DIY Wall Decal Made From Contact Paper

The baby owl tree mural in the above picture is a multi-media decoration, part painted, part DIY wall decal made from contact paper. The artist simply found contact paper with varying patterns in her color scheme and cut them out using a leaf template and then repeated the process to create her adorable baby owls.

If you have stacks upon stacks of quilt scraps lying around, you might used your fabric scraps to make your leaves, applying them to the walls using the starch method rather than investing money in contact paper. The benefits of a DIY wall decal made from contact paper rather than fabric is that the adhesive backing is already in place and ready to peel and stick without having to mix and manage a starch mixture saving lots of time on cleanup. The advantages of using leftover quilting fabric is obvious, using materials already in your fabric stash makes for an inexpensive wall decorating idea and it puts you on your way to making room for the next fat quarter that strikes your fancy.

Alligator Wall

This alligator wall painting cleverly camouflages a large wall shelf in a baby boy's nursery.

This is just one of the many wall painting techniques that are featured in the jungle themed room. The is a painted tree mural decorated with monkeys and butterflies as well as other jungle creatures hidden almost out of sight in corners and peeking from behind the furnishings in the room. The alligator was painted using a bright, green paint color with the details outlined in black acrylic.

Those of you who are less artistically inclined might consider buying a large alligator wall decal and centering a floating wall shelf on top. Using a sticker rather than painting the wall decorating yourself would save lots of time and (if you're like me) possibly produce more professional looking results.

Here's another example of a room where alligators play a big role in mom and dad's ideas for a baby boy nursery.

Which brings up the fact that if you want to decorate your baby's nursery walls with alligators, you don't have to paint or use wall decals; you can stencil your gator on the wall using any paint color you like!

Where can you put these wall painting ideas to work?

You could use them in kids' jungle theme bedroom or nursery or your alligator could hang out by your painted golf course's water trap like the one in the picture above!

INSPIRATIONAL WALL DECALS

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We are accustomed to seeing inspirational wall decals with one single word, like "PEACE" or a short group of words like "HANG IN THERE", but isn't this group of amazing custom wall stickers much more inspiring not to mention decorative? I'm sorry that I don't have a better picture of the wall so that you can see the letters more clearly but the battery in my digital camera was in its final death throes and this is the best I could do. If you really focus and maybe squint your eyes a tiny bit you can see the letters well enough to get the message

The impact of the arrangement using vinyl word decals in so many different fonts and sizes has a much more inspiring, not to mention decorative, impact! I love wall decorating ideas that make you stop and take a second, and possibly a third look. I found this creative arrangement of decorations so riveting that it made me want to pull up a seat and pause for a few quiet moments of meditation and reflection of the meaning of each and every one of the the inspirational wall decals. Now that, my friend, is wall decor with a purpose far beyond making your home attractive and stylish.

FARM WALL DECALS

Farm wall decals with horses, cows, pigs, chickens and maybe a John Deere tractor rolling into the barn have found their way not only onto the nursery walls and into kids' bedrooms but I've noticed a "farm fresh" wall mural or two in some of the finest cooks' country kitchens.

By farm fresh, I mean decals and stickers featuring farm animals and chickens with freshly laid eggs and cute yellow ducks marching to pond shaped stickers followed by a straight line of baby ducklings. Does this indicate a resurgence of country home decor that was so very popular a decade or so ago? Are decorators searching for farm wall decals and artwork that will take urban dwellers back to their roots?

I don't see modern decor being replaced by rural scenes just yet, but I'm digging out my portfolio of farm wall painting ideas to refresh my memory just in case I'm hit with a run of requests for farm wall murals.

NOAHS ARK NURSERY WALL

Noahs Ark nursery wall decor isn't limited to Noahs Ark wallpaper. In fact, it would be a shame to use wall border and overlook the adorable decals and stickers that you can use to make your own custom wall mural.

Rather than focus on one single style of artwork or wall decorations, since the selection of possibilities is so vast (and so cute!) it would be so much more interesting to use a variety of wall hangings. Start with the best wall color or wallpaper, (rustic grass cloth wallpaper would be nice) as a background, decide on a border, art prints and a collection of Noah's Ark wall decals and hang the big items first, always taking care to pick pieces that will complement the color and style of the Noahs Ark baby bedding that you chose for the baby's bed. After the large pieces are in position surround them with arrangements of small posters and/or art prints.

