Just because I don’t have wallpaper on a single wall in my house, does not mean I can’t appreciate it. Wallpaper has for years gotten a bad rap and was until recently considered a home decorating faux pas, but those days are over. Not only is it hip with the kids to use wallpaper on walls, some clever folks are bringing it to the craft world. Those clever people would be Derek Fagerstrom and Lauren Smith authors of the new fabu book Wallpaper Projects: More Than 50 Craft and Design Ideas for Your Home, From Accents to Art. Craft enthusiasts might recognize the pair as the owners of the Curiosity Shoppe in San Francisco and Derek as the projects editor at ReadyMade Magazine. Given their impeccable crafty background I knew this new lush looking book from Chronicle was going to be good and I was right.
The projects in the book range from bracelets to headboards and that is probably why I like it so much, that and the fact that nothing appears overly complicated. There are not many projects you couldn’t conquer with some wallpaper and Tacky Glue. Though I’m still not ready to make the full commitment to wallpaper on an actual wall - covering a cabinet, table or door panel seems a lot less daunting. Lucky me I also happen to have a small stash of vintage wallpaper. I have been looking for just the right project and several of the ideas in Wallpaper Projects seem worthy.
Today for I Love to Create I am going to attempt the Covered Canisters. A quick trip to the thrift store supplied me with more than enough cheap tins to get started. One of my rolls of wallpaper is for a little boy’s room depicting various race cars. Perfect my friend Noelle who is expecting a little boy any day now. I needed the perfect container to deliver her congratulations cookies in!
Read on see how to make your own wallpaper covered tin and to win your very own copy of Wallpaper Projects: More Than 50 Craft and Design Ideas for Your Home, From Accents to Art!
SUPPLIES:
Aleene’s Crystal Clear Tacky Spray
Aleene’s Tacky Glue
Cookie Tin
Wallpaper
Ribbon
Measuring Tape
Ruler
Pencil
Scissors
If you are blessed to be without a plethora of ugly canisters that once held Boy Scout Candies and Christmas Cookies a quick trip to the thrift store will get you all stocked up on supplies.
Choose your wallpaper wisely. You can find wallpaper online, at the thrift store, flea markets and most obviously at the wallpaper store. Wallpaper is great for crafting because it is made to be pretty resistant to wear and tear.
Once you have chosen the perfect tin and just the right wall paper it's time to measure twice and cut once as my father-in-law would say. You need enough wallpaper to cover the circumference of your tin. Next trace the lid of your tin onto the wallpaper as well. Cut out both.
Take your wallpaper and tins outside for a little spray glue action. Apply an even layer of Aleene’s Crystal Clear Tacky Spray to the backside of your paper and wrap around your tin, smoothing as you go. Do the same thing with the circle of wallpaper you cut out for the lid.
Next you might notice the edge of the lid is still showing. Also in my case the bottom and top edges of the tin were a little uneven and there was a seam in the back where the wallpaper was not wide enough to overlap or touch. Here is where the ribbon and tacky glue comes in.
Measure enough coordinating ribbon to go around the edge of your lid and any other problem areas you need to hide. Using Aleene's Original Tacky Glue adhere your ribbon into place.
Allow everything to dry completely, fill your tin with homemade cookies, deliver to new family and make everyone happy!
Think you might like to try your hand at some wallpaper crafting? Well we have one copy of Wallpaper Projects to giveaway! All you have to do is leave us a wallpaper related comment. Do any wallpaper crafting? Did your room as a child have rad 70's wallpaper that you lament about? Would you hang wallpaper in your house? Give me the deets and I might give you the book. You have until next Thursday to enter!
Suggested Wallpaper Goodness:
Silhouette Art - Wallpaper dog project from the book.
Fondue - The cutest home decor items you have ever seen made with wallpaper (don't forget Fondue Jr. for the wee ones)
Wallpaper from hell (or heaven): Patterns in Household Design - A Flickr pool all about the wallpaper!
I love old wallpaper. These are great projects! I bought a great roll of vintage wallpaper for ten cents at a flea market. Been trying to come up with some ideas to use it.
ReplyDeleteI did a wooden bangle bracelet, lining it with the cool old wallpaper. If you check "chunky wallpaper" on Etsy, you can see it.
