Wednesday 25 March 2009

I HATE STENCILLING!!!!!!

Thats official, Ive tried it all ways, thicker, thinner, more craft mount, etc and its so hit and miss, one go will produce a lovely brick effect, all perfect, then the next 2 mins later will seep through and be a brick coloured mess! Iit says it has a long working period before going off, but i found it went really bad after a few mins, and was gloopy and sticking to the stencil! All I can say is thank God its finished and that I had just enough, as I dont want to order more!! Now I have to hide all the bad bits with paint effects so hope it works.
Im really dissapointed as I was hoping to buy a stencil to do the slate roof and another for the stone floor, thinking it would be an easier method, but NO WAY !!! I hate paper so going to have to think of using other methods for slating my roof, and maybe try the paperclay on the floor. Or I may just paper in a tile pattern and stain in to look old and dirty. But not this ever again!!!
I thought maybe it was just me that couldnt do it, so I got John to have a go and was sitting praying it wouldnt go perfectly for him so id look an idiot, but he peeled his attempt back and it looked just as awful as mine, so yipee its not just me!

10 comments:

Debbie said...

Kate, Richard Stacey does real slates
here's his link:-
http://www.richardstacey.com/
he also does wonderful flagstones for the floor.

Marsha @ Tattered Chick said...

Paperclay would be great for the slate roof and the stone floor. I made the stone floor for my choc-o-lat bar out of paperclay.

Did the stencil cover the entire area you were going to stencil or just a small portion and then you had to move it over and then stencil some more? I tape mine down with masking tape.

When you have to move it, you have to clean it underneath and on top.

I find that working with stencils that are not liquid is easier to work with, they sort of look like wax and you stipple it.

nikkinikkinikki72 said...

It doesn't look too bad. Perhaps you could scrape little bits out with a craft knife where its smudged into the mortar.
I'd use brick faces like i used on your fireplace. Takes a bit longer but you just stick them on.
Or paperclay even because you get what you want with that.

Whittaker's Miniatures said...

Thanks Deb will take a look at the website.
Marsha, it was a stencil you spray this 'spray ,mount' onto to make it supposadly stick in place and not move. But it dosnt work well and kept shifting. Damn it didnt think of masking it!! Oh well its done now and I think as it is going to have a messy look anyway wont be too bad!! It is a bit silly as the stencil is a really small area so yep you have to keep shifting it, it only covers about 8 or 10 rows of brick heigh.
Thanks Nikki, think Ill either paperclay or use cut painted card pieces on the floor and roof. Trouble is Im too impatient. I couldnt be patient enough to stick on loads of individual bricks and thought this would be quicker. But learnt quicker isnt best!!
LOL xx

Witchkrafting with Kat said...

I am afraid I am rubbish at stencilling too so I cannot give you any good advice other than my stencilling is much badder than yours ha ha ha ha! Bless you! I have seen textured sheets in a dolls house shop you glue on and paint if that's any help! LOL xxxx

nikkinikkinikki72 said...

Been having a think and reckon the best thing is to buy brick faces, slates etc like debbie says and spend a bit longer sticking on.
I've not seen what Kat mentions but think as above you will always end up with better results. Even though it will take longer to glue each on and cost more it will be a much nicer result.
That stencil thing looks awful to use and too small. I'd want to do them all at the same time... lol

Whittaker's Miniatures said...

In their website Nikki it shows them using about 4 at a time which would be easier but too expensive at about £7 a stencil. Still live and learn, Ill use brick faces next time. Think Im going to try using card for the roof painted in greys etc, just cos its so much cheaper and with the Potter house to do too, cant afford to buy the bags of slate Id really like!! Im left wiht a silly small bit that needs bricking but if I now use brick faces I dont think it will match the existing so I think Ill just paint it a muddy colour, Im such a cheat!!

Heather Cutting-Rayl said...

Hi,
I know it's a bit late... but I mix my own brick mix! Its a lot cheaper that way! Its also a bit stiffer and stays in place. I leave the stencil on until it sets up a bit then move along. I also use masking tape! I'm doing a big house right now and it does take time! But its worth the effort in the long run! Be thankful you didn't try the old tape method, that was a nightmare! LOL

Whittaker's Miniatures said...

Thanks for all the great advice, Heather how do you make your own mix or is that a secret :-) maybe I could use it on the top section I have left! LOL kate xx

Sunny Sunflower Miniatures said...

I'm thinking of using this method for slate roofing on my bookshop:

http://blog.treefeathers.com/2008/11/making-aged-slate-roof-shingles.html

Good luck with everything,
Mary