We are painting out 3 year old's bedroom. DD and I were laying in her bed the other night and she was looking around the room and said that the animals and Noah's Ark were a good baby's room but she is a big girl now and needs it painted purple and princesses. So that's what dh and I are doing.

My question is about stenciling. I found a pretty flowery vine stencil and a castle stamp that we are going to use to trim around the wall and window. I've read the instructions on the package but I'm wondering if there are any secrets to making it look really good.

By Annie2 on Wednesday, October 6, 2004 - 08:05 pm:

Use a good quality stencil brush so the paint doesn't bleed under the stencil.

You can also go to a wallpaper store. They have cute wallpaper "murals" that are easy to apply, look great and can cover a wide varitey of spaces and places.

Have fun!

By Fraggle on Wednesday, October 6, 2004 - 08:39 pm:

If you use the paints that are specifically designed for stencils ( they come in pots and are almost solid) you won't have to worry too much about bleed through. I don't use these very much anymore since they come in very limited colors. Now I just use the regular craft paints and blot them off really well (on a paper towel or plate) before doing your stencil. If the paint I'm applying the stencil to is very glossy, sometimes I use a sponge type applicator instead of the brush. Also make sure you tape the stencil securely to the wall (or spray with adhesive). When you are doing a large space, your stencil will probably get a little gunked up with paint-stop and clean it periodically-especially if it has small images. When I am doing vine type stencils I try to move from the inside (stem) part of the leaf to the outside to create a kind of shadow (the most paint on the inside of the leaf and just a little paint on the outside). Just have fun with it though-I have learned when you do a stencil it probably will not look perfect every time and that is the point of doing stecils-it should look like it was done by hand. I love doing stencils-I just finished my girls' bathroom with a rose vine-it came out so cute.

By Imamommyx4 on Tuesday, October 12, 2004 - 05:18 pm:

We had a Noah's Ark wall paper mural up around the room for her baby room. It was cute. I just wanted something different. And she wants to help paint, too.