Our ever-growing range of stencil designs
Getting started: NB: Work out your technique and colour combo on a sample first. It’s always a good idea to make a sample first! Make sure you like your colour combinations and are comfortable with your
Position your stencil where you like it. You can tape it down with masking tape, we prefer to use a spray adhesive to achieve even cleaner edges. Make sure you shake the can well and lightly mist (not drench) the back of the stencil, and let it dry for a moment before positioning it on the wall. This step will prevent the adhesive residue transferring to your surface. You’ll need to re-mist the stencil after a few repeats.
Stenciling with a Roller: This method is good for large stencils. Use only dense foam rollers with rounded edges. Regular fluffy rollers won’t work, they hold too much paint! Load your dry roller by rolling it over the paint a few times until it absorbs most or all of it. Blot off the excess paint on the paint tray and then roll the roller back and forth a couple of times on paper towel or newspaper. It’s better to have less paint on your roller than too much paint.
About Paint: Any water-based paint should work. Craft acrylics are great and the best in our opinion is our own range. It has just the right consistency for stenciling. Ok! Now you are ready to stencil!
Roll the stencil with your roller using light to medium pressure. Excessive pressure may cause paint bleeding under the stencil. Also, be careful not to roll over the outside edges of the stencil. We design most of our stencils with at least a 0,5-1cm frame to give you some rolling room, strategically placing paper or masking tape on the narrowest edges can help prevent “roll-overs”. When stenciling lighter colours over darker colours, you may need 2 or more coats to achieve good coverage. Let the 1st coat dry before rolling the stencil again. Now remove the stencil and enjoy your artwork!
A note for the impatient: Don’t just yank the stencil off your surface! It’s always a good idea to remove it somewhat slowly so that the tape/adhesive spray doesn’t accidentally pull off any background paint.
If you are doing repeat stenciling, there is no need to clean the stencil in between. It’s time to clean the stencil when your paint build-up starts to compromise the design. If you would like to do your next repeat in a different colour, make sure that the previous colour has completely dried on the stencil so it will not transfer to your next print. It’s a good idea to clean the stencil if you want to flip it over to create a mirror image. We recommend a separate foam roller for each colour, as the roller must be dry to begin with.
Remember, less paint is better for
It’s best to use a light circular motion with your brush. Just dab and swirl in a light sweeping circular motion, covering all of the design.
About seepage and imperfections: Even with a proper loaded roller and correct technique you might get some minor seepage here and there. In most
About Connectors: Connectors (also referred to as “bridges”) are the small sections of the stencil pattern that hold the stencil together. Some people prefer to paint over the gaps left by the connectors when the
Cleaning and Storage: The stencil will eventually accumulate a thick layer of paint after many repeats, so it will have to be cleaned. Give it a brief soaking in a tray or tub of water and then wash off the paint. Best cleaning method we have found is to place the stencil on a flat surface and scrub it with a dish cleaning sponge under running water. The paint comes right off and the stencil doesn’t get entangled or damaged this way. If you accidentally break one of the connectors in the design while
After the stencil is clean, place it on a towel to dry and pat it with the towel to speed up the drying process. For a large