sand paper. Use fine sandpaper (220 grit) to avoid deep scratches. For the realistic fossil look, try adding small patches of plaster here and there as if the fossils are partially “buried” in layers of sediment. You can also experiment with adding fish scales to your dimensional fish by troweling plaster through a piece of plastic mesh like the kind that onions are sold in. Just lay the mesh where you want to see some scales, and trowel the plaster through it like you would do with a stencil. Remove the mesh to reveal realistic fish scales. FINISHING TOUCHES Next, we want to glaze the surface with a brown glaze to give it age and drama. There are many glazes available on the market to choose from. Our favorite is Auqa Glaze by Faux Effects. It stays workable for long time before drying, thus allowing you the longest time to achieve the desired mottled glazed look. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for tinting or adding color to the glaze. Here we mixed a little bit of raw umber universal colorant into the Aqua glaze. Some plasters like joint compound or texture paint are too porous to be successfully glazed without a sealant. In this case, roll a coat of waterbased clearcoat before glazing and allow it it dry fully. Test the absorbency of your plaster by applying a little glaze in the least noticeable corner. If the glaze dries too quickly you may need to seal the plaster with a clear coat. Specialty plasters like Versiplast do not require sealing because they are designed for easy glazing. For larger areas you may want to wipe the surface with a damp sponge or rag prior to glazing to “give the plaster a drink”. You can also use a spray bottle to lightly mist the plaster surface. Apply the glaze to your plastered wall with a whizz roller and immediately mottle the glaze with a rag or paper towels. It is very easy to wipe off excess glaze with a full roll of paper towels. Rotate the roll between each wipe, and gradually remove saturated towels as you mottle the glaze on your wall. When glazing a large surface, work in smaller 3’x3’ sections and always keep a “wet edge” ( strip of wet glaze on the edges) to avoid dry overlapping lines. After this glazing process is done and dry, you can apply a darker glaze around the stenciled fossils to further accentuate them. When the glaze is fully dry, you may want to further distress the surface by lightly sanding everything with fine sandpaper to reveal more texture and highlights. TIPS, TRICKS AND OTHER NOTES MISTAKES If you are unhappy with your stenciling result, simply scrape it off while it’s still wet and wipe the surface with a damp cloth. Now you can try again after cleaning the stencil. ABOUT SPRAY ADHESIVES Yes, you can use them with our stencils, but we personally don’t like them. The pros: The stencil sticks to the wall very securely without any tape, and the seepage will be minimal, even with a sweeping brush motion or some pressure on your roller. That means cleaner crisper edges which is great. When using high contrasting colors, adhesive is a must if you want a crisp image. Adhesive can come in very handy with large stencils or ceiling stencils. The cons: Sometimes particles of adhesive transfer to the wall and leave a sticky residue. This can happen if you’ve sprayed too much adhesive and didn’t let it dry a little bit before putting the stencil on the wall. The fumes are also unhealthy for you and your family. Lastly, the stencil will end up sticky, making clean-up and storage a bit challenging. In our 20+ years of stenciling we find that blue tape is all you need to secure your stencil. Our stencils are made of a thick, sturdy plastic that will cling to the wall and make stenciling easy and fun. If you decide to go with adhesive, lightly mist (not drench!) the stencil with well-shaken spray adhesive (preferably outside and far away from other objects). Let it dry for a minute, and then place the stencil on a ceiling or wall. It’s good for 1-3 placements, then it will need to be re-misted. We prefer Elmer’s spray adhesive. It has just the right tack. Clean-up tip: spray the stencil with Simple Green to help to remove adhesive residue. CLEANING AND STORAGE Immediately after each imprint, lay the dirty stencil on a paper towel or newspaper and gently scrape off the excess material being careful not to break the bridges. Then dunk the stencil into the tray with soapy water for a quick soaking. Never allow the plaster to dry on the stencil! Best cleaning method we have found is to place the stencil on a flat surface like a large baking tray, and scrub it with a dish cleaning brush under running water. The paint comes right off and the stencil