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Arts and Entertainment > Easy Craft for Kids' Room- A Paint-By-Number Wall Mural
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Article rating : 0.00, 0 votes. Author : Patti Newton
Looking for an easy and fun craft project to do with your kids, something you can do as a weekend project? How about sprucing up the kid's room with an easy wall mural?
A paint-by-number wall mural makes it easy to create the perfect decor for your kid's room. As simple as 1, 2, 3-- just tape, trace, and paint.
Paint-by-number wall murals are perfect for even the "artistically challenged". Skip the expensive wallpaper and muralist, and transform your kid's room decor with a full-sized wall mural for much less. One fantastic advantage of these murals is that you can customize it to match your existing decor. No more struggling to find decor that matches the color scheme you currently have.
Plus, paint-by-number murals are available in a large variety of themes- choose from Jungle Animals, Beach Scenes, Cowboys, Dinosaurs, Princesses and Castles, Sports, Woodland Critters, Sports Cars-just about anything you can imagine.
The mural kits come with the full-sized paper pattern, transfer paper,
easy-to-understand directions and a helpful color guide. Paints are not included, but this way you can either use the color suggestions provided or choose your own to make it match perfectly with your current bedding, furniture and room décor.
OTHER MATERIALS YOU'LL NEED:
o 2-ounce bottles of acrylic paints
o A variety of brushes
o Painters tape
o A ball point pen (to trace the pattern)
o A plastic lid (to use as a palette to mix the paints)
o Damp cloth
o Canvas drop cloth or old sheet
TIME NEEDED: Several hours, or make it a weekend project (depending on the size of mural)
PREPARATION:
It's best to start with a clean dry wall. If you're painting over semi-gloss or gloss paint, sand the area lightly where you want to put the mural. Make sure to wipe the area with a damp cloth after sanding.
Lay a canvas drop cloth on the floor and up against the molding below the mural. You could even tape it to the top of the molding to be extra careful.
Let's Get Started!
1. TAPE the transfer paper to the back of the pattern paper at the top only at first. Make sure the carbon side of the transfer paper (the darker side) is facing the wall. Then tape the pattern & transfer paper to the wall at the top only until you've got all the panels lined up. Do the same for the remaining panels if your mural consists of multiple panels. Once all the panels are lined up and level, tape only the top of the mural securely to the wall using painter's tape.
You'll see why to tape only the top of the mural in the next step.
2. TRACE the design onto the wall. (Do NOT trace the numbers - they might show through the paint.) Starting with the first panel, check to see if you have missed any of the tracing lines. The best way to do this is to lift the bottom of the mural up and look to see if you missed anything. Then put the panel back down, lift it up again, put it back down again, lift it up, put it back down all while looking at the wall. This flipbook fashion will make it easier to see the areas you might have missed. Once you're sure you've traced the entire design onto the wall, remove the pattern & transfer paper from wall.
3. PAINT the areas on the wall with the corresponding colors from the color guide. Take your time.
Following are some simple and useful painting tips that'll give you the best results.
o Start with largest areas first working from lighter colors to darker colors. This way, if you need to correct a line, it is easier to cover light colors with a darker color.
o Using a smaller brush, paint the outlines of the area first. Do this by getting a decent amount of paint on the brush and place the brush about ¼ of an inch inside the outline. Then as you begin to move your brush, "push" it up to and along the inside of the line allowing the paint to build up slightly at the line. This will allow you to only have to paint the line once. Sometimes you will also end up with excess paint build-up inside the area at the same time, so make sure to smooth or feather that out.
o Transparent paints - Some colors have a tendency to be a bit transparent. SO… you will want to add 2-3 drops of white or cream-colored paint to about a quarter-sized blob of paint. You will want to add just enough to make the paint opaque without actually changing the color very much.
o For best results use two coats of paint. It will cover the wall better and have less of a tendency to leave streaks and transparent areas.
Once you've completed the wall mural, you'll be amazed at how it has transformed your
kid's room. Stand back and look at your masterpiece. You, your family, and your friends will think you've hired a Disney artist.
Pick your favorite theme from these examples of easy paint-by-number wall murals.
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