The Truth about Wall Stencils

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Ever thought about stenciling a wall? Have you seen those beautiful images on Pinterest and thought- I could totally do that! Well, the truth is... you can. But be warned, stenciling a wall is not an easy task. I just 'survived' my second wall stencil experience. And now I am ready to spill all my "secrets" about this popular DIY trend.

Ready to learn the truth about wall stencils?? Keep reading!



My story of wall stenciling starts years ago- when I first started this blog. (See my first wall stencil post here.) My husband was out of town for a week and I got the itch to do something big. So I made my own stencil and used a pencil to draw it all over my wall. Then I used a skinny paint brush to paint over the pencil lines. Craaaaaazy! I didn't use a level obvisoulsy- but considering I did most of this with a kid on my hip- it turned out pretty ok.

 

Fast forward to present day, we decided to have our walls upstairs repainted. Handprints, holes, and life had the gotten best of our playroom. So we figured it was time for a fresh coat of paint. And I made the decision to have my stenciled wall painted over. I was unhappy that the stencil was not level and I really wanted a change. And just like that -- the stenciled wall was gone.

And of course-- I immediatlely missed it! The wall looked SO bare without anything on it. And because I am really, really crazy, I decided that I would just re-stencil the wall. My memory of all that hard work had faded and I just knew that I could do it perfectly this time around. (Kind of like child-birth.)

I ordered my stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils. I paid the extra $$ to get the entire kit. The extra large stencil, the roller, and the clip-on-level. I watched the 'how to videos' on their website, over and over. I felt ready! I was going to bang this project out in no-time!

And then I began. And I remembered. Stenciling is not fun. Stenciling is hard. Stenciling stinks.

Maybe if you have a super flat wall, with no doors, or weird wires or any texture at all. Maybe then it would be easy.

But otherwise, it's hard. It's time consuming. It's tedious. It doesn't go as easily as the 'how to video'. You will get frustrated because the "orange peel" texture of your wall will make for lines that don't look clean enough. You will only see your mistakes. (Kind of like being a mom.)

You will want to quit. But you can't. Because half of your wall will be stenciled. And there is no going back!! (Just like being a mom!)

So I readjusted my mind. I did what I do on long runs, I told my mind to be quiet and just focused on the task. I set a goal of finishing in one week. And I made a checklist of what needed to be done each day in order to get it done.

Day after day, brush stroke after brush stroke. I made peace with myself that it would not be perfect.

And then it was done. And I was happy. And I will never, ever stencil a wall again. (The end.)

 Notes: I have not yet re-hung any art work in my playroom. So there you go. And that room doesn't have a lot of light, so I took exactly 88 photos to get the 5 'pretty ones' that are included in this post.

Sources: 

Stencil- (find it here)

Clip on Level- you need this! (find it here) 

Make a frame for your tv- (find it here)
The dark color is SW 2848 Roycroft Pewter and the wall color is SW 6140 Moderate White .

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