doesn’t get entangled or damaged this way. Please don’t let pieces of paint go down the drain. It’s bad for your plumbing and for the environment! Always insert a mesh strainer into the drain hole and then shake out the paint pieces into a trash can. After the stencil is clean, place it on paper towels to dry, and pat it with a roll of paper towels to speed up the drying process. For a large project it may be smart to purchase 2 or even 3 stencils to save time on cleaning. Store your stencils flat, in large drawers if you have them, or under the bed interlaced with paper. Alternatively, you can hang them clipped to a clothes hanger, but don’t store them rolled, unless it’s the only option. REPAIRS If you accidentally break one of the “ bridges” in the design while stenciling or cleaning, you can easily fix it by attaching small pieces of clear packing tape on both sides of the break.   DOWNLOAD OR VIEW PDF PRINTABLE INSTRUCTIONS >

Wall Pattern Stenciling Instructions This is an exciting new type of allover stenciling: Wall Pattern Stenciling! It allows you to quickly create a sophisticated multi-color look of designer wallpaper at a fraction of the cost.  Before you start: gather your stenciling supplies and work out your  technique and color combinations on a sample board first. It is always a good idea to make a sample. Use a wall in the garage, a piece of cardboard, or even an old pizza box as your sample surface. Make sure you like your color combinations and are comfortable with your technique. READ FULL ARTICLE >>   Wall Pattern Stenciling Instructions HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED Wall Pattern Stencil Kit Sample board (poster board, cardboard etc) Latex or acrylic paints, including basecoat paint Dense foam roller with rounded ends, stencil brushes Regular nap roller and sash brush for basecoating Paint tray and large styrofoam plates Low tack painter’s tape, spray adhesive (optional) Cutting Edge Stencil Level (optional) Paper towels or rag, cleaning tools & liquid soap Step ladder GETTING STARTED Very important: Work out your technique and color combinations with a sample first. It is always a good idea to make a sample. Use a wall in the garage, a piece of cardboard, or even an old pizza box as your sample surface. Make sure you like your color combinations and are comfortable with your stenciling technique before hitting the real wall! Make sure your walls are clean, dust free and in good condition. Any cracks or chips should be repaired, filled, primed and painted prior to stenciling. Basecoat your surface in your desired latex flat color. You’ll need at least 2 coats of basecoat for good coverage. Your base coat should be fully dried for at least 24 hours prior to stenciling. Position Stencil #1 from your Kit on the wall and tape it to the surface with a few pieces of low tack blue painters tape. Do not use regular white masking tape because it’s way too sticky for most painted surfaces and will likely pull off the base paint when you remove your stencil. You can also use a spray adhesive to achieve even cleaner and crisper edges. Don’t worry about perfect placement. Our wall pattern kits are designed in such a way so placement by eye produces great results. Just randomly place your first stencil, make sure it’s level (if needed) and let’s go! Now pour some acrylic or latex paint onto a foam plate. You don’t need much, about 2-3 tablespoons of paint is enough to start with. Have your dense foam roller (or stencil brush) ready. Load your foam roller by rolling it into the paint a few times until it absorbs most or all of it. Use only dense foam rollers with rounded edges. These are available on our website. Now blot off the excess paint on a folded paper towel by rolling it back and forth a couple times. There should be no visible paint on the roller surface; it should look almost dry. Remember, it’s better to have less paint on your roller than too much paint. About paint for stenciling: Any waterbased paint should work. Craft acrylics are great, regular latex paint will work but the best in our opinion is Benjamin Moore paint called Ben. This paint is very economical and covers really well with 1 coat. It has just the right consistency for stenciling. OK, now you’re ready to stencil! STENCILING WITH A ROLLER Roll the stencil with your roller using light to medium pressure. Excessive pressure may cause paint seepage under the stencil. Be careful not to roll over the outside edges of the stencil! We design most of our stencils with at least a 1” frame to give you some rolling room. Strategically placing blue masking tape on the narrowest edges can help prevent “roll-overs”. You can easily check how you’re doing by carefully un-taping and lifting one corner of the stencil and taking a peek. Do you like what you see? Is it enough pressure or can it use a little more paint? If it’s too pale, just put the stencil back and roll it a couple more times back and forth, slightly adding more pressure. When stenciling lighter colors over darker colors, you may need 2 coats to achieve good coverage. Let the 1st coat dry for a couple of minutes and then roll the stencil again. Make sure the stencil got even paint coverage before removing it unless you want a faded, antique look. Now remove the stencil and enjoy your artwork! A note for the impatient: Don’t just yank the taped stencil off the wall! It’s always a good idea to remove it somewhat slowly so the blue tape doesn’t accidentally pull off any background paint. Continue stenciling by re-positioning Stencil #1 until all walls are done. Place the stencil by eye, trying to keep a similar distance between repeats. You can use our packaging photo as reference. Step back and see where your next repeat should be. You can space the designs tightly or loosely, depending on your personal preference. In a way, there is no making a mistake with these forgiving free-form wall patterns! If you want to preview your stencil placement, first position pieces of blue tape on the wall and adjust them until you’re happy. No need to clean the stencil in between repeats. Each stencil is good for many repeats before it will need to be cleaned. Don’t avoid edges of the wall when you stencil. As with wallpaper, the best look is when your pattern is cut off at the ceiling and floor. Tape off the area at the ceiling or floor with a piece of blue tape. Position your stencill so it overlaps the edge, secure it with tape and roll it right into the crease. If you want to get all the detail at the crease, use a stencil brush with a little paint and a dabbing motion. Continue until you are done with all repeats for Stencil # 1. Now you’re ready to stencil the next design: Stencil #2. We recommend a separate foam roller for each color. You can certainly use the same roller by cleaning it well under running water and drying it as much as possible before the next use. Using the packaging photo as reference, place Stencil #2 by eye, and tape it to the wall. Load your roller with the second color, blot off the excess paint, and repeat the stenciling process until all walls are done. Make sure to get the edges, too. Now, repeat the process for Stencil #3 until your wall pattern is complete. Try experimenting by creating your own patterns and color combinations by using various elements from our Wall Pattern Kits. These beautiful Wall Pattern Kits work great for accent walls and as an allover room finish. You can also use the kit’s separate elements to embellish other objects like decorative pillows, furniture, trays, etc. When you need to take a break from stenciling in the middle of the project, just cover your paint tray with plastic wrap, and tightly wrap a piece of plastic or foil around the roller to prevent the paint from drying out. When you’re ready to re-decorate, lightly sand your walls and simply roll 2 coats of basecoat paint over your stenciling and it’s gone. TIPS, TRICKS AND OTHER NOTES LOADING THE ROLLER It’s important that your roller has the right amount of paint evenly absorbed into the foam. Make sure to use a little bit of pressure while rolling it into your paint and then distribute the paint evenly by rolling it over the surface of your foam plate. This helps to absorb the paint evenly into the foam. It’s best to use large flat styrofoam plates since most paint tray surfaces have some kind of embossed pattern on them and this tends to prevent even distribution of the paint. There should be no unabsorbed, uncolored spots on the roller surface. Also, there should be no visible chunks of paint. A perfectly loaded roller looks even in color and it’s surface looks almost dry. CORNERS Don’t be intimidated! Corners are no big deal if you follow our instructions. For best results, tape and stencil one wall at a time. Secure half of the stencil in place leaving the other half unattached. Roll it straight into the corner (or use your stencil brush), then carefully un-tape the finished half while holding the stencil in place with your hands. Now secure the other half with tape and roll that half into the corner, checking your level if necessary. Now you can remove the stencil. Don’t worry about filling every little bit of design in the corner crease. Your eye fills these gaps and makes it look completed even if there are some unstenciled areas left. A few more