Well, the first thing you really shouldn't be using a sponge brush. You should be using a nice firm flexible bristle stencil brush, one with lots of bristles and has a nice chisel edge. 2nd when you obtain a good stencil brush you should dip your bristles straight down into the paint "JUST ENOUGH" to get the round head of the stencil wet with paint. The next IMPORTANT thing you need to do is "OFFLOAD" the paint onto some folded paper towels to get rid of most of the paint. You only need to have a very small amount of paint left in the brush. Practice on some posterboard first to get the feel and movement. You can tap lightly, pounce or lightly swirl the paint. You need to build up the depth of color instead of trying to accomplish this the way you have been doing. Practice some before you begin your project again. You can also practice some shading and highlighting as well.

For those lucky folks who have been blessed with Minnie's brass stencils and want to use them for dry embossing, here's an idea... you don't need a fancy, expensive light table - you can make your own with * a sheet of glass or Plexiglas * a light source * a couple spacers A pane of window glass works great. Just tape around the edges so you don't get cut. Or a piece of Plexiglas. A little high-intensity light is fine. Or get a cheap "stick fluorescent" light - the kind you usually put underneath kitchen counters. Or even a flashlight in a pinch. Use a couple bricks to support the glass so that the light will fit under the glass. Or a stack of books at each side. Or a couple chunks of 2x4 wood - just look around your house... maybe in the kids' toybox! Something will work. Use low-tack tape to hold the stencil and paper in place on the glass. Put the glass on the two supports, then slide the light underneath and turn it on. Bingo! You've got a light table!

First of all...LOVE that pattern....wonder why... Anyhoo, back in the day when I stenciled a lot I used a temporary spray adhesive rather than just taping down the corners. This really gave a nice finish. I think you want to use a stencil brush, and after dabbing it in the paint, you want to practically have the brush dry! Dab off most of that paint and then you stipple it on. I'm also thinking about doing a stencil in my dining room if I paint it that dark purple. I am interested in using the same color, but in another sheen. I'll be watching for your updates! (My favorite gray strip is the one with the Baltic Gray on it, it goes really nicely with browns. Check it out. It is BM 1464 - 1470 strip)

THanks for the pictures and the cutting edge stencils. I had seen their website, but not looked at the branches. THe problem with my tween is she has her heart set on a room we saw, "Design on a dime". Well, they used a stencil that I CANNOT locate anywhere. I've checked hgtv boards etc and the show did not say where they got it (maybe I will rewatch, bc I don't remember). THey just said they were $90. Also, on the show they made a comforter out of the stencil w/ fabric paint. I am NOT that crafty. The best I can do is a comforter from overstock.com and maybe some stencil wall art. Lol. I took a picture of the stencil on my phone, but I don't know how to upload it here. Can anyone tell me?