Stencil How-To Instructions Help Beginners Turn Pro

Getting back to the basics: How to Stencil Tutorial

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• Your Cutting Edge Stencil• A dense foam roller for each paint color• Stencil brushes• Latex or Acrylic paint• Large styrofoam plate• Low tack painters tape• Paper towels

Here’s What You Do:

• In this video, we’ve used our Zinnia Grande 3 pc Stencil kit to paint the walls of a nursery. Before we began, we made sure the walls nursery walls were clean and dust-free!

• Then, because the Zinnia is a not made to interlock or cover a full wall, you can place the stencil anywhere you want on the wall and adhere it with a few pieces of painters tape. Do not opt for masking tape, as it will be too sticky and potentially pull off paint from the wall when you remove it!

• Pour some of the paint color you desire onto your styrofoam plate. Load your dense foam roller by rolling it into the paint a few times. Make sure to put some pressure on your roller as you load it so that the paint is absorbed evenly.

• DON’T SKIP THIS STEP: Blot off the excess paint onto your folded paper towel until the roller looks almost dry. **It is key to use as little paint as possible when stenciling. Too much paint will cause the design to bleed and smudge.

Get your stencil essentials

• Once your roller is loaded with paint, it is time to stencil! Roll your applicator over the stencil design using light to medium pressure. Pressing too hard might cause the stencil to move or seepage to occur.

• Want to take a peek at your design before you’re finished? Untape one corner of the design from the wall and pull it down slightly. If the color is too pale, retape the corner and roll over the design a few more times with slightly more pressure

• Continue rolling to cover the whole stencil design with your paint color, and make sure that the design is completely painted before you remove the stencil from the wall.

• When removing the stencil, pull it lightly from the wall, as to not rip off any of your background color with the painters tape.

• After admiring your fabulous stencil on the wall for a few seconds, get ready to repeat the process! Reload your roller, reposition the stencil where you want it, and start painting your second design.

• No need to clean the stencil after you complete the first pattern. Unless the paint starts to build up around the stencil’s cut outs and starts to compromise the design, you should not need to clean the stencil until after it has been used several times.

• If you choose to complete the next repeated stencil pattern in a different color, we suggest using a separate foam roller for each paint color. But, you can absolutely use the same roller if you make sure to clean and dry it thoroughly before using its next use.

• If you accidentally roll off the stencil onto the wall, or get unwanted bleeding, quickly clean off the excess paint with a moist baby wipe.

• For smaller stencils, it might be more applicable to use a stencil brush instead of a foam roller. When using a stencil brush, make sure to use a small amount of paint and blot off the excess onto a paper towel.

• To paint with a stencil brush, you can use a straight up and down motion called “pouncing,” or a gently swirling motion to completely cover the stencil. Avoid overloading your stencil brush to prevent paint seepage (just like when using the foam roller).

• When stenciling by edges and floor boards, tape off the area with painter’s tape to get clean lines. Position the stencil so that part of the pattern is “cut off,” just like a wallpaper pattern. Roll the paint onto the stencil and into the crease of the corner, and use your stencil brush to fill in the small spaces that the roller can’t reach. Remove the stencil and the tape to reveal a perfectly crisp pattern.

“These simple techniques can unlock the door to endless decorative opportunities!”

For more info on our stencils:

• Browse and shop our stencils at the Cutting Edge Stencils website!

• Check out our stencil how-to videos on our website!

• Read our blog, which entails another video tutorial, on how to stencil a kitchen border!

“Beautiful made easy” ™