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I had this really great vintage toy box from my childhood nursery, but the stark white seemed too blah. I thought about painting it, but they don't make no-VOC spray paint, so that was kind of out. Then I remembered reading about applying fabric to walls with liquid starch and thought why not try it on the toy box?
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It worked like a dream! Super easy to apply and virtually goof-proof, since it's easy to adjust when wet.
Here's how to do it:
- Get some liquid starch (available at any grocery store)
- Apply with a paintbrush directly to the fabric and then apply wet fabric to hard surface.
- Smooth it out with your hands to remove any wrinkles or air bubbles and adjust position if needed
- Do another layer of starch over it with the brush again.
The best part is that it's easy to remove without damaging either the fabric or the item underneath.
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I loved how it worked out so much I took the leftover scraps and carefully cut out the shapes and applied them to the wall to add some design to my new peach paintjob. I didn't like the positions of a few of the shapes on the wall, so I just peeled them off and reapplied the same way - no mess or damage at all! You can even wash the fabric to reuse for something else later. The ultimate recycling project;) I wish I'd have learned about this trick years ago when I fiddled around with messy stencils and stamps as wall art - they never turned out half as nice either.
Why would anyone want to mess with damaging decals, wallpaper or glue when you can easily do this and save a lot of time & headache in both the applying & removing? If only we'd had this on the walls instead of the nightmarish wallpaper & layer upon layer of glue that was in every room when we moved into our house!
absolutely darling!!!
ReplyDeleteI would like to feature this idea my craft blog because it is awesome. I was wondering if you give a little more explanation about how you applied it and exactly what you used. I'll check back to see. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! It is super easy to do - just some liquid starch (available at any grocery store) applied with a paintbrush directly to the fabric and then applied to hard surface. I smoothed it out with my hands to remove any wrinkles or air bubbles and then did a layer of starch over it with the brush again. I didn't like the positions of a few of the shapes on the wall, so I just peeled them off and reapplied the same way - no mess or damage at all! You can even wash the fabric to reuse for something else later. The ultimate recycling project;)
ReplyDeleteIf you'd like more info or pics, just email me and I can provide more. I'd love to link up with your blog!
Cheryl, is there anyway you could add to the actual post what you wrote in the comments? That way when I post to it, everyone will read it. I check back again.
ReplyDeleteAll set:)
ReplyDeleteI'm back and I am featuring it. Check it out at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com. Grab my "featured" button. This is an awesome idea!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Cheryl! I love your cute blog! I've been researching starch as an adhesive for a decoupage project I want to do in my house. Do you think starch would work with PAPER? Or does it have to be fabric for some reason? All I ever see online is starch as an adhesive for fabric on walls...
ReplyDeleteMany thanks!!
That trunk and the wall turned out so cute! I love this idea :)
ReplyDeleterue
Nice project! Love the design you used on your wall.
ReplyDeleteHi-- I know this post is somewhat old. Just wondering , do you have a before pic available. We bought a vintage vinyl toy box that has some tearing that we'd like to restore with fabric.
ReplyDeleteSorry I don't, but this toybox is all wood and had no damage to it so no repairs were required. As long as you can create a smooth base surface, this technique should work fine for you.
Deletelovely, good idea. And its non toxic.
ReplyDelete