Switchplate Covers { Tutorial }
March 08, 2011
The latest addition to my artsy-craftsy bedroom decorating is... switchplate covers!
(Also known as lightswitch covers.)
I also made some covers for electrical outlets and some funky pokey-thing whose purpse I have not the least clue of. I was not able to decorate the cover on the phone outlet because the covers seems to be attached to the wires.
The covers in my bedroom were boring white (not to mention stained!). Time for an updo! It's amazing how this little projects brightens up a room!
Now, it might be redundant to do this tutorial, since it is rather common-sense and the idea is by no means unique. But I took work-in-progress pictures, and... we don't want to let perfectly good pictures be wasted, do we? No!
To make Lightswitch Covers, you will need:ScrewdriverScrapbook paperScissorsMod Podge glue and a paintbrushScotch tapeAny embellishmentsCost: practically free. Most crafters will have these supplies at hand.Time: 15 minutes of working, around 45 minutes of drying time spread throughout.
Remove the lightswitch cover. Make sure no little siblings are nearby to poke their fingers at the wires.
Prepare to glue the paper!
Cut out a square of paper several centimeters larger than the cover.
Coat the cover with Mod Podge.
Place the paper on the glue-y cover and cut out the holes for the lightswitch/electric outlet.
You can do this with an Xacto knife, as I did, or trace the holes on the paper and cut it out with scissors.
Clip the corners of the paper. Paint glue onto the edges.
Fold the edges over. Secure with tape. (The tape holds the paper tightly in place while the glue dries; you don't need to bother about removing the tape.)
Here, you can see that I added embellishments. I raided Mom's scrapbook supplies and found this hardware that was the perfect size!
Coat the entire cover with Mod Podge. I did not do this for the electrical outlets, but I put around 3 layers of Mod Podge on the lightswitch covers! I want to be able to clean off dirty fingerprints and I don't want wet hands to warp the paper!
Ta-da! No more boring covers!
You can cut out paper shapes-- you can even use book pages! Just be careful that you look at the book page before you glue it on... I wound up trying to scrape off a not-so-nice word!
This is a great craft for kids to help with.
My 7 year old sister made this cover almost entirely by herself. The only thing I did was tell her NO HOT PINK and help cut out the holes for the outlets.
Did you try this tutorial? Let me know by leaving a comment!
Check out my other tutorials { here }.
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