Diy Decorating Ideas: Making A Star Wall Paper Border

Tips and ideas on how to make a decorative star wallpaper border for kids' rooms including fabric, vinyl and paper instructions. Some color and pattern varities are also suggested.

Wallpaper borders come in all types of themes and colors, but may not be available in the colors which coincide with your room decor. Also, borders come in standard sizes which might or might not be the width that you would like. An easy way to make your own border is to roll a stripe of paint at the top of your wall, around the room, then take star shapes, cut from wallpaper, shelf paper or foils, and stick them to nearly dry paint. Or, you can wait until the paint dries completely and water down white glue for affixing the star pattern pieces. If you wish, you can forego the back ground color, opting to just go with the wallpaper stars, side by side, around the room. One design you can do is a large star, then a group of small stars, then another large star, and so on. You can connect the stars using strands of twine or yarn for a different appearance. Another idea is to use banner paper to print out a star pattern to use for decorative wall border. Most paper and foils can be affixed to walls using a mixture of one part white glue to two parts of water. Spread the mixture on the wall and on the back of the pattern piece and after attaching to the wall; coat the top of the star too. Although borders are available printed in various star patterns, making your own allows you to choose just the right colors and shapes for the look you want, at the same time nurturing your creative side. For an appearance of border without making the entire thing, cut ½" strips of colored paper or foil, line around the top of the room, then go down the desired width, then attach another ½" strip. Now fill the area with star shapes cut from wallpaper or foil. You can also do this after painting a stripe around the top of the room.

You can make a wallpaper border by combining store purchased paper and your own design. Since wallpaper borders come in solid colors as well as prints, a cute idea for a girl's room is to put up a pink, purple or yellow border, then affix stars in various shapes, sizes and colors to the border. You can also use a hole punch to cut many tiny small star shapes to scatter here and there on the border. You can give depth to the look of the border by cutting one size of stars, then a smaller shape then smaller, until you have several sizes, placing one atop another for a colorful pattern. And, you don't have to use a solid color for the background. You can pick a wallpaper border which has a lined pattern, fades from one shade to the next, or is printed with rainbows, and attach your stars. If there is an existing wallpaper border which you'd like to leave, add hundreds of the small star shapes all over the border. This pattern will be unsuitable for most previous patterns, and looks best on a plain border.

A new, innovative idea for wallpaper border is a thin vinyl, available at most sewing departments by the yard. These come in colors or simply clear. If it's the very thin type and your walls are painted with glossy paint, you should be able to just wet and stick the vinyl to the wall. For a more permanent border, use wallpaper glue or the white glue and water mixture to attach the vinyl to the wall, but do not spread the glue on the front of the vinyl. After attaching the border, stars can be wet and stuck onto the border, or glued. If you're using the clear vinyl, you can affix your stars to the wall and then affix the clear border over the star pattern with glue. When cutting your long pieces of border, measure the wall, then add one inch before cutting. This allows you a half inch on each end for overlapping.

You can also use fabric to make beautiful wallpaper borders. Starch and water is usually sufficient for affixing most lightweight fabrics, but the fabric should not be of a type that will unravel. The fabric should not be hemmed, but simply cut very exactly and dipped into the starch solution. After removing fabric from the liquid, squeeze excess liquid from the strip by pressing the water out between fingers and thumb. Attach to wall quickly, using hands or wallpaper roller to smooth the fabric onto the wall, then use a washcloth to absorb any dripping liquid. The fabric can already have a star pattern printed on it, or you can cut out individual stars and dip them into the starch mixture, attaching them to the fabric border. This could be the best method yet, since the border can be removed, laundered, re-dipped and attached again.

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