The ragged wren : Herringbone Stencil How-To

Hey all...Happy Thursday. Spring is here, finally! The weather is getting warmer, and flowers are blooming. I'm even getting an itch to spring clean, and purge! Yikes.

If your doing the same, some of your rooms may need a bit of pep when your done....so I have a fun and simple how-to for you to try.

The Herringbone Shuffle Stencil. I did this in my daughters Shabby-Beach Bedroom Makeover.

Ok, so I know this looks complicated, and halfway through the wall, with 7 COLORS, yes it felt very complicated. But really it's a simple thing to do, you'll just need a bit of patience, which I'm limited on :)

So here is where we started, a very boring blank wall. I know this isn't the focal wall, but I like that it's not staring you at the face when you walk in, and my custom headboard was to awesome to detract from.

Here is the stencil, from Royal Design Studio. It only costs $35!

The main stencil piece is 21" w x 31.5" h.

It also comes with a smaller piece to fill in the bottom and top portion of your wall.

So if you are feeling super ambitious, you can follow in my crazy footsteps and use 7 colors. This wall took me about 5-6 hours, and I'm a professional painter! By the end of the wall, I never wanted to see the stencil again....until I used it 2 weeks later with 5 colors!?! What can I say I'm a gluten for punishment, and it's to awesome you have to!

I used small little sample size paints here, $2.00 each. All in shades of aqua. You don't need much, my containers are all still full. You could even grab a few tubes of acrylic paint from the craft store.

I just took some of my fabric with me to the paint store and picked colors lighter, and darker than the colors in the fabric. Keeping in mind my wall color, so none of them matched that.

If your looking for a mixed up color palette, try to stick with all warm colors, or all cool colors.

To help your stencil stick to the wall, you will need an adhesive spray. Iv'e tried bunches of them, but this has a heavy tack, and doesn't leave gooey gunk on the wall when you peel it off, 3M Super 77 (you can find this at most hardware and craft stores).

Be careful using this on freshly painted walls, try a lighter tack spray, and wait at least 48 hours before attempting to use a stencil. Unless the paint has had time to dry and cure, the stencil is sure to rip off the wall paint along with it.

I laid down plastic, and sprayed the back of the stencil. The writing on the bottom will let you know which is the right and wrong side. You don't need alot, just enough to cover the surface. I use a stencil 1-2 times before re-applying adhesive. Be careful of over spray, this stuff will float around the room, and stick to your floor, and fingers, and even make it up your nostrils. I know, nice thought right? And NO, I wasn't trying to inhale it on purpose :) Try little sprays instead of making a cloud. The part you are most worried about here is the little pieces between the rows, you don't want paint seeping through there.

After the adhesive has dried for 30 seconds to 1 minute, line up the stencil to the top corner of your wall. I'm right handed, so I started on the left side...but I always suggest you start with the most visible area first. If it doesn't all line up perfectly at the end of the wall, you'll be able to fudge a less noticeable area better.

Make sure where you start your first area, that you have it lined up PERFECTLY.....everything else will branch from here, and you don't want the whole wall looking crooked. First instinct is to line it up with the ceiling. Which is not usually a good idea, most ceilings aren't perfectly level. You can start with the edge of the wall, but break out a level, just to be extra sure!

When you get the stencil into the right position, press down on the top and work your way down with your hand. Not all stencils will be this meticulous, but there are lots of little pieces here, so be sure to press on all the lines. This is where some of the patience comes in. If you wait 10 or so minutes in between painting areas, you will give the stencil time to dry, thus not making a giant smeary mess when you press down in the next spot. If you can stand to wait, great!

You can also help the process along by wiping the front with a dry rag.

When you move to the next area, these little guides will be your best friend. They show you where to line up the next row.

I think it's easiest to work from top to bottom, and then move over to the next row.

This etched out area that you see, is your guide....you don't need to mark it, you will just overlap with with the already painted area below, or to the side. Keep it free of paint, this will help you keep the stencil straight.

When using one color, you can take a foam roller (with minimal paint), and cover the whole surface.

When you are using more than one color, a small brush works well. I did try small foam brushes, but they aren't stiff and are hard to control in the tight areas once they are saturated. A brush that is half the width of the row, is perfect.

Start with one color at a time, paint a hand full of rows with one color, and then move onto the next color. You can even up the colors toward the end. Once you have the first spot done, the next area will already be color coded for you. So take your time on this first area.

All 7 colors, done and painted.

Don't be afraid to let the same colors touch each other, here and there. You don't want it to look to busy.The thinner you put on the paint, the more opaque they will look. I want that in some cases, but not here. Some areas needed another quick coat of paint, make sure you do this before you pull the stencil off!

Then, gently pull it away from the wall starting at one edge.

You may have some areas that bleed, not to worry...once the wall is dry, you can go back with a small brush, and the wall paint, and do some touch ups.

This stencil, well any stencil really, is best on a flat wall (no texture). There is a light "Orange Peel" on mine, and that works well too. When you get into a heavy texture like a "Monterrey", stay away from stencils.

First row done, onto the next.

Don't worry about the bottom and top spaces that aren't covered, until you have done the whole wall. Then you can use the filler piece, to fill in the sides, top, and bottom areas. Make sure to tape the base boards or surrounding walls, or have a wet rag ready after each area.