We adore these vintage wallpaper decals from Romp, as seen in Misty's Cottage home tour. When we are feeling like crafty penny-pinchers, it’s nice to know that we can make up a batch of these wallpaper decals ourselves. Even better? Our version is much less permanent (no wallpaper paste) so the landlord should have no complaints.
What You Need
Materials:
Wallpaper remnants or free sample books (thanks, WallpapersToGo!)
Templates
Pencil and/or Sharpie
Exacto knife and cutting board
Scissors
Aleene’s Tacky Glue (available at any craft store)
Modge Podge and poster board (optional)
Foam brush and small container
Dry soft cloth
Instructions
1. Find a template on-line or in a children’s coloring book. Try searching for simple, graphic images on pre-school education websites or craft websites.
2. Cut out template using scissors or Exacto knife, if image is more complex around the edges. Trace template onto a piece of wallpaper using a pencil or a Sharpie, if necessary. Cut out wallpaper image.
3. In a small container, dilute about a teaspoon of glue with a few drops of water. Using the foam brush, apply the glue to the back of the wallpaper decal.
4. Make sure the wall where the decal is going is clean and dry. Attach the decal by applying pressure from the center to the edges. Using the dry cloth, rub out to seal the edges. If the edges curl up, apply a little more glue just under the perimeter of the decal and smooth down again. This should stick fairly well for an extended period of time, but will not be difficult to later remove (according to Martha Whittle, wallpaper installer).
5. For a completely temporary solution, attach the wallpaper decal to poster board. Using a foam brush, apply Modge Podge to the back of the wallpaper, smooth it down on the poster board, and apply a thin topcoat. Let it dry completely before cutting it out. Finally, attach the decal to the wall using removable Glue Dots.
Additional Notes: Ask local wallpaper and paint stores for old sample books to make this project practically free. Wall decals look better in groups, so make more than one. You can also try making fabric silhouettes for a similar effect.
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Yay for finally sharing your secret to those adorable birds! Wall decal companies all over the world will now lose business now that us regular folk can customize designs to our own likes!
Great idea! You can order free wallpaper samples from farrow & ball which would be another free option to do this project!
I really love this. I'm always looking for new and most of all CHEAP ideas for decorating my walls. Like this scrapbook idea I came up with: http://www.queenofdiy.com/home-decorating/scrapbook-paper-wall-art.html
some of these "hacks" remind me of....
1, cut a hole in a box
2, put your junk in that box.
3, make....
What a great tip! I am going to try this out in my twins room.
I have a tip for childrens' rooms. We bought a fairy-themed wallpaper border for a little girl's room. I used an exacto-knife to cut out individual fairies, flowers, etc. in different poses. Then we applied them around the room, i.e. a fairy sitting on top of the window, a vine of flowers creeping down one wall from a corner of the room, etc. It worked really well, especially the fairies around the windows.
I think I'm going to try something similar with the free fabric swatches I got from trying to pick a new couch colour.
There thousands of samples available for this type of project. Any takers.. contact designerwallcoverings.com
For a completely temporary solution, you don't have to use poster board. Just attach the silhouette to the wall with liquid fabric starch (available in the laundry aisle at Target, etc.) instead of glue.
Ohdeedoh featured my tutorial a year or two ago:
http://pennycarnival.typepad.com/penny_carnival/tutorials.html
(second link down on that page of tutorials)
The starch washes off with soapy water when you want to get rid of the silhouettes.
I recently borrowed this idea for my daughters playroom and we LOVE how it turned out!
We used scrapbook paper instead of wallpaper... such a fun and easy project!
http://intheurbanpantry.blogspot.com/2010/12/bird-silhouettes.html
I really like this idea for bird wall decals
http://www.designyourwall.com/store/birds-wire-pr-6506.html
What a great knock off! I've featured this post on Copy Cat Crafts today, you can view it here
http://www.copycatcrafts.com/make-your-own-wall-decals-from-wallpaper-scraps/
www.stickers.sg/products i bought my wall decal here really cheap
See more great Children room wallpaper at wacky mural.