Hate your lightswich faceplates....Here's a cheap way to change them!

Oh Pinterest how I adore you. So I saw this on Pinterest and it was exactly what I needed for my daughters room. Here is the site and the directions are pretty much the same but I made a few changes to make it slightly easier with explanations why.

Reface your Switchplates

My daughter is obsessed with birds so I found scrapbook paper with feathers on it that I fell in love with and the best part? Each sheet was $0.39 and I already had the faceplates! Here is what you need for this project!

Ugly faceplates
Mod podge
xacto knife
Sponge brush
Scrapbook paper
Paint to blend into the paper

 

 First you want to take your scrapbook paper and flip it upside down and then trace the faceplate onto the back. In this case I had 4 of the same plate so I traced it four times and cut only the outside edges out with scissors slightly smaller than the pattern (cut just slightly inside, if you don't do this it will not smooth evenly when you apply it). DO NOT cut the inside holes yet.

Now this is where I don't have pictures because I learned afterwards it's easier to do now. Paint the faceplate a color that will blend easily into the scrapbook paper. In this case I used black but silver would have worked really well as well. You can hand paint it or spray paint it but either way paint and let dry.

Once it is dry you want to cover the entire front side of the plate and the backside of the scrapbook paper in Mod Podge with a sponge brush and then place the scrap book paper on the plate and smooth it. Notice you still won't have the holes cut out yet.

I did two coats, letting each coat dry in between and then flipped the switch cover over to cut out the holes.

Once you have cut the holes out flip it back over and apply 3 more coats of Mod Podge (I did a total of 5 coats because I want the ability to clean it since this is going in a childs room)



 

This is where I tried to paint all the edges to blend into the paper and quite honestly it was ridiculous, this is why I say to paint it first because the edges will show a little. Here are the before and after pics with the switch plate on the wall. I LOVE it and while it's hard to tell it really blends into her decor nicely.

Had the directions been a little clearer I would have given this a 5 star but since I had to spend a few hours figuring it out I took away a star. 4 star project for ease and the fact that I can now blend my house together all the way makes me very happy. This plate will most likely be redone simply because I like everything to be the same but I hope you all enjoy the project as much as I did.