The Writing's on the Wall - Literally

The writing’s on the wall and I’ll tell you how to do it…even on textured walls!

Hello! As you may or may not know, we are in the middle of renovating our den. We are also in the middle of the kitchen renovation, but we had to take a break from that because…whoa, kitchens are expensive. Anywho, the den had to be done on the cheap and the cheapest way to get wall art is to make it yourself. I was tired of the kids taping notes to their doors, but I still wanted it to be a fun space with a little attitude. So, we compromised and the writing’s on the wall…literally. I’ll walk you through how I did this fun little project.

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Materials and Tools Needed

Vinyl (get cheap vinyl or large scraps)

Transfer Taper (or clear contact paper – it’s WAY cheaper and works!)

Silhouette Machine

Vinyl Cutting Mat

Level

Paint of your choice

Paintbrush

Polyurethane

Tutorial

First things first…make your design. I started by measuring the space I wanted the words to go on. There were 3 doors and one wall. The doors were easy, but on the wall I had to decide how big of a space I wanted to cover. Once I had my measurements, I drew a rectangle with those deminsions in my Silhouette studio.

The, I just played around until I found a design I liked. I’ve listed the fonts I used below. Some of the fonts are stretched a little vertically or horizontally.

Now, these won’t fit on a cutting mat, so you have to print them out a letter or smaller group of letters at a time. Move the letters or groups to the cutting mat, one by one.

After you print a letter, press “undo” until it’s back in the correct spot. This will help you line everything up later. Then move on to the next letter.

After you get anything printed out, it’s time to start weeding. You are basically creating your own stencils. Start by removing the inside part of the letters, the part you want painted. The, place a piece of transfer tape (or clear contact paper – it’s WAY cheaper) over your design and remove everything from your mat. Take your designs to your space.

Sand and wipe down the space you are using. This will help the paint stick and not peel off over time. Use a tape measure and level to set everything up. Use your original design in Silhouette studio to decide where everything should go. Use the level to draw straight lines, both horizontally and vertically, to line everything up. Peel the backing off of the vinyl and place it on the wall.

I find it good to start with the bigger pieces and work from there. They are easier to work around once you get them in the correct spot. When you get a piece on, remove the transfer tape slowly, making sure to not pull up any edges, corners or small pieces. I use the little flat tool that came with my Silhouette, but an old credit card would work too. Make sure you don’t have any overlapping places.

Once everything is lined up, start painting. I use a very thin layer for the first coat. I have also done it where I paint a coat on with the color of the door or wall. This allows and seep throughs and seals the vinyl. This is especially helpful on textured walls. Let the first coat dry completly and then add the second coat. You can go a little thicker here, but don’t let it glob up. It will seep through and make your edges mucky.

Another tip for textured walls is to pick a “grunge” font if you can pull it off. It’s very hard to get a straight line on texture. Even if the vinyl is perfect and doesn’t bleed, which is unlikely on texture, the lines look off and wiggly on the texture.

I let the second coat dry as well. Once I start pulling the vinyl off, it can get messy if the paint is still wet.

Now go through and touch up the pencil marks and any unwanted bleed throughs with a small brush.

Lastly, because I wanted an extra layer of protection for a bit, I put on a coat of polyurethane.

Charlie helped me with his door. He thinks it’s hilarious and he helped me design it. We surprised Bonnie with her door. We think of her whenever we here this song, even though we have no idea what it means.