The bedroom is a place where individual personalities shine and because of this, people experiment with art, themes and designs as a way to express themselves in their own bedrooms. Children's bedrooms may feature murals of cartoon characters, animals, dragons, castles or princesses. For adults, the artwork may be more subtle, such as clouds in a ceiling, or decorative paint techniques on the wall to give the impression of fabrics or leather. Stencils are another tool used to add painted effects to a bedroom, either as a focal piece or to create a textural design to entire walls.
Instructions
Faux Finish
1. Choose the faux finish you hope to achieve on your bedroom walls by experimenting with tools and techniques on a sample board. For any of the techniques you can apply two or more colors of paint/glaze at the same time and blend them. You will get a different effect by layering colors of glaze and letting each layer dry.
2. Mix one part paint to four parts glaze for each of your chosen colors. Glaze is a clear acrylic liquid that keeps the paint from drying too quickly and gives it a transparent look.
3. Apply colored glaze randomly to the wall with a small roller. Work in sections of about four feet by four feet. Use the tool of your choice to move the glaze around and give it texture. Options are: sea sponge, t-shirt rag, lambs wool, bunched up cheese cloth or even a terry cloth rag. This design may stand on its' own or you can stencil or hand paint over the design for additional interest.
Stenciled Paint Designs
4. Spray the back of your stencil and place it on your wall or ceiling. If you are using a multi-layered stencil, or a large stencil that is repeated all over a wall, use masking tape and a watercolor pencil to note the registration marks on the wall under the stencil.
5. Squeeze a small amount of craft paint onto a paper plate. Use one plate for each color in your design.
6. Dip the end of your stencil brush into the paint and swirl it around to load it evenly with paint. Fold a paper towel into fourths and then swirl the brush onto the paper towel to get rid of the excess paint. This is called "off loading." Use an almost dry brush to prevent the paint from seeping under the stencil.
7. Use a circular motion to color in your stencil design, one color at a time. Press heavily for darker impressions around the edges and lighten your touch toward the center for a more three dimensional look.
8. Move your stencil around your room if you are creating an allover design. If you are working on a design that has two or more overlays, let dry before you add another color.
Tags: your stencil, color your, each layer, four feet, onto paper, Paint Designs