How To Stencil Watercolor Leaves For A Botanical Nursery Accent Wall

Pour a small amount of Glidden by Behr in a flat sheen onto a paper plate. In a separate small cup, combine 2 parts Glidden and 2 parts Black acrylic paint for a darker shade of green. Pour that next to Glidden on the paper plate. The last thing you will add to your paper plate is another small amount of Floating Medium. Now, dip the tip of your ¾” stencil brush into the darker shade of green and swirl it around on the plate, really working the paint into the bristles. You only want paint on 1/8 of stencil brush. Remember, you only want a SMALL AMOUNT of paint on the stencil brush. Next, dip the stencil brush with paint on it into the floating medium. Swirl it around on your plate, creating a transparent green color.

Before stenciling, apply repositionable spray adhesive to the back of your botanical wall stencil kit. Although we recommended this for every wall stencil project, we HIGHLY recommend it when stenciling a watercolor accent wall because of the new smooth texture of the paint.

Our strategy for stencil placement on our accent wall was starting with the large leaf stencils first. Place the leaf stencil in any direction on the accent wall.

Take your ¾” stencil brush and lightly swirl your transparent green color over the entire leaf stencil.

Take the ½” stencil brush and dip it into 3 parts dark green and 1 part floating medium. You should see that the consistently is a little thicker. Pounce it over the stem and in random spots on the leaf stencil.

This last step will complete your watercolor look! Take your 1” stencil brush (with no paint on it) and extra lightly blend the paint that you pounced over the leaves in the areas Step 2 with a swirling motion. The brush should barely be touching the leaf wall stencil, barely brushing over it. For a more realistic touch, dry brush Deco Art's Raw Umber Acrylic Paint to the tips of the leaves. Add very little paint to your last stencil brush, the ¼” stencil brush, and lightly pounce it over the tips of the leaves.

Take the larger leaf and angle it any position you desire. Are you ready for another secret tip about stenciling realistic leaves? An old painter’s trick is to always stencil the closest object darker. Combine Glidden and floating medium and lightly swirl your transparent green color over the entire leaf stencil and then follow the same previous steps.

Once dry, place the smaller leaf over the stenciled watercolor leaf.  Pro Tip: Tape off desired areas for a clean look. For example, we taped off a part of a stem and leaves to make the design look more natural.

Stencil the overlapping leaf with the same technique used with the darker shade of green.

Now it's time to add the little details. Add the smaller leaves in between the larger leaves.

There you have it! A beautiful new nursery wall!