Make a good impression with stamping

Often colleague Matt Fox and I want to add a design element to the walls of a room that really picks up one of the special details found only in that room.

For instance, in an office we recently designed, one of the walls was covered in a fabric with a couple of geometric patterns in it. We thought it would look nice to repeat a couple of the designs in the form of a stamp on the other three walls. Problem is, you can't just go into your local craft store and find stamps that match every pattern of fabric or wallpaper out there, so you must make your own. It's really quite fun and rewarding. I'm not pulling your leg. Just try it.

Materials

Squares of cork or thick craft foam

Additional craft foam to cut up

Scissors

White school glue

Paint tray

Low nap roller or foam brushes

Latex satin paint in your favorite colors

Or acrylic craft paints

Step 1: Design away

Begin by finding an element from your room that you'd like to repeat on your walls. Then, pencil the design on a light-colored craft foam. You may want to make a copy of the design on a copier and then trace around it onto the foam. Cut it out using scissors or a small craft knife for tight areas.

Step 2: Making a base is a sticky situation

Using either a piece of cork or a thick piece of craft foam, cut out a base for your design. Make sure that it is at least 1/2 inch larger than your design all the way around, so you have a place to put your fingers.

Next, glue the craft foam design to your base. Make sure to give it an hour to dry before you begin stamping.

Step 3: Preparing to stamp

Once the stamp is dry, it's time to get the paints ready. If your stamp will be one solid color, and is a pretty good size (some of ours were 10 to 12 inches square), pour some paint into a paint tray and use a low nap roller cover to coat the stamp. It's best to load the roller, then roll some of the paint off on the slope of the tray before going to your stamp. If you've cut a small stamp design, use a small foam brush to coat your stamp.

Step 4: Stamping

Begin by either measuring out the placement of your stamps, or simply stamp them randomly on the walls.

You may want to practice on some old newspaper until you get the hang of it. Your first stamp will always be heavier than your second, and this slight variation is nice. Even if parts of your stamp don't actually imprint on the wall, it makes for a very hand-crafted look. Do be sure to step back every once in a while and check your placement. You'll have so much fun you'll be done before you know it.

To achieve crisp imprints, make sure there isn't any paint pooling in the crevices in your stamp. A small watercolor brush is a great tool for removing excess paint. Also, if you are a perfectionist, you may want to press your first imprint onto paper, and your second, dryer imprint right onto the wall.

Since you can get between two and three imprints every time you load up the stamp, it does give you options.

Once you feel confident in your stamping ability, try stamping in multi-colors. Often, I'll completely cover a flower stamp in a light lavender, then I'll dab right over that in the center with a purple. I paint the leaves and stem in a green, with a light green accent, then I stamp. It really is a great way to hand-create your own custom wall covering.

I'm sure Matt would suggest that we just buy wallpaper, but I prefer the little imperfections that are such a big part of real life. Shari Hiller writes this column with Matt Fox. They co-host the Home & Garden Television show "room by room." For more information, visit www.hgtv.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.

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