Adding style to an area as large as your walls isn’t always as easy as it sounds! There are so many options in painting, papering, faux finishes and paint treatments it can be hard to know what might be a good choice for your family. Right now a really hot technique is adding quotes, words or sayings to your walls that might be meaningful for those who live there, and it is very easy and inexpensive to do – no need to pay for expensive vinyl lettering. DIY’ing a wall quote also allows you to customize your wall words.
Adding meaningful words to your walls is inspirational, unique, and easy! You can do it yourself with paint or paint pens (which I am about to show you!) or you can order your words from online sources such as WallWords, though that is the more expensive option. (Tip: Online quote sources are a great place to get ideas for quotes and sayings as well.) Other options? Stencils, (still expensive) stick on vinyl scrapbooking or office supply letters, or hand cutting your own.
Place your quotes or sayings over a doorway or mantel, along a wallborder, or use single words centered on doors or small, awkward wall sections. As soon as you have chosen your quotes or sayings, you are ready to get started!
Open a word processing program on your computer such as Word, and type in your saying. Experiment with starting each word with a capital, or all words lower case to see which looks best for your room. Now change and experiment with the fonts on your computer. If you highlight the entire passage first, every time you choose a new font, you will be able to preview how it looks. Keep in mind elaborate script looks better in a more formal or romantic setting. Choose a style that fits you and your room. Make sure you choose the font size to represent the size you would like on your walls. When you have chosen your font and size, print out the passage. Tape the quote in place onto the wall. Using carbon paper from the office supply store, slip a sheet underneath your printed quote, then trace the quote as it will be painted onto the wall. Want DIY Networks step by step? Go to their page on how to decorate with words.
You can also use paint pens to draw the quotes freehand onto the wall, but thick tipped permanent markers work as well, they come in many colors. Using scotch tape, tape the quote to the wall just above the area you will be drawing. Now use the computer printout as a guide, copy the words onto the wall with the paint pen. A strip of masking tape placed on the wall below the words you are drawing will help keep you in a straight line. If you are not comfortable copying the letters, or if you have chosen a difficult font, place a piece of carbon behind the printout, and trace over the letters with a pen or pencil, leaving a pattern directly over the wall instead. Now go over the tracing with your paint pen. Here is a great letter transfer tutorial by My Homepsun Threads!
Want something a little different then paint? Try this thumbtack wall art by Jessica Hische. Same idea as above, just use tacks in the color of your choice to create the words.
From Juditu, this wall would be an inspirational project for a month! But SOOO worth it! Can you imagine what guests at your home would think of this cool project? I may slate this for my end of the hallway project… If you can plan it out on paper ahead of time, and do it with paint pens, you could do one quote at a time every time you had ten minutes. You and your S.O. could even take turns!
Another inspiration from Pinterest!
This technique brings daily joy and inspiration to those who frequent your home, and is a meaningful way to express yourself in just an afternoon! Feel free to borrow a couple of my favorite quotes or words below, or try these sites for inspiration…
Or borrow some of my favorites…
- “I Can Do All Things…” –Philippians 4:13
- “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail.” –Emerson
- Live, Love, Laugh
- Believe
- Dream
Find your own, and give your loved ones a gift of inspiration every time they walk in a room!
Image Credits: Jessica Hische, Amazon, DIY Network, My Homespun Threads, Juditu, Pinterest
Hi…I would really like to know the words that are hidden behind the two people that are crouching down over the right bottom of their wall of words. I love the sentiments as far as I can read them Other than “Life is short” i’m lost after “so go out and start…” Can someone please email me the rest of the words there? weaver2236@gmail.com Thanks.
I found it on
http://weddingphotography.com.ph/7427/guide-typefaces-life-quotes-creative-typography/
(www.weddingphotography.com).
Thank you for the feature!
Thx for the great project!
I didn’t know that carbon paper could have such a good use. I loved reading these wall quotes and have I feel really inspired today because of it. This is definitely something that I will have to try in my own home. Hopefully it turns out as well as yours did.
I wanted to do something like this on a wall in my art room but 1) didn’t want to paint, and 2) wanted to take it with me when I moved.
So I found the font I liked, had a phrase in mind that a mentor said to me over and over (embrace your magnificence) and printed it out just like the first steps you have here. Where I altered things was that I bought white shelf paper (mac tack)taped the saying on and cut it out. One thing to remember is that you need the sticky side down and often there is a grid on the reverse side of the paper, so if you use that side remember to flip your letters or you’ll end up with 3 backwards ‘e’s like I did. It turned out beautifully and when I sold my house a few months ago I peeled it off the wall and took it with me.
Decorating your walls with vinyl lettering defiantly adds a extra touch to any room. You can find out more about a person based on what they put hang up or how they decorate. Make sure to find a quote that matches your or your family.