I bought your book recently. It is a lot of fun!
great ideas! My mom had this wild yellow and white daisy themed wallpaper in our kitchen...she loved it so much that when we moved from that home ( with the kitchy avacodo colored appliances) 8 yrs later 4 states away...she used it AGAIN.
ReplyDeleteyep, she did. LOL
I am fairly unfamiliar with wallpaper, but I am excited to explore its use in crafting! Are there any major Wallpaper retail stores nationwide or is Godwill/Salvation Army a good place to go?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great ideas, Jennifer! :D
I'm pretty sure we had wallpaper in our kitchen in the 70s, but I can't picture it. I see avocado and tangerine...
ReplyDeleteHowever, my great grandparents had a floral, flocked wallpaper in their dining room that was fabulous.
The projects look great. I'd be all over them.
My grandparents had this wallpaper in the kitchen that had different state license plates and state signs. I learned how to read from that wallpaper. I think about my grandparents now when I talk to about them to my kids. The wallpaper is one of their favorite topics.
ReplyDeletejen, we have the very wallpaper that you used lining the interior of one of our closets. gerri
ReplyDeleteOkay I recently just fell back in love with wallpaper and would love to give this book a gander!
ReplyDeleteajcmeyer AT go DOT com
I'm a teacher (well was a teacher until I got laid off...) and I acquired lots of wallpaper books for an art project. Before I even saw your post, I was planning on covering our formula canisters with some of the extra wallpaper :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI have been looking at some "paint by numbers" wallpaper of daisies but they have been out of stock. It reminds me of the big coloring posters that my mom used to hang in the hallway for us. My sister and I colored with markers and they were so intricate it took months to finish one. I like the idea of customizing the wallpaper and also of taking time to finish it.
ReplyDeleteI don't have wallpaper in my house, it's a 1920's craftsman and the walls are painted. But, I did grow up with wallpaper in our house. My mom who is an interior designer covered our walls in 70's style beige geometric patterns. I truly believe looking at these patterns throughout my childhood influenced the my artistic style today...thanks Mom!
ReplyDeleteThat Aileen's spray glue looks rad. I need to get me some of that.
ReplyDeleteAnd some new wallpaper books- the ones I had were all huge, dull patterns. Thanks, as always, for the kick ass inspiration!
The house I grew up in had the butt-ugliest green and blue wallpaper in the bathroom. Despite my mom saying she needed to update that room every year, it took almost 20 years for her to strip off that eyesore. My dad saved me a few pieces for nostalgia's sake, and I sandwiched a few pieces between glass and soldered it to make Christmas ornaments for Mom, my sis, and me. The ulgiest wallpaper ever has been remade into some fairly cute family heirlooms! Thanks for the opportunity to win...
ReplyDeleteThe master bathroom in my house growing up was covered in busy floral wallpaper. When my parents decided to spruce up the room and change the look of the walls, I was so sad about the wallpaper that I scooped up a few discarded scraps and kept them in my nightstand.
ReplyDeleteThis was a sign of things to come.
My nana's house had wallpaper, at least in the kitchen. My grandparents trashtalked wallpaper so much, describing it mostly as a "pain in the" tailfeathers. Except they said a non-blog friendly word instead :)
ReplyDeleteMy first project with wallpaper was in junior high. We made little bound books, with wallpaper covers. I think mine had horrible pastel eighties-esque teddy bears that had nothing to do with the story inside.
I've seen projects since that aren't quite so horrible. It's made me reconsider wallpaper as a good source of crafting material. Ha! One more thing to collect! The fiance (oops) HUSBAND will be so excited!
I am loving all these stories!
ReplyDeleteMy parents have wall paper in every room in their house. Their house is a Victorian and over 100 years old so it fits the motiff.
Gr blog, I love the Christmas ornaments idea that is adorable! We had really elaborate linoleum in the kitchen growing up that I remember really fondly, wish I still had some for a Christmas ornament.
Jennie C the words flocked wallpaper just gave me chills, in a good way. That sounds super rad.
Remember the wallpaper in Willy Wonka that Veruca Salt licked? "Snozeberry, who's ever heard of a Snozeberry".
Julie Caves there is some really cool customizable wallpaper out there now. There is some with different picture frames all over it that I love because you could tack up different little pictures inside.
