OT: Help Decorating Playroom

[KerriMc]

Hello

We are finishing our basement (FINALLY!!) and will have a big playroom for the girls. I have decided that since they are obsessed with all things pink and princesses, I should paint this room pink. I am going to also get a Disney Princess border to put up and probably some stick ons and posters ... but I did have a thought that it would be neat to actually paint some pictures of the princesses on the walls. I thought I could bring home an overhead projector from work and trace it on the wall and then paint that picture. Has anyone ever done this? Did it turn out? What kind of paint will I use if we paint with a regular latex (kid durable) paint? Will this be too complicated and not worth the effort?????

If anyone has any tips or helpful hints (or COMPLETE directions ) I'd really appreciate it!!! My oldest dd heard my grand plan and just thinks this is the greatest idea! I hate to let her down!

Thanks so much ...
Kerri

 

[Lizzydoll73]

I've done this in my DD's room, DS's room and the playroom. I borrowed an overhead projector from a friend. I then found pics and traced them onto a transparancy. I found that pics like those in a coloring book worked best for me because the lines were easy to follow. To color them in I used the acrylic paint you find at the craft store for like $.50 a bottle. That way I could get many colors for not so much money. I did use latex paint for the big areas like Eeyore and the football helmet because I would have to buy so much of it anyway. Here are some pics. Sorry they are a little fuzzy.

DD's room

playroom

Ds's room

 

[KristiKelly]

I did this in DS son when we did his nursery - almost 9 years ago . Anyway, we did 101 Dalmatians and it was very easy to do and so, so cute. I would ask at a paint store what type of paint to use because it can become a mess if you use the wrong paint and then try to paint over it later, trust me - I ended up having to sand the walls because the old paint started bubbling up on me. .

 

[Shannon G]

Lizzydoll73, those are beautiful! Want to take a trip to CT & decorate my girls' playroom for them? Seriously, even if I were to trace a picture & then paint, I don't think mine would come out looking like that!

 

[adisneymama]

We did this for DD's nursery. We used the overhead projector and used the kid safe paints from Michaels. One thing we did that you may want to try is that we looked on the internet and thru clipart for pictures. Once we found them, we bought transparancy paper that we could put in our printer and printed them out rather than trace them. It does take a lot of time but is so worth it when its done. G/L!

 

[virginiamama]

How about painting a castle on one wall? I find that sometimes if I try to exactly copy something that is familiar (a particular princess for example) versus something like a random castle, it's easier to see a mistake or for the final product to look not quite right. You could draw an outline of the shape of a castle (now that I'm thinking about it, there is a castle punch for scrapbooking that is the Cinderella castle), then fill in with gray paint, then go back with black paint and outline bricks all over. A backdrop of solid sky blue with clouds would look nice behind the castle. You could paint a pink flag at the top just to tie the pink in. I did clouds on my DS walls with a wooly tool and it turned out great and was super-easy. That way your little princess would have her very own castle. Oh- one hint on the princesses, if you trace and then paint them, do the black lining of the details last for a nice finished look. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[KerriMc]

Wow ... these are some great tips
Lizzydoll - those pictures are awesome!! The acrylic paint didn't go "funny" or flake off? Did you cover it with anything after painting? (I LOVE your Eeyore ... she is MY favourite )!! How long did it take you to do them?

Virginiamama ... thanks for that castle idea! I never thought of that ... but I am so afraid of it being very ambitious for me I will run it by dh and see what he thinks. Then I must get the guts to attempt it!!


Adisneymama ... what is the kid safe paint? Is it an acrylic paint or a latex? Do they come in small bottles? I don't know if Michaels in Canada has them or not!

Thanks everyone!!! Now they just have to get the drywall done and then we'll paint!! I am so excited to have a playroom where the toys can all go!!! We are outgrowing the main floor and need the space!!!!

Thanks again ...
Kerri

 

[beth_cam]

I wanted to do that just to put a tree on my dd's wall. She so bad wanted a tree. I finally freehanded a totaly ugly tree on the wall and she is so happy. I got small tubs of paint in the craft section of walmart for like 4 dollars. I'd think they were maybe a pint or 2 each. Anyway I love stick ons. But I couldnt find one of a tree (not like she wanted). Have you seen this site?

http://www.berlinwallpaper.com/PrissPrints/DisneyPrincess.htm

They have everything from small stickons to large stick ons (jumbo cinderella 31 inches) to total wal murals (300 dollars).

 

[Lizzydoll73]

Wow ... these are some great tips
Lizzydoll - those pictures are awesome!! The acrylic paint didn't go "funny" or flake off? Did you cover it with anything after painting? (I LOVE your Eeyore ... she is MY favourite )!! How long did it take you to do them?

Thanks! The acrylics are fine, they have been up there for 3 1/2 years now. I did not protect them with anything but I suppose you could put a clear coat over it if you wanted to. It did take quite a while to do them because I could only work on them a little at a time. DD was 2 and I was pregnant with DS so I couldn't spend all day doing it. I would say it would take a few hours to get one figure done. Also, another tip if you decide to do it, use a black paint PEN to do the outlines. I did it using a paint brush and I was kicking myself afterwards thinking it would have been so much easier using a paint pen. Good luck and post your pics when your done. We would love to see it!

 

[digskat]

we used chalkboard paint and did a big mickey head chalkboard for the kids

 

[In Luv with Disney]

These are such GREAT ideas!!! And the pics are INCREDIBLE!!!!!

If I wanted to try something like this (not saying I will attempt it!), but where would I get a projector to rent??

 

[beth_cam]

I recently saw a projector at Micheals (I think or it might have been another simialr store) for purchase for like 100 I think.

 

[KerriMc]

Ok ... I think I will try acrylics then! If it is awful, we will just repaint ( actually dh will repaint )!!!

Lizzydoll ... you used the black paint pen to outline after you painted right? I have never seen these, but I am going to start searching!! I really want to do this for the girls. I figure this may be the only time I get a chance to do it!

Kim ... I am getting my overhead projector from the school where I teach at. Do you know anyone at a school that could get one for you to use? That would be easiest. Sometimes libraries will loan out audio/video stuff, so you could see if they have those too. Good luck!

Kerri

 

[adisneymama]

They are acrylics and come in small bottles to medium size bottles. You should be able to find them at craft stores or even Walmart. They never flaked or anything for us. G/L!

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

For my boys playroom, I got two big chalkboards at Ben Franklin (craft store). They came with a light wood frame, but I took that off so I was just left with the chalkboard. I mounted both boards next to each other on the wall, then put a boarder of 2 inch molding (that I painted white) around the whole thing.........looks really cute and they use it every day!

I also got some cute alphabet cards (8x10) and put them up on the wall also. First, I put up some molding all around the room where I wanted the bottom of the card to be, then measured and put up molding where the top of the card would be, popped the cards in the middle and they are up! I didn't need to glue or tape them up, the molding holds them in place.

Don't forget storage. I got several of those 3 drawer plastic drawers (Walmart) and wrote in puffy paint what is inside each drawer......coloring books and crayons, people, puzzles.........etc.

Have fun!! I loved doing my boys playroom!!

 

[KristiKelly]

These are such GREAT ideas!!! And the pics are INCREDIBLE!!!!!

If I wanted to try something like this (not saying I will attempt it!), but where would I get a projector to rent??

Try your local library. We checked one out from there for free.

 

[Punkin's Mom]

I don't have anything to add for the mural topic, but I thought I'd mention that I just painted my daughter's room pink and it turned out beautifully. It's Behr (from Home Depot) "Rasberry Lemonade". It's a medium tone and seems to match with the princess theme really well. Good luck with your project!