We decided to turn our guest room into a playroom, and one thing I really wanted to do with the room was to put the alphabet above the chair railing as a border. I looked all over for vinyl clings, but they were either too expensive, too small, or I just didn't like them for some reason. Then I saw this website and this website and got the brilliant idea to make my own alphabet...out of fabric! Who knew you could put fabric on the wall with corn starch? I did test this out with two letters and let them dry overnight, and then was able to peel them off with no problem at all the next day. You could never tell they were there! Oh, and the best part of this project is that I didn't spend a single penny, thanks to my great scrap supply.
Materials needed:
- Stencils of whatever shapes you want to make - I just printed the alphabet in size 600 Ariel font on my computer and then cut out all the letters. Tedious, yes, but also free and very easy.
- A fabric pen that disappears when it gets wet. I made the mistake of tracing my first few letters with an ink pen, and when I hung them up there was a huge ugly black outline. Thankfully I tested a couple before doing them all that way!
- Fabric scissors
- Iron
- Starch (optional)
- Corn starch
Step 1
As I mentioned, this was to cut out all of the letters that I printed out. Of course if you already have stencils that you want to use, that saves you some time.
Step 2
Pick out your fabrics. I lined the alphabet stencils up on the floor (Eleanor called it a "choo choo train"), got out my fabric, and then figured out which fabric I wanted for which letter and lined the fabric up too. Then I cut out a small scrap big enough for that letter and put all of the remaining fabric away.
Step 3
Iron each piece of fabric using starch. I'm not sure if that's totally necessary, but I did it to try to avoid fraying as much as possible.
Step 4
Trace and cut out each letter of the alphabet. Make sure you use a fabric pen that will disappear when it gets wet! Also, be sure to trace the reverse of each letter. This didn't take quite as long as I thought it would - it helps if you have something good to watch or listen to.
Step 5
Hang your letters up where you want them to go. I'm really glad I did this because it helped a lot with the spacing. I used masking tape, but that did pull some threads loose when I pulled it off. Double sided tape might be better.
Step 6
Make your corn starch mixture! I used the recipe from one of those sites I mentioned earlier, but I only made 1/4 as much so I didn't have a ton left over.
1 Tb corn starch
2 Tb cold water
Mix together, then add 1 C boiling water and mix
Step 7
Paint the letters with the corn starch mixture and put them on the wall! I put the corn starch in a cup and just used an old paint brush. I got the letters completely wet on the back and then spread them out on the wall. It was really easy! Also, if you mess up, you can just peel them off and try again.
Ta-da!
close up
Update: Over 4 months have passed and the letters still look just as good as the day I put them up. Also, my daughter loves them!
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