corner tips: Taping the stencil to both walls at once usually does not produce a good result. Using spray adhesive may help with holding a large stencil in place when working on corners. MISTAKES Usually it’s enough to just wipe off a fresh mistake with a wet cloth, baby wipe or moist q-tip. It is always a good idea to have some basecoat paint at hand in case you need to correct bigger mistakes. In this case, just re-roll or re-sponge your basecoat over a dry mistake. It may take 2 coats to cover. Let it dry completely and now you’re ready to re-stencil the area. About seepage and imperfections: Even with a proper loaded roller and correct technique you might get some minor seepage here and there. In most cases it's not noticeable, especially from a couple of feet away and it can be easily touched up with a small brush. Don't forget that you're creating a "hand-painted wall finish".  A few imperfections and some paint seepage here and there are natural and inevitable for this type of work. To avoid seepage, use spray adhesive and less paint on your roller and brush. About spray adhesives: We find that it is not necessary to use spray adhesives with stencils. However, if you want to minimize paint seepage or are using high contrasting colors, adhesive  is very helpful (Elmer's spray adhesive seems to be the best). Make sure you shake the can well and lightly mist (not drench) the back of the stencil, and let it dry for a moment before positioning it on the wall. This step will prevent the adhesive residue transferring to the wall. You'll need to re-mist the stencil after a few repeats. Clean-up tip: Spray the stencil with Simple Green to help to remove adhesive residue. CLEANING, STORAGE AND REPAIRS The stencil will eventually accumulate a thick layer of paint after many repeats, so it will have to be cleaned. You can let it dry completely and simply peel off the paint skin, or you can give it a brief soaking in a tray or tub of water and then wash off the paint. Best cleaning method we have found is to place the stencil on a flat surface like a large baking tray, and scrub it with a dish cleaning brush under running water. The paint comes right off and the stencil doesn’t get entangled or damaged this way. Please don’t let pieces of paint go down the drain. It’s bad for your plumbing and for the environment! Always insert a mesh strainer into the drain hole and then shake out the paint pieces into a trash can. After the stencil is clean, place it on paper towels to dry, and pat it with a roll of paper towels to speed up the drying process. For a large project it may be smart to purchase 2 or even 3 stencils to save time on cleaning. Store your stencils flat, in large drawers if you have them, or under the bed interlaced with paper. Alternatively, you can hang them clipped to a clothes hanger, but don’t store them rolled, unless it’s the only option. Brushes are best cleaned under running water using this smart cleaning tool (see pic.) which helps to get out all the paint particles. Add a drop of Murphy’s Oil soap for better cleaning and for conditioning of your brush bristles. Liquid soap also works. Repairs: If you accidentally break one of the “ bridges” in the design while stenciling or cleaning, you can easily fix it by attaching small pieces of clear packing tape on both sides of the break.   DOWNLOAD OR VIEW PDF PRINTABLE INSTRUCTIONS >

Using Mural Stencils Yes, murals can be stenciled. In fact, you can achieve a totally hand-painted look while saving yourself lots of time when using our mural stencils. Here's how: After deciding on your color scheme and paints (we suggest using artist acrylics), start by painting your horizon line and sky with a soft wash of color. Adding a little glaze to your paint will create a softer effect with more open time. Feeling creative? Add a lake or a stream for added interest. READ FULL ARTICLE >>   Using Mural Stencils After deciding on your color scheme and paints (we suggest using artist acrylics), start by painting your horizon line and sky with a soft wash of color. Adding a little glaze to your paint will create a softer effect with more open time. Feeling creative? Add a lake or a stream for added interest. And then, the fun begins! Always start with the background elements and work your way forward. Stencil those faded mountain ranges in the distance right on the horizon line. Next put in your distant forests and small free standing trees and bushes. Move closer to the foreground and stencil your larger trees, rocks, bushes and overhanging tree branches. These elements benefit greatly from a little bit more hand painting and shading than the more faded background