Painting a border around the entire mural is one of the final steps. I had considered using a stencil, but since the entire piece has been hand-painted in a loose style I thought a stencilled border might look too prim. However, before tackling the border cold I painted a test section on clear plastic and lay it over various sections. It helped me visualize the effect before actually painting the floor. When I did get going, I went with smaller brush strokes than in my test section.
All there is left to do is finish the border and paint a couple of little snakes. After that is done I will wash the white floor and coat the entire space with two layers of clear Verathane in a satin finish.