Here's an example of how to decorate a Noahs nursery wall that will serve as a focal point in your baby's room. Start by hanging one large, framed poster over the head of the crib and then hang smaller framed art prints evenly spaced, either on its sides or at its top or bottom.

If your wall decorating ideas trend towards a free-form style; an eclectic mix of decals, stickers AND art prints might be more pleasing to your taste.

NURSERY WALL DECOR

The many choices in modern nursery wall decor can be very confusing to new parents who are so enthusiastic until they get bogged down in details. So many times, they can't decide whether they should use nursery wall decals, just hang some nursery wall letters over the baby's bed or go all out with nursery wall murals that reach from corner to corner and floor to ceiling. And then...do nothing because it was just too much.

So, here are the basics of how to choose the best nursery wall decor to decorate the walls of your baby's room in style listed in order of cost.


WALL PAINT

Not as cheap as it once might have been, a gallon of paint is one of the most inexpensive ways to brighten any room. Match your colors to the crib set and if solid color walls are boring to you, consider painting the top two thirds of the wall with one color and the bottom third with another. If you want to get fancy, you might consider one of the more advanced painting techniques like painting stripes, sponging or using textured paint. Whatever style you choose, remember to start with smooth, clean walls and to use ONLY non-toxic paint that will be safe for your baby.

WALL STENCILS

Stenciling is cheaper than stickers and decals, but more permanent and messier. The benefit of using stencils over decals is color selection and a cheap price. The drawbacks are that there is cleanup involved and once you paint a design on the wall....it's there.

NURSERY WALL DECALS

These are ideal for apartment dwellers that would lose their deposit if they damaged the existing wall paint or if the wall of the nursery is a good color but boring. Buy reusable vinyl decals and have fun!

WALLPAPER AND WALLPAPER BORDER

More skill is required for hanging both wallpaper and wallpaper border. The wall should be properly prepped (which is no small thing but CRUCIAL) AND everything has to be straight with seams matched, pattern matched and lumps and bumps smoothed out.

Hanging wallpaper is not for sissies. It requires skill, patience and when the corners of your room are not square...vile language control. Don't jump into papering an entire room until you take a class, read some books and get some practice preferably on somebody else's dime. Wallpaper is expensive and easy to tear which can get you in trouble and deplete your nursery wall decor budget in a hurry.

NURSERY WALL MURALS

There's no real need for a mural on all four walls of the baby's room. For one thing, busy scenes of this magnitude will completely overwhelm the rest of your decorations. And you want the baby to be the standout, not rolling jungle scenes or what have you.

A mural on one wall is plenty. An easy one for beginners is to paint a wall (or the ceiling) baby blue and sponge paint or rag paint your clouds.

Advanced and artistic painters (with boatloads of free time) among us can paint detailed murals freehand. The rest of us can apply our rain forest wall mural the quick and easy way using wallpaper murals that you can apply to the walls and remove them whenever you are ready. Please read the paragraph above with references to wallpaper hanging before choosing this style of nursery wall decor.

NURSERY ARTWORK

Even in the modern nursery of today there is room for framed art. If you use one or all of the above methods to decorate the walls of your baby's room, the finishing touch and final layer should be framed pictures, prints or posters that reflect the nursery's colors and theme.

I hope that this information helps you to choose the nursery wall decor that is best for you and your circumstances. Of course, there are far too many wall decorating ideas to cover them in one "HOW TO" tutorial so please come back to see how you can combine wall sconces, wallpaper, wall art and other stuff to personalize your DIY project to perfection.

BIRD WALL DECALS

Enjoy the beauty of birds in your home without the mess with bird wall decals that are so incredibly realistic that you can almost hear them singing! And if you decide that the initial spot that you handpicked as the best place in your house for them to roost, all that will be needed is for you to peel them off and stick them in their new location.

That is just how convenient it is to decorate the walls of your bedroom, bathroom or family living space with our feathered friends.

TIP
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Paint a tree mural and use the branches as a spot where your bird wall decals can be perched. If painting a tree is beyond your level of artistic skill, buy tree wall decals taking care that the size is right for the space that you are decorating and arrange your bird wall stickers after it is in place. You will appreciate the fact that you can easily relocate the entire wall arrangement whenever you please and enjoy the reusable, vinyl tree and bird wall decals over and over.

