How best to paint designs on wall for nursery?

Question

Hi,

I will be working on my baby's nursery. I will be repainting the whole room and also want to add some butterfly sillhoutte designs on the walls. The room is green with the sillhouttes in darker green.

Option 1:
Should I paint first and then use a stencil over to paint the designs onto the wall? I would prefer to avoid this if possible.

Option 2:
Since it is a sillhoutte, can I paint a patch of the wall a darker green (for the butterflies) and then later once it is dry, place my butterfly design pattern (that is on paper/thin cardboard) on top of the painted area and then paint over with the lighter green that is to cover the whole wall? WIll that work? I am just afraid the colour may run?

Please help?

Answer 1

Sit and sketch on paper, look at coloring books and childrens books. Get a plan.

Check the hardward stores and paint stores for "oops" paint. Ones they have mixed for other people and the color was little off and you can pick them up for pennies on the dollar.

Call all your friends to come over in old clothes and bring cheep brushes.

Take some chalk and draw your design on the wall and RELAX DON'T GET CAUGHT UP IN PERFECT.

Scrub in some ground and some sky and then go butterfly crazy. Don't stencil them on, just grab a brush and draw and paint. Be loose and free and expressive. One person can do ground, one sky, one trees and everybody else does the fowers and butterflies. Sounds fun, save me a space I'm coming over to help.

Answer 2

Absolutely the first option is your best. Remember, it can be extremely difficult to paint a light color over a darker one and achieve a uniform look. That's what you'd be setting yourself up to do with your second option. It would be more work than it's worth. *Much* easier to put your appliqué on over the base color.