Review on GSS Designs Wall Stencil Fishscale by Terry West

First, the stencil itself is fine, IMO. However, I'm deducting a star because it came in a tube and no matter how hard I try, I can't get the curls out of the ends. This turned out to be a particular problem with this template based on the rest of my "user experience". I've made craft templates before, but this was my first attempt at making something this size. I trained according to the instructions on cardboard, which I placed on the table (i.e. horizontally). So far, so good. Very nice even! On the wall. It turned out to be a very different kettle of fish. I just moved into a pretty standard 20 year old development. I don't think anyone will look at the walls and say they are "textured". But painted drywall can't be perfectly flat! Since this stencil has plenty of room to paint and the "bridges" between the scallops are very narrow (<1/4") and the slightly curled ends make it even more difficult to glue to the wall, any small imperfections would do the same well be a mountain!I've tried with and without glue spray and I just couldn't get a clean edge and really symmetrical ridges (and yes I followed the directions for using VERY SMALL PAINT) painted the pillar, hated it , primed it and repainted the base color. I decided I had learned something, tried again and painted three pillars. No. Another try. It looks better as an overall view without paying attention to any imperfection. After that I have these Giving up stencil If you have a really REALLY flat and straight wall and you've made a stencil before, you might have better luck than me n with a great more organic look. I redesigned the bathroom (where I tried to use scallops) with a large 'spore' and it looks great! Two differences: the spore has thin diverging lines where the color goes and lots of background, which is the opposite of the scallops. And it looks organic, so all the little flaws (and there are a lot) just don't show up like they do with something really symmetrical. I've also made large organic ginkgo leaves in the bedroom and am working on birch trees in the dining room. Much more forgiving!