decorative stamping on walls

[mightymouse]

Hi,
I am trying to get the courage up to do some stamping on the walls in one of my rooms. Those of you that have done it please give me some feedback. Any stamps you really thought did or didn't work, what did you stamp with and would you do it again?

[aselahop]

Hi Maggie,
Honestly I haven't done any stamping on walls, yet. But I have done murals. From what I have read on here and elsewhere you should use acrylic paints instead of ink. IMO. If I were to stamp I would probably use stamps that have a bolder pattern with a lot more rubber surface to them then the more detailed ones. Here's an idea. You could experiment by first painting a piece of board (like mesonite) with house paint. Then try stamping with the craft pads, reg. pads and acrylic paint. ( for the acrylic paint, I would apply the paint to the stamps using a paintbrush...just a thought).
Oh yea, what I found out when I was painting murals was that the glossier the paint surface the harder it was to apply paint to the walls ie. flat paint on walls worked better, glossy walls made the paint smear.

[Michelerey]

I stamped on the walls in my office/stamp room. I love the way it came out and would definitely do it again. In fact, I might stamp something in my powder room one of these days.

I recommend using one of the Definitely Decorative Sets. These have big, bold stamps that work well for this. I used Fancy Foliage to stamp the border along the ceiling in my office. I wanted something that would look more free-form so that exact placement wasn't necessary. I lightly drew a flowing, loopy line along the top 1/4 of the walls with a pencil. I used that as my guideline for stamping the leaves so they look as if they are being blown by the wind.

Use a paper plate as a paint palette. Squeeze some Acrylic Craft Paints (the ones you find in little bottles at craft stores, Wal-Mart, etc.) onto your plate. Use the little foam sponge brushes to apply the paint to your stamp. Don't put too much paint on the stamp. Stamp on wall with smooth, firm pressure. Depending on the stamps you use, you might want to stamp again immediately without adding more paint for a lighter look. I did this with my leaves so it looks like some are further away or are getting that lacy look that leaves get as they die. You might also try mixing the paint colors on one stamp by blending them together along the edges with the sponge brush.

Keep a damp rag handy to wipe off any mistakes immediately. The Magic Eraser also works wonders. I used one to erase the pencil line I'd followed once everything was thoroughly dry. Be careful with it around your painted areas though as it will remove the painted pattern too!

I didn't do anything special to prep my walls either. Just wiped them down quickly with a damp rag to make sure there were no spider webs or anything and then let them dry before stamping.

You might want to get a piece of wall board from your local hardware store and practice on it a bit before actually stamping on your walls. This will give you a chance to practice applying the right amount of paint, stamping, and figuring out your pattern and colors.

Good luck and have fun!

[tavah316]

Hi! I painted my bathroom using the Definitely Decorative set Fancy Foliage (pg 5. We painted the walls with semi-gloss and then I used a green semi-gloss to "stamp" with. I poured some of the paint in a plate and put a swatch of an old t-shirt over it. The shirt soaked up some of the paint and it became my ink pad. I was easier than I thought it would be...but I agree, it was a little scary! Not all of my leaves came out perfect, but I just said it was the "rustic" look

Good luck!

[Shell]

I stamped my stamp room bathroom and LOVE it. I used Staz-On and In Full Bloom. I used watercolor pencils and blender pens to color them in. It was fun and very easy. I know that if I don't want to have it on there, though, I will have to paint over it.

I will look to see if I can find the link where I posted the pictures ...



Ok .... found it.... Forums at Splitcoaststampers

[Mich]

My only thing to recommend is not to use acrylic if you're doing a bathroom. I did it in my bathroom and now I have these slight little paint lines running down which are mainly noticeable when the room is steamed up after a shower. I used acrylics in my bedroom but of course, no steam there, so no problem.

[mightymouse]

Thanks for all the tips I am going to give it a try and I wouldn't have thought about the problem with acrylic running in the bathroom. Thanks for the tip. Tavah I love what you did in your bath that is sort of what I was thinking about in the room I want to work on. I have the Croscill botanical pattern and it would work well and random is a good way for me to start. I also think a test run on a board is a great idea thanks.