DECORATE INEXPENSIVELY... WITH STENCILS

(Page 4 of 4)

May/June 1986
 
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Press the stencil against the wall with the fingers of your free hand, keeping them as close to the cutout design as you can without interfering with your brushwork. Now, pounce the brush against each cutout, tapping in a circular motion from the edges inward. When the design is filled in completely, carefully pull the stencil away from the wall and reposition it. If the stencil has slipped or the paint has crept under the edges, let the spot dry and then touch it up with a bit of background color. (When using more than one hue, finish the entire first-color design and then let the paint dry before starting in again.) With a continuous repeat, overlap the design by one element and be sure to position the stencil along the penciled guideline.

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When you come to the end of the wall or to a corner in the room, you can usually adjust the overlap to make the stencil end where the wall does. It's even possible to bend a stencil for an inside or outside corner, but I've found it easier (on me and on the stencil) to simply treat each section of wall separately.

Once you try your hand at stenciling, you'll probably want to experiment. After finishing the basic pattern in my living room, I went on to stencil the metal baffle behind our woodstove and also designed a medallion that beautifully complements the ceiling fan. And in the bathroom I used three colors to border the window and the wainscot. Now I'm beginning to think about tackling the kitchen. Let's see; maybe red cherries set among rosettes of green leaves and . . .

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