I need to get my hands on this book! I've got the sweetest roll of 70s wallpaper that I couldn't pass up at a thrift store and now I have some great ideas on how to use it. Thank you, Jennifer!
ReplyDeletethe one thing that i remember oh so vividly from my childhood home, is the wallpaper in each room of my grandma's house.
ReplyDeletefor some reason i loved studying it as a kid. i would sit on the bed, follow the lines of the drawing, imagine that there are people living inside..
the wallpaper in each room was so different, and created such a perfect atmosphere
and even now, when my parents sold the house a long time ago, i see the wallpaper whenever i think about it. and it takes me back to childhood.
that book looks awesome !
ReplyDeleteI am old enough to have CHOSEN groovy rad wallpaper for my house in the 1970's -- shiny, reflective, and psychedelic. I put it on the walls and CEILING of a tiny powder room. Like takin' a trip, man...
ReplyDeleteMany years ago, I bought two 1965-70 vintage wallpaper sample books at a yardsale for a few cents. Some of the not-so-bad paper went to crafting projects (lined a tray, collage, etc.). The rest of it is just, well, way ugly (but in a fun, ohmygodwillyoulookatthisgoldlamé Didpeoplereallyputthisstuffup way).
ReplyDeleteThen, friends who are graphic designers were visiting from England a few years ago and drooled over the kitchiness and history contained in the books. I've left them in tact as a fun thing to look at now.
I've also attained modern sample books by going to paint stores and asking for their old ones. They will save them for you and call you when they expire. Each page has enough paper for one or two craft projects.
my grandmother used to order wallpaper sight unseen from catalogues. you would chose which room it was for, and you may have had a colour option, and then they sent you enough to wallpaper the room with, whether you liked the design or not!
ReplyDeletewhen she moved from the farm to town after my grandfather died, the kitchen cabinets were removed and put into the new house. now you can stand in the old kitchen and see 4 or 5 layers of wallpaper, she just kept pasting over the last one. the designs were fabulous, with the exception of the most recent, late 70s style browns! the bottom layer isn't wallpaper, it's the stencils my great grandmother painted when she lived in the house.
i myself have a passionate love for the old flocked wallpaper - i can't resist it. my last apartment had it in the lobby - i think i let it go to my head, i ignored what an idiot the manager was because i was so enthralled with the wallpaper!
i'm convinced that one day i'll find a roll of it in a thrift store. in the meantime, i'm enjoying the fabulous retro prints i do find! they're fabulous for book covers, mixed media artwork, and so much more. i love your covered tins!
I've never hung wallpaper, other than borders in the nursery. I have removed a whole wall of it though, and much prefer considering wallpaper for a craft notion than decor!! Oh the headaches! haha!
ReplyDeleteIn the 60s and 70s my DH and I wallpapered two homes. Almost every room got wallpapered in those days.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about wallpapering the back of a corner hutch. Seeing the photo of the medicine cabinet from the book has convinced it would look quite smashing.
I'm off to shop for wallpaper.
P.S. Nice job on the canister. TFS!
I love wallpaper! I have a friend who lived in a very upscale home/neighborhood in Dallas and she wallpapered every single room and even the ceilings too. Sounds awful but it was awesome!
ReplyDeleteI've got lots of leftover rolls in the attic from rental properties and kids bathrooms through the years. Time to give them a new purpose!
My mom used to wallpaper every room in the house - included wallpaper that looked like bricks in our kitchen! I never liked that one but I do like having wallpaper in my house. When we put wallpaper in our half-bath (silver and gold moon & starts and looks way better than it sounds), my husband wrote our initials in gold pen up close to the ceiling and it is like trying to find "Waldo" they are so well hidden.
ReplyDeleteI have a book of reproduction 20's Arts& Crafts style wallpaper samples. What a great way to use them!!
When my sister and I were growing up we shared a room. My favorite color was blue and hers was yellow. Nether of us would budge and we made my mother crazy. She wanted to wallpaper our bathroom so we went to the wallpaper store with her and she told the salesperson to show us all the designs that had blue and yellow in it. She let us pick the one we liked best. The design we picked was floral - not country floral but kind of like a daisy theme with metallics also. It's been almost 30 years now and to this day, she STILL has that wallpaper in that bathroom!! Even the ceiling is covered! Every time I visit I crack up about it.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter was born in the early 70s and when her room was decorated, I had a pastel patchwork wallpaper placed on the ceiling, white walls, and yellow woodwork. It was daring at the time! She still talks about her room as a child; I'm just not 100% sure she liked it...csl
ReplyDeleteI have 4 gorgeous rolls of vintage cottage chic wallpaper I've been hoarding. Time to get it out and use some of it.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the silhouette! I have about 7 wall paper books that I got from a hardware store that recently went out of business. I wonder if I can get my miniature schnauzer to hold still long enough to draw the silhouette?
