If walls could talk

what would they say?

Today, mine are saying things like fiasco, beautiful, barracks, exquisite.... and have pictures of a basilica, a beagle, a brig, a buffalo, and gothic architecture just to name a few.

'Why?', you ask.

I have a bit of a slow day today, so I finally decided to transform this hallway...

If you look to the left of the pocket door, you see the "temporary" fix we did a year and a half ago. We had to move the door over a little so the pocket door would have enough room to open. And... my arch nemesis, paneling, is all through this hallway. Painting it wasn't going to get the job done.

So, I stole an idea off my sister in law and wallpapered this hallway with the dictionary from above. I had originally purchased the paste in that pic on sale for around $3. I was pumped. At 8 this morning, I realized that paste on a foam roller/dispenser wasn't the best bet. So... Ellie and I trekked out in the 10 degree cold and bought this for less than $20 instead...

Note the "goes on pink" and the neon pink coming off the roller.

I think they were a bit excited about this when they packaged it. I was excited too. I thought "PERFECT, I'll be able to see where I have glue". I was tickled almost pink when I got home and started. It is tinted pink, I'll give them that. But, I am putting it on an off white wall and can't see any pink at all. But, so far, it seems to be great stuff! Good thing... I have at least a gallon of the 1.3 gallons left! It is also pretty thick stuff... another good thing. When I dumped the paint pan off the ladder, it landed face down. Luckily, the stuff was too think and I was too fast-- nothing got on the carpet!

I should add that this is my ONLY experience with "wallpaper". Before today, the only time I had dealt with it was watching my mom remove a border for us because I was 5 months pregnant and we needed to get the nursery together. So, my experience is a teensy bit nonexistent.

I used a paint roller and rolled glue on as I went. Then, if the edges looked rough, I put glue on my finger and rubbed it over the edge. It seemed like I was wallpapering, but also decoupaging at the same time. I didn't cut any pieces, I left the edges that came out of the book a bit rough. I like the character it added. The book lover, English major, English teacher in me cringed a little as I was ripping the cover off this book and ripped out the first 200+ pages. But, as a lover of words, I LOVE the direction the hallway is headed...

I LOVE the final product. I'm not sure how much more I'll do. I can't decide. Is the whole hall too much? Do I do parts of it? Which parts? I am disappointed in the pictures though. It looks SOOOO much cooler and better in person.

This pic makes the white space stand out more and makes it look more like a "grid" than it does in person.

Check out the place I was wanting to cover.....

Now, we just need to rip up the carpet (hardwood floors underneath!!), figure out how much more to 'wallpaper', and paint the rest. I know, I did this in the exact wrong order, but ah well. And, no, my bathroom rug isn't that gross. It is the lighting. ((I went and checked after I saw these pics, haha))

I also have a REALLY cool idea that will tie the dictionary in across the steps too. It will go on one of these two walls....

This was taken before the wallpaper/book was done. You can still barely see the place I covered up on the right :)

PS~Regarding the words that my walls are saying now.... I realized too late that b@stard also made the cut.... oops.. I'm sure our future children will enjoy that. Once I saw it, I felt like a jr. high kid looking through the dictionary for bad words. I THINK this one is the only one that made it so far. :)

AN UPDATE from January 7, 2010---
In case you are wondering... this is not kitten proof :) I'll fix it by wiping it down with the paste, no big deal... yet. When I showed it to Sophie and asked her if she did it, she smacked it and wanted to bite it. I took that as an admission of guilt....

She's lucky she's so stinkin' cute!

I linked this post with Thrifty Home's Penny Pinching Party. 
And with Shabby Chic Cottage's Transformation Thursday.
And.... Thrifty Thursday @ Bloggeritaville.
And....at Fireflies and Jellybeans.
and.... Decor Mamma's Frugalicious Friday.
And..... Show and Tell Friday
And..... I made it without my hubby.
And....Poppies at Play 
And.... Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special.... check out the button on the right to get there
And.... Room A Month
What can I say, my mom taught me to share :)