Today's One Minute Tip comes from Katie Deedy of Grow House Grow with an easy way to add style with your light switch plates!
• The Star: Katie Deedy grew up with a love of books that just never seemed to fade. She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and daughter, and runs her hand-printed wallpaper business Grow House Grow out of her kitchen. She has created numerous original wallpaper designs, and has recently begun to offer a line of tile and fabric designs as well.
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Now there's a project I could actually follow through on! Thanks for the tip. I'll be keeping an eye out for silhouettes I like.
Cute, but not sure that it would comply with British Standards (BSI). Electrics aren't to be taken lightly.
I dunno - switch plates are largely just decorative, aren't they? Nonconductive covers to keep you from being able to poke your fingers (or forks or what-have-you) into the electrical works? Does it matter what they're made of, as long as they don't conduct?
By the way, Kate's "Grow House Grow" wallpaper is BEAUTIFUL!
Mary
UK current is 220 volt and U.S. is 110, and yes, code is different in the UK.
Absolutely nothing relative to electrics here.. at all, at all. And even IF it's not up to local [liability inispired, lawsuit prevention] code, when was the last time you opened the door to a code inspector? If it's safe, it's SAFE. Science is science. And politics is one thing but unreasonable fear is another matter altogether.
I am so doing this. (and stay away from my Wheaties....far.far.away.)
Clever! Unfortunately our switches are very close to the trim. I'll have to look for an extra-narrow silhouette.
LOVE.
Sculpey clay can be mounted to the switch plate cover. if it does not fuse together in the oven try super gluing it to the plate. Incorperating the plate to the design to meet standards.
Sailor81 design a girraffe or just funky circles/ovals up and down the wall your space might not be wide but it is tall...woop woop.
Great idea. Is it safe to bake in your kitchen oven?
Thanks for the idea!
Okay, that's cool.
Fantastic!! If I can find some sculpted, so going to try this!
Aw, this is great!
Switch plate does nothing for me but the wallpaper behind is wonderful. Maybe I should look into how to cover a light switch plate with pretty paper. Anybody have ideas of what kind of adhesive I would use?
@THORNDALE, I have covered many a switch plate in my day and have found that Mod Podge works best. Then I coat it with sealer. My old map covered switch plates are going on 4 years now and I think they still look great.
Polymer clay is my main hobby. So I have a few comments.
Super Sculpey is relatively cheap and soft, but it bakes very brittle and only comes in that "flesh" tone (for lack of a better description -- and lack of ethnic diversity.)
There is also Original Sculpey which is white and even more brittle, and Sculpey III, which comes in 2-ounce blocks , and is ALSO brittle.
Spray painting polymer clay is risky -- many kinds of spray paint contain solvents that will react with the clay in a bad way.
Lots of professional artist/crafters make and sell polymer clay switch plates, some with the commercial ones "built in" and some just using them as a template, as shown here. They are not a problem in use.
I personally am not a fan of decorative switch plates, but if I were going to do this, I'd buy 2 or 3 2 ounce blocks of Premo Sculpey (or another brand) which is the "artist grade" product from the Amaco clay line. (If you are going for the silhouette look, just buy black, and save a step.)
"Condition" the clay by chopping it into smaller chunks and kneading them with your hands. (Premo is firmer out of the package than Sculpey.) When it's all softened, roll it together into one lump, trying to avoid capturing air bubbles, by pressing the new clay into the previously worked clay, a bit at a time.
Roll out the clay on some paper using a rolling pin or a drinking glass with straight sides or something equivalent. Trace and cut out your shape on the paper and peel away the excess as shown in the video. Leave the cutout on the paper. Place it, paper and all, on a flat surface like a cookie sheet, and bake at the manufacturer's recommended temperature. (Or do as I do -- I bake Premo at 285 F not the suggested 275 F, and for at least a half hour to an hour. Polymer clay can burn if baked too hot, but not too long.)
If the item is curled or bent up on the edge of the cookie sheet, that will bake in, it won't be flat afterwards.
Paper combusts at F 451 (like the book title) so it's safe in the oven as long as it doesn't touch a heating coil, and it helps keep the clay from sticking to the cookie sheet.
Properly cured Premo clay is a bit bendy after it cools, making it more durable than Sculpey.
@Thorndale, I have seen clear plastic switch plate covers meant to be backed with wallpaper. Since the pattern is on the back, the plastic keeps it clean. If not at a Home Depot kind of place, I'd call lighting stores...