Stencilling

Stencilling is affordable and easy to do. Stencils are usually made from cardboard or heavy plastic with holes through which you paint onto the chosen surface. This could be walls, floors, furniture, fabric or anything you feel would be made more attractive with a stencil.

To start, buy a stencil design at a local craft shop and experiment on something that doesn’t matter too much if you don’t get it right first time. There are endless designs available and many uses, such as borders round a room, highlighting windows, doorways and arches.

Here are some tips:

• don’t stencil on a high-gloss finish
• don’t apply water-based paint over an oil-based base
• use a different stencil brush for each colour of paint
• use a soft pencil to lightly mark where you want to stencil
• clean the surface before applying the stencil
• use the stencil to check the position and use low-tack painter's tape to keep it in position when painting
• dip the stencil brush into paint and dab to remove almost all of the paint. You mustn’t allow excess paint to leak underneath the stencil
• build up the colour by dabbing the brush in a circular motion to apply paint working from the outside inwards
• carefully remove the stencil making sure there is no paint on the reverse before lining it up to the next position
• apply two coats of protective matt varnish to furniture, floors, and walls that will be washed or scrubbed
• clean your stencil well so you can use it again. If you make a mistake, wipe it off and start again -- it's that simple!

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