How to Paint a "Camo" Print Wall

The Magnolia Ladies and I recently finished a "camo" wall for a client and the picture went bananas on Facebook!  We’ve also done it on a young man’s playhouse set with great results.  You can use this fun pattern in a ton of different ways - playhouses, walls, furniture, you name it! Little guys and even girls love it!

So, I thought I’d give a quick tutorial on how to make it happen.  You definitely do not need to be an artist to do this fun pattern and add a little something special!
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Here’s what you will need:

• 3 or 4 regular paint brushes. These Wooster brushes are my absolute favorite ---> amzn.to/37OZyMZ
• 1 or 2 small brushes for filling in small shapes
• A drop cloth or something similar to protect the floor like this one ---> amzn.to/38TGTj9
• One paint roller and cover ⅜ inch nap  - I prefer Wooster Brand like these for a smooth finish --->amzn.to/2Ubnoyf
• One paint tray for the roller --->amzn.to/2OanQcu
• 5 to 7 pieces of poster board
• Scissors 
• Pencil
• One Gallon of Tan Colored Paint- I used Almond Bisque by Benjamin Moore.  For a small wall a quart or two may be sufficient. 
• One sample size or quart of each: Green (I used Misted Fern), Brown (I used Dixon Brown), and Black (just a standard black with no purple undertones).

How to do it:

1. Paint the entire wall with two coats of a light tan color.  For this one I used Almond Bisque by Benjamin Moore in an eggshell sheen.

2.  Next, after letting the base layer dry for a couple of hours, take several pieces of poster board and draw shapes on them in various sizes.  Draw several large shapes (almost the size of the full poster board), a couple of medium sized shapes (approximately half the size of the poster board), and several smaller shapes (about one fourth of the size of the poster board).

3. Cut out the shapes using some sharp scissors and begin tracing the largest shapes onto the wall with a pencil. Leave some space between them and alternate the shapes.  These will be your base layer shapes.

4.  Paint the shapes in using a good paint brush that will give you clean lines.  On this wall I chose to use Misted Fern by Benjamin Moore as the base shape color. This is the color we painted the rest of the walls so it made the camo print coordinate beautifully.

5.  Next, after the base shapes have dried, take your medium shapes and begin tracing them onto the wall.  Place them so that they overlap the larger shapes in various places and also cover more of the tan base coat.  Flip and turn the cardboard templates to form the shapes in various directions. We painted these shapes in Dixon Brown by Benjamin Moore and a standard shade of Black. 

6.  Finally, we filled in and layered on the smallest shapes, often standing back from the wall to get a clear view of where the pattern needed filled, where a certain color was needed, etc.  After all of the paint was dry we went back in and filled in any places where the pattern had dried too light with a second coat.  

There you have it!  This project can be a little time consuming so I recommend grabbing a helper, blocking out some time, and having fun building this cute pattern!  Check out our finished wall and this same pattern on these cute playhouses we did last summer!

Make sure to check out my other tutorials HERE!