CUTE BEE WALL STICKERS

Thanks to the cute bee wall stickers, the bee theme wall painting technique that you see in the above picture is easier to execute than you might imagine. Using cute bee vinyl stickers or a sheet or two of cheap honey bee decals will save you a lot of time, aggravation and flatten the earning curve of learning to paint bumble bees to such a level that even kids could arrange these graphics on the wall with no problem.


There are several different styles of honey bee decals that you can experiment with. The ones that were used in between the stenciled words in the photo were part of a bedding set by Wendy Bellissimo. I believe that the use of the single bee wall stickers look best for this particular display. But not every decorator has the time or the skills to effectively stencil bees or the words directing visitors to the kids’ bedroom to "Bee Kind", "Bee Loving", "Bee Happy" and "Bee True" without damaging the cheerful, yellow paint on the walls.

If you wanted to skip painting the inspirational words on your bee theme wall, perhaps the best honey bee decals for your purpose would be those that come in a collection that include beehives, butterflies, flowers and other insects that might be found in a cottage garden setting to fill out your decorative wall display.

Return to Bee Wall Stickers, Sconces, Wallpapers and Decor for more creative decorating ideas for the walls of your home.

PINK AND BLACK WALL DECOR

Imagine a wall covered in pink French poodles and Eiffel Towers or some other pink and black wall decor that matches your daughter’s or your own taste in bedroom design. Chances are that if you have a picture in your mind of a particular wall covering, decal or sticker there is a vendor out there that not only has the design of your dreams ready and waiting to be arranged on the walls of your home but that is willing to personalize the pink and black wall decals with whatever name or saying that you would care for.

As I mentioned earlier, pink French poodles are all the rage at the moment for use in a tiny toddler girl’s room as well as ladies of any age with a penchant for all things Parisian. But the fun with does not stop with the use of a single style in vinyl wall decorations as there are so many other fun shapes to experiment with like polka dots and stripes.

HEARTS and FLOWERS

To take a less funky and more romantic approach you might mix things up with some sassy pink and black wall stickers with hearts and flowers in sizes that vary from very large, to medium and very small to keep the arrangement unique and interesting.


PINK AND BLACK SKULL WALL DECORATIONS

Pink and black wall decor to complement gothic rooms, believe it or not, can be very cute. Pretty pink skulls and crossbones have never looked better than these modern stickers.

If your idea of the perfect accessory for your decorating project is pink and black wall decor, have no fear, we’ve got you and your walls covered.

WHALE WALL DECALS, STICKERS and DECOR

Applications for whale wall decals and stickers are as vast as the ocean that these magnificent creatures call home. I can recall seeing pictures of plaster whales decorating the walls of bathrooms as early as the 1950s. As I call to mind the image of these cute whales with bubbly personalities and of all things, big beautiful eyes and long curling eyelashes, I can easily understand why these vintage pieces are so highly sought after today.

Some decorators would settle for nothing less than one of these early examples of whale wall art to gussy up their bedroom or bath. But for the person with a limited budget or a large expanse of wall to fill, whale wall stickers might be the best choice.

Whale wall stickers and wallpaper borders to match the whale baby bedding and decor in a nursery are no more in keeping with reality than they were in their molded form of several decades past. For kids’ rooms, pink, lavender or even lime green whales are just as common as killer or blue whale stickers.

To please the decorative taste of scuba divers who have been up close and personal with the original article, there are large whale wall decals that will please the most critical eye. These are wonderful additions to deep sea murals where a realistic appearance is preferred. Plus, you can peel the removable, vinyl whale wall decals off the wall and rearrange them any time you change apartments or just to give your whale wall mural a fresh new look.

As far as price is concerned, all versions are cheap compared to having a mural painted, much less time consuming that painting one yourself or hanging a large wallpaper mural that would be nearly impossible to relocate should you have the need.

Return to Whale Wall Decals, Sconces, Wallpapers, Clocks and Decor to find more fish decorations to decorate the walls of your home.

GIANT CAMO WALL DECALS

These giant camo wall decals are the perfect wall art for your kids camo bedroom walls. Military tanks, jeeps and hummers bursting through the walls will trump traditional, framed camo wall art any day of the week!

