How To Paint Walls and Borders

The easiest way to do a wall border is to do the complete design in sections. This way you're up on a ladder one time, doing all facets of the design.

To make things move along a little more quickly, you can start to use multiple brushes of the same size. For a rose bud border for instance, you will have a brush with acrylic colors wine/white; green/yellow; periwinkle/white (for filler flowers) or scruffy brush for wisteria.

If you load the green brush, use it, and then put it in the water...the green brush handle is the one with your green paint...for the pink one, dip the end of the brush into berry wine and put it in the water...you will know which one to use for the rose buds and which one to use for leaves without having to take it out of the water and look. When you are ready to use the brushes again, take them out of the water, dab off the excess water on a paper towel, reload a little more paint into it, and go right to your wall...saves you the step of totally reloading. To keep the scruffy brush fresh, lay a damp paper towel on top of it, but don't wash it out in between segments...water is deadly on that scruffy. Sometimes I use multiple scruffies to make sure I have a dry brush each time.

How to measure?

Use the brush handle as your measuring tool. The border on the top of the room should be about a brush handle's length away from where the wall meets the ceiling. Main flowers on the vine should be at least a brush length away from each other.

As far as design...you are hand painting a border, not stenciling it. As such, you would not want each and every flower to be the same size and placed on the vine in the exact same way...you could get a stencil to do that.

Another tip - spread your fingers out and move your hand over the vine...use that same concept to place flowers. Paint the main flowers first, then go back and place the smaller ones/buds, then filler flowers. Always remember, if you think you have enough, you most likely do...always start off with a loose design...you can always add more, but you can't take it away so easily.

PLEASE!!!!

Remember your ladder safety when you're doing walls. Please use a ladder that will hold your body weight safely...there are all kinds of classifications of ladders...make sure you follow the manufacturer's safety instructions...and never lean to the sides...very easy to forget when you are painting borders.

Have fun!