Wall Decal Tutorial
Cactus Wall Decal DIY
When I saw the Lucca Cactus Wall Decals from Project Nursery, I knew I had to have them! I had already decided on the mega trending cactus and llama theme for our nursery and these are just so pretty. I had already purchased some plush llamas and a few things I loved that were a bit more whimsical so I wanted to find another set of decals to keep the space a little more playful. I started searching Etsy for something different. The set from Kids Coloray really caught my attention. Theyŕe simple yet fun, and I loved all the variation of greens in them. I was worried about the greens from each set not matching, but decided just to go for it!
Side note: There are SO many good wall decals on Etsy. Itś hard to stay focused! There are some that could go more sophisticated, some really simple, some that would work well for boys etc. I got lost in a rabbit hole for awhile rethinking my whole design. Anyone else do that?!?
Once I got both sets I laid them out and was so happy with how they worked together! There were a few darker green cacti in the set from Etsy that didn´t mix well, but I thought there were enough decals to just not use the ones I didn’t like. I was nervous getting started as I have never used decals before. They seemed like a great alternative to wallpapering though. I remember my dad wallpapering rooms for mom when I was little and a lot of four letter words being said. I know wallpapers have come a long way and actually want to use them in some upcoming projects, but thought I´d start with decals. Good to get your feet wet right?
You do need very clean walls before you get started. I had just painted a few days before so didn´t scrub them down, but make sure you start with a clean surface. We do have pretty heavily textured walls so I did some research on both of these products before ordering them and found they were both supposed to be compatible with texture. I placed my crib where I wanted it on the wall and hung a large mirror before starting also in case I ended up short on decals. The mirror I used in the room is 36¨ so it would have covered an entire large decal or a few of the smaller ones.
I started with a ¨rough draft” laying the decals out on the floor first. Once I had a pretty good idea of how far out I wanted to space the larger decals to cover my wall space (12 feet), and a general design I got started taping them on the wall. This is kind of time consuming but you want to get it right before you adhere them to the wall. I think I took about 700 trips up and down the ladder! It is extremely helpful to cut the decals out as close to the actual size they are so you can get the spacing right. They arrived in large sheets with multiple decals on a sheet. I did decide on a loose pattern because I wanted the cohesive look of a wallpaper instead of just hanging them randomly. I started with the largest decals from Project Nursery and measured equal distance between them both across and down the wall. I hung the first one tucked under my mirror a few inches so it appears the wall was done before the mirror got hung. Then I made straight lines down the wall with the larger cacti from Kids Coloray. Once I had the largest decals all in place I filled in with the smaller flowers and cacti, still trying to maintain a bit of a pattern. I didn´t use a level or make chalk lines; again I wanted a pattern but I think making it super precise might look strange also since these all have soft edges. You can easily eyeball your columns and rows across the wall and it looks just fine in the end.
I left the decals taped up for an entire day before committing to actually adhering them to the wall. I would go do something else and come back and look at it again and move any that I thought looked funny. I put all the furniture where I wanted it in the room so I had a good idea of what the finished product would look like. I also found it really helpful to snap some pictures on my phone and then look at it from that perspective. Sometimes when you stand staring at the wall for too long it gets distorted and you don´t have a great idea of what you´re actually looking at. I am a super indecisive person, so this was helpful for me! If youŕe a go-getter and like to live on the edge you can totally adhere them as you go and this would be a quick afternoon project!! I just REALLY didn´t want to redo it after I got them up there so I made sure I loved the layout first.
Adhering them to the wall is fairly simple. The simple cacti from Kids Coloray were incredibly quick and easy to get up, so I did them all first. They did not have transfer paper, so you simply peel them off the vinyl backing and stick them to the wall just like a sticker. The Lucca decals came on a backing and had a top transfer sheet. Once you peel the backing and stick the decal to the wall you have to work very slowly and carefully, starting at one edge to peel the transfer paper off. The edges and flowers of these decals have some intricate details you need to work super slow around, being mindful not to rip your decal. I used the plastic tool we use to clean our cast iron pans to help ¨scrape” them onto the wall. It worked really well in a pinch. You need to put constant pressure on the decal above the transfer paper and peel back slowly, using the ¨scraper” to push the decal firmly into the wall and remove any air bubbles. Push the scraper out toward the edges from the middle and the air comes right out. Getting all the air out goes a long way to assuring they´ll stay tightly on the wall for a long time. I also found it helpful with the biggest decals to stop half way, and cut the loose transfer paper I had off just to get it out of the way. Then I peeled a new corner and started again.
I am completely obsessed with the finished project!! Now I´m shopping ALL the decals :-) These have been up for about four months now and are sticking well. I will say the Project Nursery set is of far better quality and have stuck better than the Kids Coloray set, but nothing a little Elmers glue stick doesn´t fix. A quick swipe along loose edges with the glue stick and they´re good. I have a video posted on my instagram page also with detail of the project. I did more close up shots in the video of the Project Nursery decals, as pictures do the colors in them NO justice! They´re SO good!
Hope this is helpful and happy decorating!
