Washi Tape Wall

I think we're coming into the home stretch for Operation Big Girl room.  So far I've completed her new "Tween Table" and upholstered her box spring (the new bedding she picked out is in that post too). I still have pillows and curtains to make and a bunch of DIY art and accessories to hang on the walls. And I'm on the fence if I'm going to get her a vanity/desk. While I think she'd love it, I'm not sure there's a ton of room for it. I think it might crowd the play space too much. I wouldn't want to take away from her babies' nap space. :) I guess I'll let Goodwill fate determine that. If I happen to see one for an awesome deal, I'll get it.  If not, no biggie. 

Last week we completed a Washi Tape Wall and I think it's pretty cool! I really wanted to add some color and texture but we're renting, so I needed something temporary (and cheap). Here's the before of the same wall. Holy clutter! I never realized it was that bad before we cleaned everything out.

First I painted her shelves. They had already seen a can of green spray paint once in their lives so I didn't sand or prime. Just wiped most of the dust off and went to it. *cough. This is the same Rust-Oleum pink from the side table. Do thin coats and let them dry completely before the next coat to prevent stickiness. Then wait about a week (I think I did 4 or 5 days because I'm impatient) before you put anything on top. I also give it a hearty coat of furniture polish too.

Next, I found some super clearance Washi Tape for .79 cents! Woo hoo.  I didn't end up using even half so I don't know how cheap that makes this project... but it's in the REALLY cheap realm.

Since I almost never measure unless I have to, I just went at it. The stripes are not perfectly even or straight. I just lined them up the best I could. Also, some of the tape just didn't stick very well. I ended up removing that flowered tape. It kept trying to leap off the wall. For the others, I added a tiny dab of clear craft glue to the ends of each strip of tape. After I did that, they stayed put. They've been up almost 2 weeks. 

Side note: I would not recommend this project if you have a toddler. Let's be real. I know my kids would have had that tape off the wall and in their hair in a second at that age. Since my kid is almost the ripe old age of 6, and she loves the stripes, she knows not to peal it off.... so far. I'm not saying it won't happen, but most of it is out of her reach.

Last step was to trim the ends with an Xacto knife.  The "Z"s are from Goodwill! $1 each. You think they will promote sleeping? That was my hope.

I used Command Hooks to organize her necklaces and we got super cheap ($2 a piece) photo boxes to hide the clutter.

So for less than $20 (spray paint, photo boxes, accessories, and tape included) this wall has been Big Girl-i-fied. Now what else can I jazz up with Washi Tape?