Pure Water is Healthy Water

Decorate the wooden frame surrounding your garden shed's door with some hand-painted flower stencils. The finished frame will enhance your property and the flowers and foliage that are growing nearby.

Use These Items

• Drop cloth
• Sandpaper (low and high grit)
• Hand sander
• Exterior latex or acrylic paint
• Standard paintbrush
• Paint roller
• Paint tray
• Stencils
• Painters tape
• Damp rag
• Thin paintbrushes (various sizes)
• Scissors
• Printer paper
• Marker
• Garden hose
• Natural bristle scrub brush
• Mild detergent 

Sand and Paint the Frame

Set up a drop cloth in front of the area where you will be sanding and painting. Sand the surface of the frame with low grit sandpaper and a hand sander. Once the surface of the wood is smooth, finish up sanding with fine grit paper. Wipe off the surface with a damp rag to remove any dust particles. Dry the surface well.

Apply exterior paint with a standard paintbrush or roller. Work from top to bottom, applying the paint in straight lines. Use a thin paintbrush to fill in any crevices in the wood. After the paint dries, apply a second coat if more coverage is needed. 

Apply the Stencils

Print large pictures of flowers from the internet to use as stencils. If you are good at drawing, create your own outlines on paper with a marker. Cut the stencils out with scissors and attach them to the frame with painters tape. Line the stencils up so that they form a pattern or add them to intermittent parts of the frame. Use thin paintbrushes to fill in each stencil with paint.

Use different colors and add as much detail as possible. Wait for the paint to dry completely before carefully removing the stencils. This may take a few hours. Add stems, leaves, or any other fine details that weren't part of the original design if you think that the frame needs more coverage.

Maintain and Enjoy the Frame

Exterior paint on the door frames will not peel or fade after exposure to moisture or sunlight, but it is still important to take care of the freshly painted frame. Whenever it becomes dirty, clean it off with a garden hose. If any stains are present on the surface, gently remove them with a natural bristle scrub brush and some mild detergent. The newly decorated frame can be enjoyed whenever you are outside gardening. Because this project is easy to complete and doesn't require many materials, consider adding a new design to the frame each year.