Watercolor Wallpaper Hack Using Floral Stencils

Give Your Stenciled Accent Wall A Fabulous Watercolor Look!

Cutting Edge Stencils wants you to take your stenciling skills to the next level! We are more than excited to share this easy and affordable watercolor painting technique that DIYer’s can use when stenciling an accent wall. Some skeptics might say wall stencils could never replicate beautiful wallpaper designs such as the watercolor wallpaper trend that is in vogue right now. We want to show you that you can certainly achieve this trendy watercolor accent wall look with a wall stencil AND not break the bank. Wall stencils are inexpensive decorating tools that come with a long list of perks that outdated wallpaper can’t beat. In this blog, we are going to teach you how to stencil a watercolor effect that will look so good, your friends will think its wallpaper! nursery wall stencils

Supplies You’ll Need

Garden Bouquet Wall Stencil (Size Small)
Clip-On-Stencil Level
½” Professional Stencil Brush
¾” Professional Stencil Brush
Gray Paint (flat latex finish)
Black Paint (flat latex finish)
Folk Art’s Floating Medium
Repositionable Spray Adhesive
Paper Plates
Paper Towel
Blue Painters Tape

Achieve the best stenciling results with spray adhesive! We always recommend using spray adhesive during stenciling projects because it reduces your chances of paint seepage underneath your wall stencils. For this specific stencil project, we insist you use repositionable spray adhesive after every repeat because we are adding a gel-like substance (Floating Medium) to our paint which will increase our chances of paint seepage under the stencil. hanging stencil on wall

After applying a generous amount of spray adhesive to the back of your stencil, hang your Garden Bouquet Wall Stencil straight with a Clip-On Stencil Level. bottle of floating medium

Let’s get to the secret ingredient to our famous watercolor stenciled accent wall… Floating Medium! Folk Art’s Floating Medium is a special gel formula that helps the paint flow more smoothly. All you have to do is combine 1 part Floating Medium to 3 parts paint! If you want the stencil pattern to be a little darker, you can adjust the Floating Medium and paint ratio to your liking! paint on paint brush

A little bit of your paint color and floating medium should be you’re on a paper plate. Take a ½” Professional Stencil Brush and dip the tip of the stencil brush (only about 1/8^th) into the paint. Now, swirl it on the plate really working the paint into the professional stencil brush bristles. We want very little paint on our stencil brush so if you feel there’s too much paint on your stencil brush, offload it onto a paper towel. paint brush in floating medium

Next, dip the tip of your stencil brush into the floating medium and mix it together on your plate. When you swirl it around on your plate you should start to see a watercolor effect forming right before your eyes! stencil brush on stencil

Lightly swirl or pounce your grey color over the wall stencil. Remember, don’t press too hard or you’ll get paint seepage under the floral wall stencil. stencil brush on wall stencil

Now, pounce your black color in desired areas around the wall stencil. stencil brush on wall stencil

To combine both colors and still achieve that stenciled watercolor look, take a completely dry ¾” Professional Stencil Brush and gently swirl over where the colors meet. Pro Tip: you barely want the brush to touch the wall/stencil at all when you are swirling it over the colors. The light dry brushing technique is the best way to blend the colors for watercolor flowers. girl stenciling on wall

Floating Medium gel has the tendency to denote some of the darker stenciled areas when blended with the gray and cause those extra contrast areas to disappear. Before you peel off the wall stencil, take a step back and see if you want to add some extra dark details in your stencil pattern. wall stencil on white wall

Up close or at a distance, your watercolor roses stenciled accent wall looks just like wallpaper! floral stenciled accent wall

Because we added Floating Medium to our paint, we have to wait a little longer to realign the stencil. After 2-3 minutes (check is it’s completely dry) realign the wall stencil with the previously paint registration marks and repeat! stenciled floral accent wall

We just proved to the skeptics that this watercolor stenciled accent wall looks exactly like watercolor wallpaper! Wall stencils are a better alternative to wallpaper not only because you can replicate a wall pattern you love. Wall stencils are affordable, reusable, and customizable! The best part is you don't even have to worry about the tedious wallpaper removal when you're ready to chase the next big accent wall trend! Just buy another wall stencil and paint over your wall in no time!