Hanging rolls of wall covering can be more than the average do it yourself decorating buff wants to tackle. It’s a battle to get the wallpaper smooth and straight and those of us who have done it a few times know it requires a lot of trips up and down a ladder. Even with the best assistant on hand to help, installing a complete camo wall mural is a big job that’s not for sissies.

In comparison, even giant camo wall decals are a piece of cake. Vinyl camouflage stickers offer quick and easy camouflage wall decor with a fraction of the effort or the cost. The large military tank or jeep wall decal will probably take care of one bedroom wall with no other decorations necessary. To decorate the remainder of the kids’ bedroom walls or the baby’s camo nursery, you could make an arrangement of small camo wall appliques that have been cut in shapes of helicopters, fighter jets or jeeps. To personalize your project, spell your child’s name or initials out in pink, blue or olive green, mossy oak camo wooden wall letters.


Return to All Wall Sconces, Wallpapers, Clocks and Decor for more tips on how to decorate your walls with camo wall decals and appliques.

CANDY WALL DECORATIONS - CANDY STICKERS and DECALS

For colorful, sweet flavor without the sticky faces, it would be hard to compete with vinyl candy wall decorations. Stickers for the baby’s nursery are relatively common and have given solid wallpaper and borders some stiff competition due to the fact that decals are so easy to apply. A rank amateur can get the job done with professional results in a few minutes. Plus, candy wall decor, unlike rolls of wallpaper border are removable as well as reusable.


These candy wall decorations will mask the minor flaws on your walls that might otherwise require at the least detailed preparation before the application process could take place. At the worst, a light touch up including sanding and filling holes and sanding them smooth again might be required for the best results.

I can imagine a unique room based on one of my favorite kid’s games, Candyland. What a wonderful opportunity to surround your kids with candy and sweets without the worry of damage to their dental work! The only problem might be convincing your toddler that although the wall stickers might look good enough to eat they are for decorative purposes alone!

What an excellent way to bring your child’s favorite characters, Uncle Wrigley and all the colorful locations of the board game to life. Not to mention that the space will be a delightful display of color and fun until your little ones outgrow their candy wall decorations at which time you can simply peel your candy wall décor off the walls and replace them with decals that reflect their current interests and color choices.

Return to All Wall Sconces, Wallpapers, Clocks and Decor to see more decorating ideas and creative uses for various styles of stickers, appliques and decals in your DIY projects.

GO FRENCH! with PARISIAN WALL DECALS

For those seeking to recreate the atmosphere of the Champs de Elysees, Parisian wall decals of the Eiffel Tower and other scenes from gay Paris will come in ever so handy. Barring having a starving artist pitch a tent in the bedroom or den of your home in order to get a mural of the Parisian countryside painted on your walls for a hefty price, French wall decals are the best alternative.

I do not mean to suggest that you should go pasting pastoral scenes or images associated with impressionist prints on the walls. What I would suggest in the way of stickers would be something of a more sophisticated and slightly less complex design.

When it comes to Parisian wall decals, Eiffel tower stickers are impossible to beat. They are a decorator's dream as there are stickers as large or as small as your space may require. If a French wall decal that spans the floor to the ceiling is required to decorate your wall according to your taste, no problem. Believe it or not, even color matching will not be an issue. I have recently noted that manufacturers have taken liberty with the traditional black design of this Parisian landmark by turning out French wall decals in pink, purple and even red.

One can only assume that there are fabrics and styles of decor that would clash with the architectural wonder in its original form. Although I must admit that I prefer my French wall decals in a more authentic style and design; basic black cutouts are preferred whenever possible. But I do try to keep an open mind so I never say never.

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DECORATIVE, VINYL WALL DECALS

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BLOSSOM TREE WALL DECALS

Whether you know them as decorative, vinyl wall decals ,
wall stickers or appliques, you have to admit they have really come into their own as fashionable decor for bedrooms, kitchens or even family rooms. Stickers made from cheap, plastic materials from the past have been replaced with much improved, vinyl that is so resilient that the applications for their use have virtually exploded onto the home decorating scene.

I don’t know about you, but a few years back I considered the best place for vinyl stickers was in the bottom of the bathtub to add some traction to an otherwise slippery surface. There were little fish, seashells and other cutouts that one might associate with water. Although what the inhabitants of the ocean and shower baths had in common other than water escapes me even now.