ReplyDeleteAs an altered artist, I use wallpaper a great deal as backgrounds in my altered art.
ReplyDeleteWhen I remodeled my kitchen, I found old wallpaper, probably from the 50s, in the back of my cabinets. I removed it carefully and now use it in my art. Next, I used anaglyptus (textured) wallpaper as a stamp and copper paint to decorate the ceiling in my kitchen. It looks like an old tin ceiling, except it is copper which matches my countertop and pots.
I have to confess, I've never used wallpaper on walls because I have too much fun using it in art.
Love this tin project! I'm definitely going to give it a go! In the 70's, my grandparents had an upscale apartment, with plush red carpets, and white leather sofa's.....and shiny gold wallpaper with a raised red velvet design on it. I LOVED that wallpaper! (so, so cheezy!). *smiles* ~Jen
ReplyDeleteIn the 80's I helped a cousin hang Art Deco wallpaper in her bathroom. I did most of the work since she couldn't climb the ladder and after that I couldn't raise my arms above my shoulders for 3 days! And every time I went back in the bathroom I was always amazed that it was still hanging.
ReplyDeleteToday I use wallpaper samples for several things: book pages, "paper" fabric, rolled beads, backgrounds for collages...
I'd love this book to spark my "wallpaper" creativity!
Katina
kjkoukla(at)hotmail(dot)com
when i was about 5, we lived in a house where my mom and dad put up a wall paper mural of busch gardens. since my chair faced it, i always had a good view during meals. later, when i bought my first house, it had wallpaper that seemed to be expensive, but it was mirrored stripes. it wasn't put up very well either, so i was able to rip it off the walls easily.
ReplyDeleteI have a ridiculous number of tins that I want to use for gift giving. Less paper that way and the recipient will have a handy cool looking container as well as the awesome gift I gave them! Love this!
ReplyDeleteI Love wall paper it really adds a touch of warmth to a home. I will also be making these with my old tins, great idea.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nancy
www.coeurdalenegifts.com
coeurdalenegifts.blogspot.com
I've only ever had wall paper once, in my previous house. It came with some gorgeous vintage papers on many walls, so we put some up in the kitchen as we remodeled. I used some of the leftover bits to wrap paper (not tin) canisters - from e.g. oatmeal, cornmeal, etc. They looked nice on the counters!
ReplyDeleteOh my, about 6 months ago I threw away, I don't know how many old wallpaper books that several stores had given me. I had worn them out and pulled most of the good stuff out to save for later. Loved using them in colleagues that I would make with my grandchildren or for anything we could think of. I have used some for my scrapbooking.
ReplyDeleteIn '72 Mom did a big re-do of our whole house! I wanted lavender and purples in my bedroom but she decided that I like red. Red shag carpet, a red and white bedspread, red, white and blue pillows, white walls and one wall with big red vines and flowers wallpaper.
ReplyDeleteI hated it.
The worst part was taking off my glasses at night and the wallpaper flowers looked like monster heads!!!
BUT I do have the remnants of a roll of 1959 (a very good year) Waverly wallpaper that was the original in our kitchen. They built and moved in to the house 50 years ago this August, a mere one month before I was born.
The Waverly paper had served as a border in two of my kitchens and I've used it as mats on many pictures hanging in the kitchen.
Guess what?
It's red.
What great ideas and projects! Of course, wall paper is the one thing I don't have in my stash...I'd better start hunting!
ReplyDeleteWhen we finally opened the stuck drawer in the 1937 house we purchased we found a set of vintage wallpaper samples. While hubby was unimpressed, I was delighted with this crazy find. I especially love the "inspiration" photos of these samples in rooms. What to do with all these samples??
ReplyDeleteSo cool!! I love upcycled paper projects. A true inspiration!
ReplyDelete