No Bleed Philodendron Leaf Stencil Roller Painting
Painting your walls can be anxiety inducing but it doesn't have to be! In this tutorial we demonstrate how to paint Oak Lane Studio's philodendron leaf stencil using a roller without any pesky paint bleed.
The most important step to preventing paint bleed is rolling excess paint off the roller onto a piece of paper towel. Evenly coat your foam roller in latex wall paint before rolling the excess off in the tray. Continue to roll paint off onto a piece of paper towel. Use a finger to test the paint on the roller to see if it smudges. If the roller feels sopping wet, continue rolling paint off until it no longer smudges on your finger. Once the roller no longer feels wet, but not quite dry, you are ready to stencil.
Next prepare your stencil using Stencilease Repositionable Spray Adhesive on the back of the stencil. Wait 30 seconds for the spray to become tacky then press it into position on your wall. Use a piece of Frog Tape painter's tape along the top of the stencil to secure its position. Place small pieces of painters tape beneath each of the 4 registration marks in the corners of the stencil before pressing the stencil flat.
With the stencil in position you are ready to begin rolling paint onto the wall. Start by applying very light pressure as you gently roll the foam roller through the stencil. The paint should build in light coats and should not be fully saturating the design after one roll. This ensures paint bleed does not seep beneath the edges of the stencil design.
As multiple coats of paint build up the color of the design you may need to gently apply more pressure to fill in the edges. Be careful as you apply more pressure as this can lead to paint bleed if it gets forced beneath the edges. When the leaves are fully painted, use a stencil brush to swirl paint through the registration marks. Gently peel the stencil off the wall to reveal the pattern below. If you need to touch up the design you can put the stencil back in place by lining up the registration marks.
After the first repeat, line the stencil's registration marks up beside the freshly painted design before pressing the stencil flat to the wall. Add two additional pieces of Frog Tape painter's tape beneath the next set of registration marks. Continue rolling paint through the stencil just as before until the color matches. Simply peel and repeat!
As you continue these steps to repeat the design, you may find that paint no longer builds readily on your surface. Repeat the steps of loading your roller and rolling excess paint onto paper towel before you continue stenciling. Be sure to stencil with light pressure on the roller before getting into a rhythm. If you find there is too much paint on the roller, roll additional paint off onto paper towel until it feels just about dry to the touch.
Once you have stenciled an accent or your entire wall, remove the Frog Tape painter's tape registration marks from your freshly painted wall. Check out the video and the links below for the tools and supplies used in this tutorial.