Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Part 1 ~ Do It Yourself Custom Window Film - Beautiful, Easy and Inexpensive!



Several days ago, I covered my kitchen window with Con-Tact Brand clear adhesive liner cut into diamond shapes (see here) .  



While I'm happy with the results, it took a long time for me to complete the project.   With some great suggestions, from my husband and a project idea that I found on Pinterest , I gave the window film another try in both the bathroom and in my daughters' bedroom.  

I'll show you how the bathroom went in this article.  I'll cover the girls' room in my next posting.

I found this project to be incredibly easy and fun!  It cost about $3.00 to complete each room.  My total expense was less than $10.00 ($5.50 on the Con-Tact clear liner and $3.75 on the Elmer's Painters marker).   I still have enough Con-Tact liner to do another window if I make smaller pieces as I did with my kitchen.  There is probably enough paint marker left as well.

If I can do this, ANYONE can do this!  All you need to give your windows a beautiful custom film look is some clear Con-Tact Brand adhesive liner and a paint marker! 



Be sure to watch for Part 2 of this posting.  I went a little crazy with the girls room freehanding!  It was fun but I may have gone overboard just a bit.......


So here is my bathroom ~

 

1) Clean window well, taking care that all
dirt, grease, paint, etc. is removed.
 

2) Cut Con-Tact liner into correct size for area you are
covering.  I used a dressmaker's measuring tape to
measure the areas I wanted to cover.


3) Spray section to be covered liberally with
Windex Glass Cleaner


4) Peel the paper back off the Con-Tact liner and
place into position.  The Windex will allow you to
move the piece around easily until you are satisfied with
it's placement.  This really worked well.  Use a plastic
card to smooth the bubbles and Windex out.
If the film is too large, take a razor blade or an Exacto knife
and carefully cut the excess off.



5) Allow window film to sit for a few minutes
to adhere well.
 

6) Place your stencil (unless you are going to freehand
your designs) loosely with a bit of masking tape.
I stopped using the masking tape after the 2nd stencil
as I began to feel more confident in the process.


7) Using a white paint pen (I used Elmer's Painters) fill in
the desired areas of your stencil.  Be careful to not
put too much paint on as it could bleed through below the
stencil.  Once completed, remove stencil carefully and
allow paint to dry on the stencil so you don't make a mess
in the next position.  It only takes a minute or so for the
paint to dry. 


8) Step back and enjoy your new beautiful
customized window film!


View of the window with the curtains.


18 comments:

  1. Now THAT I really like! Going to definitely have to try that in the bathroom.

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    1. Thanks Becky! I thought you might like this one! It really was easy to do. Sooooo much faster than the other method!

      Have a great day!

      Delete
  2. I liked both your windows, but do like this one better because it would drive me crazy not to have all those diamonds on the kitchen window lined up PERFECTLY, LOL. This looks great.

    I bet that you could also use that stencil and an exacto knife to cut out those sections first and then apply the sheet to the window as one piece (if you were careful not to cut out too much!!)

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    1. Jenyfer, It's funny that you say that because the diamonds are driving my husband crazy, not being perfectly lined up. He suggested I redo it but there is blood, sweat and tears involved in that project! LOL! I think I'll probably leave it just because I put soooo much work into it! Silly, huh?

      I love your idea! I have more windows that I want to cover and I will be giving your idea a try! Sounds easy!

      Thanks for your visit! Have a great day!

      Delete
  3. Love it! Thanks for sharing!

    I've been looking for ideas to make a design on the under side of my glass top kitchen table. I had no idea paint markers even existed.

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    Replies
    1. Tammy,

      That is a great idea that you have for your glass table top! I'm so glad you stopped by! Hope to see you again soon!

      Warm wishes from Kansas.....

      Delete
  4. What a neat idea, and inexpensive to boot! Regarding another comment, I have just learned to live with crooked lines as a result of a DIY project. If I try and go back and fix it, it just ends up a mess!

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    1. Prairie Cat,

      I'm so glad you like the idea! Yeah, I'm just telling myself that the crooked lines add character! Kinda' like the smile lines around my eyes, right?

      Have a wonderful day!

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  5. Really neat how this turned out. :)

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    Replies
    1. Linda,

      Thanks for the encouraging comment! I definitely enjoyed this project more than the last one!

      Have a great afternoon!

      Delete
  6. You are amazing - thanks for putty the sources you used too! sandie

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    Replies
    1. You are too kind Sandie! I really appreciate your visits and encouragement! Hope to see you again soon!

      Have a great day!

      Delete
  7. Aaah! I’m crazy over this design! When you look at it, the window looks like it’s made from expensive tiles. It’s amazing what these stencils are capable of when they’re used with creativity. And oh, this can serve as a great form of bonding time between parents and kids. Thank you so much for sharing this!

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    1. My pleasure Roxie! I'm glad you like this design as much as I do! You're absolutely right, it is a great project to do with your kids :)

      Have a great day, thanks for stopping by!

      Poppy

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  8. Oh, nice! You gave me an idea on what to do with my bedroom window. Perhaps I would also create something like this using star stencils. I can see how my windows looks now -- especially at night. It will surely be awesome! :D

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    Replies
    1. Katie, glad you like the idea! I do hope you'll link us to some photos when you are done with your bedroom window!

      Have a great day!

      Delete
  9. Haha! I am really excited with Katie’s plan. I wonder if she’s already tried it by now. I’m sure you feel happy, Poppy! Many adore this DIY custom window film of yours, and for the fact that they most likely want to do it as well, I guess, they just really loved your work! ;)

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    Replies
    1. Agreed, Lida! There are just so many incredible things you can do to customize this idea to your particular style! I'd LOVE to get links to some photos of personalized customized windows. Thanks for stopping by Lida, and have a wonderful weekend!

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