“Think of it as designing your own wallpaper,” says DIY expert Pamela Macauley of the pretty stencilled patterns that adorn the walls of her English cottage. Words, ribbons, garlands and patterns from various sources, including from her favourite website, The Stencil Library, are the decorative icing on the cake, as far as Pamela's concerned. Stencilling hit its stride almost 20 years ago, but today, with the popularity of wallpaper on the rise, this way of adding character to your home has also increased. “I'm inspired by fabrics and photographs,” adds Pamela, “and I take them one step further. Most of the appeal comes from stencilling's uneven, handmade look.”
1. If you're making your own stencil, draw your design on some clear plastic film and cut it out with an x-acto knife. If the stencil is to be used only once, you can use a light card. Cut out the details first and then the larger areas. You should use a self-healing cutting mat when cutting stencils. Before you start, do a practice run on a piece of paper. Plan out and measure where your stencils will be going. Start in an inconspicuous place if you can.
2. Position your stencil on wall or furniture with low-tack masking tape. Stir paint to make sure the colour is even. Pour a little into a jar and dip in your brush, taking up a small amount of paint on the ends of the bristles. Dab the brush onto a folded piece of paper towel to work the paint into the brush and to remove any excess. The brush should appear quite dry. If there is too much paint on the brush it will run down behind the stencil.
3. Lightly tap the end of the brush on the surface, creating a stippled effect, covering small sections at a time. The key is to work with next to nothing on the brush and build up the colour in layers. You can shade areas from light to dark this way. A small amount of paint will dry quickly and you can move on to the next stencil.
Pamela stencilled onto the perforated metal door of this old pie safe to make it look more sophisticated. The same stencil was used on the dresser in the bedroom (shown above). Pamela painted it blue and white and used the same blue to paint in the stencil design. Take any hardware off before you stencil. The other bedroom furniture was painted with the same stencil to match up the odd pieces.
YOU WILL NEED
• Stencil (You can buy precut or pre-drawn stencils or design your own)
• Stencil paints (available at craft stores)
• Stencil brushes
• Low-tack masking tape
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