Diy decorating ideas: making a heart wall paper border

Homemade wallpaper borders add a personal, artistic touch to any room. Whether you elect to use stencils or design your own, hearts are a universally recognized shape that will add a sense of warmth to your space.

Your first step is to consider how uniform you want your border. If you prefer to keep your design symmetrical, purchasing a stencil may be your best option. As hearts are a popular shape, most fabric and craft stores will have a wide selection of heart designs. You may also decide to find a heart image on the internet, enlarge the image to fit your needs, and then cut and trace the image on to a heavy piece of cardboard to create your own stencil.

As hearts are a fairly easy shape to construct, you may decide to make your own stencil. To make your own stencil, fold a piece of heavy cardstock paper in half and draw a backwards question mark that ends in a V. Also known as a teardrop shape, or slightly melted ice cream cone, this shape will form one side of your heart. Cut around your shape leaving the fold intact. Unfold your cardstock, and you should see your heart. Modify the V as necessary to create the shape that you feel is most representative of your artistic vision.

You may decide to repeat the same sized heart over and over with equal distance between. You may also decide to create a border that includes touching heart shapes. Another option is drawing heart shapes in ascending sizes. Hearts work well with simple flower, fruit and leave shapes. Adding another image to complement your hearts can make your border more specific to the design needs of your space.

As you consider how to formulate your design, remember that simplicity is usually the best approach. Intricate designs often look cluttered and detract from the beauty of the individual shape. Plan your design on paper and consider how your mini design will look on your wall. Also consider how difficult it will be to duplicate your design on a large scale before you finalize your design plan.

Before you place your stencil on the wallpaper material, carefully measure the distance between images and mark the location of each image. Position your stencil carefully on your wallpaper, which should already have been measured and cut to an appropriate size for your space. Trace the designs carefully using a light lead pencil so that the lines do not show when the shapes are filled in with paint. Allow for a little discrepancy between shapes. Slightly irregular patterns will add an individual stamp your design.

You should have some color choices in mind before you begin your project. After your design is in place, make some color decisions. Using shades of the same or a coordinating color to fill in your image can be an effective way to create a fading effect. You can also select one to three contrasting colors to give each image in your design individual character. You should select colors that accent your room, and tie together your accessories. Using a single color that complements the dominant focus pieces in your space is also a possible strategy. Employing colors that unite the pieces in your room will enhance the overall effect of your border. You want to shift the focus from the border to the effect the border has on the space as a whole. Always select a design and a color choice that will enhance rather than dominate your space.

Hearts are a simple, effective design image for a wallpaper border. Planning how to arrange this image and what color choice is most appropriate will ensure that your border enhances your space and adds warmth to your room.