How to Create a Stencil for a Picket Fence

A fun mural to make for kids' rooms is a picket fence murals. It's time effective and wise to make a stencil for a picket fence in advance. Here's what to do.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Contact paper
• Pencil or marker
• Ruler
• Scissor or cutting tool
• Cardboard

1. Take a piece of stiff cardboard and cut it into a picket shape. This is done using the ruler and making two straight lines 6 inches apart, as tall as you want the fence to be, and then making a pointed top. This is your template for the fence pickets.
2. Roll out your contact paper. You an also use a sturdy butcher paper or roll on unglued wallpaper. Keep rolls of wallpaper liner around for this reason, but contact paper is easier to find. Begin tracing your picket shape on the contact paper side by side, about 4 inches apart.
3. When you have drawn all of the pickets for your stencil section, use your ruler to draw two perpendicular lines about 4 inches apart. This line is for the support of the picket fence. Draw a second support at the bottom.
4. Cut out your picket fence stencil. Be sure to leave a section about 1/2 inch between each picket and support so the stencil does not fall apart.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure any paint on the stencil dries between uses.
• When using the stencil, do not remove the contact paper backing.