elements. PRO TIPS Have your mural composition open in the center for a longer vista. These murals always look best when started at chair rail height, approximately 36" off the floor. No chair rail? No problem, just paint one using one of our border stencils. Finish below the border/chair rail in a complimentary finish or darker grisaille value. When shading, decide on the direction of your light source and shade all elements consistently on one side. (Example: if the sun is coming from the left of your mural, all elements get shaded darker on a right side and lighter on a left side). Don't be shy to throw in few hand painted elements such as blades of grass, and a few leaves here and there or whatever detail you're comfortable hand painting. It's always great to have some reference at hand when painting murals. Books, personal photos and Internet images are all great sources for beautiful landscape reference. TOOL CHECKLIST Mural Stencils Sample board Latex and acrylic paints, including some glaze Dense foam roller with rounded ends Stencil brushes, artist brushes, paint brushes Paint trays or large styrofoam plates Low tack painter's tape Paper towels or rags

Using Faux Fresco Stencils You too can create breathtaking frescoes by just using stencils. We can teach you how. It's much easier than you think! Decide on your color scheme. We love the traditional blue color as used on the original Livia’s Garden Fresco, but have done these Faux Frescos in warm gold tones with equal success (see gallery photos). We first apply a coat of plaster to the walls, keeping the texture to a minimum, and let it dry fully. READ FULL ARTICLE >>   Using Faux Fresco Stencils Decide on your color scheme. We love the traditional blue color as used on the original Livia’s Garden Fresco, but have done these Faux Frescoes in warm gold tones with equal success (see gallery photos). We first apply a coat of plaster to the walls, keeping the texture to a minimum, and let it dry fully. Next, we mix the overall glaze. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for tinting the glaze. Apply the glaze to your plastered wall with a whiz roller and mottle with a rag. Don’t make it too even. You want light and dark contrast. Also, make the very bottom area 20 percent darker. This will help to make your groundcover plants stand out. Let the glaze dry completely and now you’re ready to start stenciling. If you don’t want to do the glazed plaster background you can create a simple sponged finish or even stencil over straight paint. And now, the fun begins! Decide where your hanging branches and trees are going, and stencil them in using shades of brown. Next, using our leafy branch stencils, add leaves to the trees. Finally add fruit to the tree. Don’t get carried away with fruit, otherwise your tree will look more like a Christmas tree packed with ornaments. Overlap some fruit with leaves to create a more natural look. Add bright highlights using the Leaflet stencil on top of the leaves. Now pack the ground with Groundcovers and Wildflowers, overlapping and shifting colors. Remember to keep elements in the background more faded than the ones in the foreground. Lightly sand and distress the surface to reveal some plaster texture. Faux frescoes look great with a diluted antiquing glaze and spatter as a finishing touch. PRO TIPS Have reference available for inspiration. Google Livia’s Garden Fresco, check out Roman Fresco books, and our own gallery here on CuttingEdgeStencils. Test the absorbency of your plaster by applying a little glaze in the corner. If it dries too quickly you may need to clear coat the plaster or wipe the surface with a damp sponge before glazing to "give a plaster a drink". You can also use a spray bottle to lightly mist the plaster surface. When shading, decide on the direction of your light source and shade all elements consistently on one side. (Example: if the sun is coming from the left of your mural, all elements get shaded darker on a right side and lighter on a left side). Don’t be shy to throw in few hand painted elements such as blades of grass, and a few veins in leaves here and there, whatever detail you’re comfortable hand painting. Use fine sandpaper in your distressing to avoid scratches. TOOL CHECKLIST Fresco Stencils Sample board Plaster, trowels, knives Latex and acrylic paints,  glaze Dense foam roller with rounded ends for stenciling larger elements Whizz roller for glaze application Sponge, spray bottle Stencil brushes, artist brushes Paint trays or large styrofoam plates Low tack painter's tape Paper towels or rags Fine grit sandpaper http://www.cuttingedgestencils.com/stenciling-instructions.html