This post comes to you for the sake of full disclosure. I’m honest. And I’m going to be honest with you right now: That stencil owned me.
I did everything right! I read up on stenciling. I followed all the rules! I made sure not to put too much paint on my brush like EVERY SINGLE WEBSITE tells you to. And I still got totally owned.
Let’s walk through this step by step, shall we?
Step 1: Start with the center of the stencil at the center of the wall, up by the ceiling. This way, the pattern will end in the same place at either side and will flow along the top edge of the wall where everyone will see it. If it cuts off at the bottom down by the floor, it will be more camouflaged by furniture. So, I measured, I marked.
Step 2: Get some stencil adhesive spray (available at Michael’s fer next ter nuthin’) and give your stencil a “light misting.” Too much adhesive will pull your base coat off the wall! Let it sit a spell, then stick it to the wall. BTW It won’t feel super sticky to the touch, but it will definitely stick to the wall.
Step 3: Stick it to the wall. The adhesive should be enough, but if painters tape will make you feel better, use it. I did. Give it a light coating of paint. NOT TOO MUCH! Too much paint will make it bleed through.
Well….I followed all those steps. When the paint was dry, I removed the stencil:
From across the room, Aaron said, “Oh that looks good!”
Ahem…that was from across the room. Up close, things did not look so good:
Eww!
Ewwwwwwwwwwwww!
EWWWWeEeweeewwweEeeeeEEEWWWWEeeeeeeWWWWEEEEWWwww!
I know what you’re thinking. I got too much paint on my brush. The stencil bled.
I won’t say that’s completely untrue because as I was painting I realized there was one spot (top right of that last image) where the stencil wasn’t adhered to the wall.
But the main problem was that when I removed the stencil, tons of blue paint came off with it, stuck to the edges of the stencil.
DO YOU SEE THAT? Turns out, you’re not supposed to let the paint dry all the way before you remove the stencil. If this is common knowledge to all you stencilers out there, do this girl a favor and MENTION IT SOMETIME, wouldja?
Rosemary: 0, Stencil: 1
I’ll see you this weekend for round 2, Stencil.
rosemary on the tv 
Hmmm… Thinking back to all those pictures of stencilled walls in magazines I’ve seen, I’m now wondering what they looked like up close. Because Aaron’s right, it does look good in your picture from across the room. Good luck!
i’ve never had a good experience stenciling. no matter what it always bleeds! good luck rosemary! i’m crossing my fingers for you! it does look really good from afar though!
If you HAD to, you could take a tiny paintbrush and “round out” the edges of the stenciling-gone-bad. Granted, it would require a steady hand and heaps of patience, but…. it could work. Maybe. Good luck! You are WAY braver than me. I would’ve panicked, cried, cursed the heavens and given up after round-one. I am rooting for you; I hope this stencil becomes your b*tch! xoxo.
Yes, that would have pissed me off. HOWEVER, I have FULL confidence that you can master this task. You’re a Ravenclaw. It’s just what Ravenclaws do.
My pointer would be to drink before starting and just continue drinking. You won’t be as tense and it’ll look AMAZING to you when you’re finished.
🙂
4 Kudos
The final result looks so stinkin’ good. I’m so jealous!