Today, decorative vinyl wall decals for the home have moved beyond the limits of the bathroom door. And while sea creatures are still popular subjects for wall appliques, their latest version might glow in the dark or feature a 3D design. Actually I’ve only seen glow in the dark solar system wall appliqués but who says that a starfish won’t be next?

MODERN APPLICATIONS

The beauty of using removable baby nursery wall decals to decorate your little one's room or that hard to fill spot behind your favorite chair in the den is that you can experiment to your heart’s content. If you aren’t happy with the effect on one area of your home’s decor, peel it off and stick it on the wall in another room. I’m sure that you will agree that sheer mobility may give wall stickers an advantage over stenciling in many situations.


You may be having difficulties in wrapping your head around stickers in living areas of your home. But take it from me that not only are they stylish but the right wall stickers can do wonders for solving decorating problems.

As an example, I recently used a chandelier wall appliqué in a formal dining room that was too small for a large ceiling fixture. The results were dramatic. The large sticker on the walls gave the illusion of a chandelier over the table without actually taking up space which made the room look bigger and might I say, very trendy and stylish.

SHAPES and STYLES

Flowers and tropical fish wall stickers are still out there, only now there are coral reef stickers and many more ocean creatures that will add layer upon layer of color and interest to your designs. Animals are another big hit with decorators. Life size jungle stick ons of zebra, giraffes and big cats do a lot to punch up the activity in painted murals. And teeny boppers can rejoice in the knowledge that many of their favorite pop idols have a selection of wall decals in their promotional product lines.


SAYINGS, WORDS and QUOTES

Here's where wall decals move boldly where no other sticker has dared to go. Word stickers for walls are primarily custom made according to your specifications. And it shouldn't surprise you to know that special orders for wall phrase decals have gone through the roof. Everything from funny sayings to your favorite Bible verses can be printed and made ready to decorate your walls in beautiful script. Use them in place of wallpaper borders at chair rail height or to span the room directly under the crown molding. It's entirely up to you and that's just another aspect that makes them so appealing.

Here’s a little decorating secret; wall stickers are wonderful to camouflage flaws in a room’s wall paint. Nicks and nail holes disappear without having to spring for painting the entire area. And those are just a few of the pros of inexpensive, reusable vinyl wall decals. Stay tuned to find more unique and interesting wall decorating ideas and tips on how to use stickers to make your home more beautiful for very cheap price.

BIRD WALL STENCILS, SCONCES and DECOR

It may not have a big wing span, may not flutter or fly, but bird wall decor can still lift your spirits and brighten a room by bringing the mood of outdoors into our living spaces. And you don't have to be an avid bird watching ornithology buff to appreciate the beauty of these delicate creatures.

We may never be able to enjoy the feeling of freedom that flying without benefit of mechanical assistance but that should not stop you from enjoyment of birds. Here are some bird oriented home decorating ideas that are quick, easy and inexpensive. And best of all, you can do it yourself.




BIRD WALL STENCILS


With some sheets of stiff plastic, a brush and some paint you can not only skip buying rolls of wallpaper border that's expensive and messy to hang on the walls. There is the issue of preparing the surfaces in such a way that the pre-pasted paper will stick properly. Plus, we are all not natural paper hangers. Some of us have to pay a professional to come in and do the work which adds even more to the expense of creating our decorative bird wall. Bird stencils are cheap in comparison and you can pick and choose the best colors that work with your furnishing and accessories already in your home. There are no rules that say that you have to stick to the natural colors of your favorite species. If you need lavender flamingoes, go for it.

BIRD DECALS

Bird wall decals may be the least expensive and most amusing way of all to get a flock of pretty birds on your walls. To display them to full advantage, you may want to take the time to have a tree mural made of wall stickers in place where they can rest as well as a blue sky where they can sail on the imaginary breezes.

BIRD WALL CLOCKS

The classic bird clock would, of course, be the traditional cuckoo clock. However, modern wall clocks with bird designs include everything from singing bird clocks to Tweety Bird cuckoo clocks. So, long as you stay in keeping with the feel of the rest of the room, take your pick.

BIRD WALL SCONCES

Bird wall sconces may be the most attractive of all styles of bird wall decor. Bird candle holder sconces or electrical fixtures with lamp shades edged in feathers are very fashionable in formal areas and the bedroom.