I thought that maybe some of you would be interested in this. My kitchen was boring. I wanted to "fix it up a little", so I decided to get some wallpaper border and go to work. I found 2 borders that I really liked and they were on clearance, so I bought all of both at 25 cents each! Bargain!

I took them home and put the dark with roses up in the kitchen. I decided that with the white walls, the ivy leaves were just too light for the border. We live in a trailer so the kitchen and living room are in the same room like you know, and the couch matched the border paper great. Not so great when I got the border up though. It was waaaaay to dark!!! I didn't like it at all and took it down and threw it away. But I still wanted a border.......

Then, I had this great idea! I'd just make my own out of the 2 pretty border papers that I'd bought. Great idea, huh? The first thing that I'd have to do would be to cut it all up! Every single piece. I needed to get rid of that really dark green!!! First I cut the row of tiny ivy leaves off the ivy border paper. I cut out every rose, bud, leaf, ivy, etc. on a bunch of rolls of border. No one that came over could believe that I was doing this. They thought I was nuts and had to "get a life". I spent days and days cutting everything out for my kitchen border.

Next, I started laying out different designs on the kitchen table to see how I wanted it to look. I'm a "frilly", "ruffle" type girl, and even though I've never seen "rufflely" wallpaper border, that is the look that I decided on.

What is funny is that when I started putting up this new border, I had gone to alot of work cutting it all out. I didn't want to get it "stuck to the wall" and not like it (like the original paper), so I decided to just roll a piece of scotch tape and stick to the back of it, to put it up. No one thought that it would stay that way, but it's still holding! I just left the tape on it instead of ever wetting it and gluing it on right.

Here are a couple of pictures of the border paper, before I happened to it and after! :lol: :lol: And then a picture of the border that I made. What do you think?

A couple of months later, I decided to do the whole kitchen with my little flower border. I cut out some more pieces and went to work. First I re-painted the whole kitchen white. Then I started to decorate it.

I used that little row of ivy leaves that I'd cut off the ivy border up above the cupboards and on the stove hood.
I mixed 2 of my acrylic paints and made them match the color in the border, and then painted my door handles and drawer knobs with it. I think it came out really cool!

The last picture is of my MIL. I made her this knitted cabled aphgan for Christmas that year.

I used the exact border (the ivy one) in an upstairs bedroom. I wanted something unique. My StpD wanted her room in white,dk green and brass. I made a line from midpoint on each wall and painted a dk green diamond on the ceiling. I used the border around it but wanted the small print on each side so I put up two strips, one going each way. Add a white, glass and brass ceiling fan and light fixture, a brass bed and brass accessories and it looked great!

I think this kitchen looks awesome! I love a clean, crisp, white kitchen.

WOW!!! you did a lot of work in that kitchen, but it shows off great!

You did a great job! your very creative, and only time, and not enough money to mention,and you have a custom kitchen! :thumbup:

Thanks you guys! I had fun doing it and I was really happy with the way it turned out.

It sure is beautiful. I'm not sure I'd have had the patience to cut all those out or to put them up that way but your's is great!

You did a great job!! Totally awesome!!

WOW, I need my old kitchen updated and prettified. You did a wonderful job.