New Looks for a Kid's Room
Clowns and balloons in bright primary colors make a happy theme for a toddler's room. Using fat, water soluble markers (such as Faber-Castell's Posca Markers) it's easy to draw a clown from triangles and circles that can be placed on a variety of surfaces. Markers can also be used with stencil designs. Place a stencil cutout on your chosen surface and fill in the area with the colored marker. You won't have the messiness of paint and your child can help with the project.
How To Do It
1. Draw your own design, or trace a design from a coloring book. If you use grid paper to draw your design, you can make it any size by using larger or smaller grid paper to the size designed. A cookie cutter can also be used to make an outline of a design.
2. If you use a coloring book design, after tracing it with a pencil, place the tracing face down on the chosen surface and rub the pencil over the back of the drawn lines on the paper to transfer the design.
4. Fill in all areas in the colors of your choice. Let dry.
5. It's easy to draw balloons with squiggly strings coming together and tied in a bow.
Wall Border
Create a border of tumbling clowns all around the room. Place a strip of masking tape on the wall to create a line above which you'll place the designs. Turn the clown design this way and that to create a row of clowns in different positions.
On The Furniture
Decorate the end panel of a crib or the front of dresser drawers with a row of clowns in various positions. My favorite is a trio of clowns holding balloons on the front of a toy chest.
Temporary Decorations
Water soluble markers also work on glass and can be washed off. If you want a temporary window design, draw coloring book shapes on a window pane and when you tire of the design, wash it off.
Lamp Shade
Buy a plain, inexpensive lamp for a child's room, then use the small clowns to decorate the lamp shade.
Window Shade
Use the clown design to create a border along the bottom edge of a window shade. Add a large colorful tassel for pulling the shade up and down.
Trash Can Transformation
You can transform any steel trash can into a whimsical storage bin for toys or a laundry container. All you'll need is self-adhesive paper, spray paint, and a pair of scissors. It's as easy as l - 2 - 3!
Decorate With Dinosaurs
Contact makes self- adhesive border papers that come in delightful designs. There's a narrow border of colorful trains and another 6 inch wide border sporting red, yellow and green dinosaurs. Cut a piece of red Contact paper to wrap around the trash can. Next, wrap a border of trains around the top and bottom rim , right over the red paper. Cut a length of the 6-inch dinosaur border to go around the middle of the trash can. Spray paint the lid with the color of your choice.
Make Your Own Designs
If you can't find the train and dinosaur designs, create your own by cutting out dinosaurs, trains, balls, balloons, etc. from solid color paper. It's easy and when you want to change the design, simply peel away the adhesive paper and make another design or spray paint. The spray paint covers the galvanized steel beautifully.
Laundry Container
Use solid color self-adhesive paper to cut out flower decals to decorate the trash can. Begin by spray painting the entire trash can white. On the back of yellow paper draw a bunch of daisies with fat petals (no stems). Cut out each one. Use a quarter to trace green circles for the center of each flower. Cut them out and position on each of the flowers. Arrange the flowers at random all over the trash can and on the lid.
Copyright Leslie Linsley, author
Reprinted by permission HouseNet, Inc.