Quick Wall Paper Repair And DIY Wall Paper Glue

Welcome to The Cherry On Top.

We've got a great do it yourself edition, today.  Have you ever had a bit of peeling wall paper or a cat who likes to play with a loose end?  Maybe prying little fingers?  I've got all three!  I went on the search for DIY wall paper glue because I wasn't about to buy the boxed stuff for $10 and then have this huge batch for just a few quick repairs.

I'm thrilled to say, it's as easy as 1, 2, 3 and you more than likely have everything  you need right in your own home.  

You'll need:

water

corn starch

Yip, that's it.  Water and corn starch.  How much depends on how much you need.  I simply boiled a cup of water and though I was instructed to add cornstarch to the water and stir, it came out terribly lumpy.  So, I used a bit of cooking savvy to remedy the problem immediately.   Here's a much better way. 

As the water is boiling, get a cup, add a table spoon or two (depending on how much you need) to some ice cold water and shake or stir until dissolved, then add this mix to your boiling water until you get a decent consistency.  Let it cool and that's it! 

I took some out of my hot pot and put it in this smaller one and used this tiny brush for my little patches that needed fixing.

Get it good and in-between there.

Then flatten out your wall paper.

Wipe up any excess glue.  You can just use a damp rag to flatten your paper out, too.

I used the rest of my glue for a much bigger job.  It was one full sheet from wall to ceiling and a bit more.  I'm proud to say, that the job looks great.  Even better than with the store bought stuff.

I was absolutely thrilled to know I could make this non toxic, natural glue with what I  already had at home.  No more store bought stuff for me.

Until next time.  Thanks for peeking in!

Did You Know Fibreglass Wallpaper Was So Awesome?

Welcome to another helpful around the home edition of The Cherry On Top.

We're in the middle of a huge living/dining project.  Re wallpapering, painting, ditching our ugly, dusty curtain boxes and all new furnishing from floor to ceiling.  I've been working little by little with a bit of help from my hubby and I'm no where near finished, but well stuck in!

This is after the ugly curtain boxes came down along with some old wood paneling.  My husband put up the sheet rock and some wood trim.  That small, white sheet is the self adhesive fibreglass wallpaper.  It comes in a large roll and is very easy to cut.

We used fibreglass wallpaper in our previous house and I thought I'd use it on a couple of problem areas in our current house.  I bought the kind that you don't need glue for.  All you have to do is stick it on your walls or ceiling.  After spending an entire day applying the paper, I came out the next morning to find most of it had fallen off!  AH!  So, chalk one huge disadvantage up to that kind of fibreglass wallpaper.  I reapplied it and painted it right away and it stuck.

I got to thinking that I may have done something wrong so I jumped on line to see what there is to learn about this stuff.  I couldn't find much about it, just mostly where to buy it.

The most helpful link I found was on Homerenovations.  I found out a lot about what this paper actually is and it's many advantages to using it.  The reason I wanted to use it was to cover these terribly imperfect walls and so I can paint instead of constantly replacing wall paper.

Here's what I learned about fibreglass wallpaper:

* great for uneven, ugly finishes

* damp proof/moisture resistant
* hides cracks
* very rigid
* impact resistant (great for the kids)
* repaint over it many times
* fire retardant (Awesome, right?!)
* non toxic
* made of natural materials

I had no idea!  My husband who works in a hospital says they use it all over there as we'll because of its many benefits.

 Here's what it looks like after applying the fibreglass wallpaper.  It always white, but in comes in many different varieties.

This the shot after painting.  The paint is still a bit wet here.  I used a warm, brown colour because our living/dining is very bright with natural light and I'm finding the colours I previously chose, to be a bit too, bright.

After reading all about this specialised wallpaper, I'm definitely going to use it in a couple of other places.  We have a young cat who just loves to tear at my wallpaper.  Yikes!  He won't be able to mess with this stuff.  My youngest son also has a damp spot in his room.  I've tried paint and wallpaper and the damp yucks still comes through.  After reading this, I'm certainly going to use fibreglass wallpaper in there.

Good luck with any home renovations you may be in the middle of.

Thanks for checking out The Cherry!