How to Make a Stencil to Paint Your Home Walls

Painting a stencil design can liven up any room in your home. Add your own personal creative touch. Save money and make your own stencil. For big painting jobs using stenciling you can use any paint. I like to stick with a latex. For smaller jobs you can buy special tubes of stenciling paint.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Architectural books
• folder-weight oak tag
• X-Acto knife
• linseed oil

1. 
   architectural magazines for stencil art—home

   Architectural magazines are filled with designs. Dover books also provide royalty free art and patterns to use. The internet is also a source for patterns and design. You can take art elements and combine them to create your own personal pattern or design for your home walls.

2. 
   stencil design—home

   After you have created your art pattern, purchase an 8.5" x 11" sheet of folder-weight oak tag and a brush. Paint one side with linseed oil as a sealant.

3. If your design is a copy off the computer or a photo copy from a book or
   even something you have drawn, turn the design over on the backside and rub a soft lead pencil all over the back. This is creating a graphite backing.
   
   When you lay your design on the folded-weight oak tag, draw right over the lines of your design. The graphite on the back will allow your line to be transfered on the surface.
   
   Draw about a 6" segment of your design and cut it out with an X-Acto knife.

4. Hold the stencil flat against the wall. Keep the linseed oil side face you and not the wall. You can paint or sponge your paint into the open area of your design. As you move to the next spot align your edge of the stencil with the end of the painted pattern and continue.

Tips & Warnings

• You can touch up the edges of your design with a small paint brush to smooth it out and create a hand-painted look.

Resources

• ADDING WORDS TO YOUR WALL
• PAISLEY DESIGN
• THE STENCIL TECHNIQUE

[dlcass]

on 1/25/2009 Stenciling is so much fun. I have done it and been very pleased with the results.