Alatera Tile Stencil

Tile Stencils are all the rage in today's DIY decorating! Just look at the savings when you don’t have to gut your existing tiles! Our intricate Alatera Tile Stencil pattern is a great money saving alternative to the popular but pricey cement floor tiles, and it also looks great stenciled on walls. You can even stencil this beautiful pattern on an ugly linoleum floor! Just make sure to use the right paints for proper adhesion. Learn How to stencil a tile floor - it’s so easy! Stencil features an easy registration system, just use parts of the previously painted design to align the stencil, check for level and continue. This gives you a seamless "wallpaper" look. Don't worry about super perfect alignment: in the end your eye will never ever notice the discrepancy. Note that this stencil is designed to be used as a continuous floor pattern and might not fit precisely into your existing tiles. While prior stenciling experience is a plus for allover stencil patterns, even beginners get great results! Try this stencil with our new Clip-On Stencil Level, (sold separately) and discover how easy it is to achieve perfectly level results without dealing with all those bulky heavy bubble levels and annoying laser levels. Want to learn how to stencil a damask or allover pattern? Here are the detailed illustrated step-by-step Damask/Allover Stenciling Tips. And make sure you watch our short step-by-step Video Tutorials! You'll find them extremely helpful for your stenciling project. Although our stencils do not require the use of spray adhesive, this stencil could benefit from it to help minimize paint seepage, especially if your walls have a slight texture to them. (Elmer's spray adhesive seems to be the best). Make sure you shake the can well and lightly mist (not drench) the stencil, and let it dry for a moment before positioning it on the wall. This step will prevent the adhesive residue transferring to the wall. You'll need to re-mist the stencil after a few repeats. Note: you will still need to hold the stencil in place with a few pieces of blue painters tape! Adhesive by itself is not enough to hold the stencil on the wall. Clean-up tip: Spray the stencil with Simple Green to help to remove adhesive residue. Please note that once you've used spray adhesive on your stencil, it will never really come off completely. That is why we personally prefer not to use adhesive, and instead use less paint on your roller or stencil brush. About seepage and imperfections: Even with a proper loaded roller and correct technique you might get some minor paint seepage here and there. In most cases it's not noticeable, especially from a couple of feet away and it can be easily touched up with a small brush. Don't forget that you're creating a "hand-painted wall finish". A few imperfections and some paint seepage here and there are natural and inevitable for this type of work. To avoid seepage, use spray adhesive and less paint on your roller and brush. Did you know you can stencil your own fabric and use it for curtains, tablecloths, pillows, etc.? When stenciling on fabric, please use stencil adhesive to ensure good results. First, tape your ironed fabric to the surface so it doesn't move around while you stencil. You'll get better results with stencil brushes, but sometimes roller can work too, depending on your fabric. Add some textile medium ( sold in craft stores) to your acrylic paint. You can also get a specially formulated fabric paint, but, frankly, good craft acrylic paint with a dollop of textile medium mixed in works just as well, and costs way less! :) Let the stenciled image dry completely, 24 hours is best, then heat-set it by ironing the fabric for about 20-30 seconds on a LOW setting through the piece of cloth. Heat-setting will cure the paint and will prevent it from being washed off in the washing machine. Always experiment with a sample of your fabric first to ensure good results. We have stenciled on silk, cotton, linen and even sheer fabrics with great results. It's always better if your fabric doesn't have too much texture. Our stencils are made to last and with proper care and storage will serve you for long time.