Stenciling is an easy and fun way to decorate any room in your home. And you thought it was just child’s play. Stenciling has actually been around for thousands of years, and has been used for many things, such as creating art, to making signs, and also for making labels for just about anything. It’s a creative way to add style and beauty to any room, and here are some tricks and hints you will need to know before you attempt stenciling.
How to make a stencil
If you have a pattern, you will want to trace it or use a copy machine to copy a fabric design of your choice, reducing or enlarging it as much as necessary. You will need to pencil a level line about one inch from the bottom of the design that you have chosen as a guide, and then trace the final result onto pieces of a clear acetate. Make sure that you make several stencils for each color that you are using. Then tape one of the acetates to a cutting board, and then by using a mat knife, you will cut out the areas of one of the colors. Now, do this for all the colors, then tag the stencils to indicate right, left, up, and down so there is no confusion.
Choose a background
When choosing what type of background you want for your stenciling, any type of paint will do but the most workable finish would be eggshell. Make sure that the surface is clean and should be free of cracks. Before you attempt to stencil, make sure the background is completely dry.
The correct color combo
You want to make sure the color combo will complement each other before you do the actual stenciling, so do a color proof test on a piece of paper before committing yourself to stenciling on the wall. So if by chance the colors don’t work well together on the pattern, it will be better to find out beforehand.
Damage control
When securing a stencil to the wall, you will want to avoid using masking tape. This is because masking tape can pull off the existing finish on your wall. Instead, try using drafting tape or painter’s masking tape, both of these have a weaker adhesive so it won’t cause any damage to your wall. Or if you choose, you could save your wall by spraying the back of the stencil with artist’s adhesive. The best way to do this and to keep things neat is to spray inside a box or other contained area.
Resources: 1001 Do-It-Yourself Hints & Tips
