How to make a faux wallpaper

Let me add some Before and After images (gosh, I love this part!):

 

Difficulty: easy peasy;

Time to complete: 3 hours;

Budget: 6,5 euros;

What I love the most: that it looks like a single wallpaper roll (which is exactly what I wanted to do).

I cannot commit to wallpaper, although I love the look so much!

I tend to get bored with my home decor, so nothing stays the same for more than one or two years. Imagine if I had to install a wallpaper and then take it down in a couple of years! I've seen it done on other blogs and there is only one conclusion: ripping down a wallpaper is hard work, is messy and requires refinishing the wall :((

So I decided to make a temporary wallpaper, using wall stickers. I know it sounds cheap, but if you do it right it looks just like the real thing. And I can take it down quickly, without destroying the wall.

I saw these dirty cheap bicycle stickers (made in China) in a warehouse. They had me at "Hello".

Here's what you need: 4 sheets of wall stickers, a builder's square, measuring tape, pencil, paper.

Tutorial:

1. Peel off the sticker sheet. 

PAY ATTENTION! Don't try to peel off the printed sections, they can get cut in the process. Instead, peel off the adhesive that is NOT printed - I mean the white parts between the actual stickers. In the end, only the printed sections will remain on your sheet and you can take them off without ripping them in the middle.

2. Prepare the surface.

Take a smooth sponge and immerse it into a mild soap solution. Carefully wash up the wall surface, without rubbing too much.

 

3. Make a grid for your fake wallpaper roll.

This is by far the trickiest part. I wanted to make a fake wallpaper roll, not an impressionistic painting. So it had to look seamless and perfectly aligned.

Measure the width you want to have on the wall and trace a grid with the pencil on the wall. Since I had 4 sticker sheets, I drew 4 boxes on the wall, one on top of the other. Use the builders square. You want the grid to be perpendicular to the floor and aligned with the corners of the wall.

As you can see, I drew the grid three or four times, then I erased the wrong grid lines with a simple eraser.

4. Stick the first sheet on the wall grid.

Start with the biggest item, it will anchor the composition. Don't put your fingers on the glue side, it will damage the adhesive properties of your stickers. Press gently from the middle towards the edges, in order to  eliminate any air bubbles.

5. Repeat step 4 for the next sticker sheets.

Do exactly the same as before. Start with your biggest item and align it perfectly with the previous one.

6. Add the final details.

The wallpaper looks complete. Well, it's not. I left out the little grass stickers, on purpose.

Take an overall look at your pattern and look for the gaps. Fill the blank spaces with the smallest items (the grass, in my case) to make it balanced.

7. Erase the grid.

8. Step back and take a picture.

So there it is. It looks like the real thing, doesn't it?

Happy happy joy joy! I've been featured at Homework, Chatty Chics, Passionately Artistic, Yesterday On Tuesday, House School Scraps, The Shabby Nest, Five Days 5 Ways, It's Overflowing, The CSI Project, A Rosie Sweet Home, Petite Hermine, Randee's Organized Chaos, Polish The Stars and Don't Mess With My Tutus. Thank you for the support!