Part 1 ~ Do It Yourself Custom Window Film - Beautiful, Easy and Inexpensive!

Several days ago, I covered my kitchen window with Con-Tact Brand clear adhesive liner cut into diamond shapes (see here) . 



While I'm happy with the results, it took a long time for me to complete the project.   With some great suggestions, from my husband and a project idea that I found on Pinterest , I gave the window film another try in both the bathroom and in my daughters' bedroom.  

I'll show you how the bathroom went in this article.  I'll cover the girls' room in my next posting.

I found this project to be incredibly easy and fun!  It cost about $3.00 to complete each room.  My total expense was less than $10.00 ($5.50 on the Con-Tact clear liner and $3.75 on the Elmer's Painters marker).   I still have enough Con-Tact liner to do another window if I make smaller pieces as I did with my kitchen.  There is probably enough paint marker left as well.

If I can do this, ANYONE can do this!  All you need to give your windows a beautiful custom film look is some clear Con-Tact Brand adhesive liner and a paint marker! 

Con-Tact Simple Elegance Shelf Liners, Clear, 5-Foot Roll (Pack of 6)

Elmer's Painters Opaque Paint Marker, Fine Tip, White (7332)

Be sure to watch for Part 2 of this posting.  I went a little crazy with the girls room freehanding!  It was fun but I may have gone overboard just a bit.......


So here is my bathroom ~




1) Clean window well, taking care that all
dirt, grease, paint, etc. is removed.

 


2) Cut Con-Tact liner into correct size for area you are
covering.  I used a dressmaker's measuring tape to
measure the areas I wanted to cover.




3) Spray section to be covered liberally with
Windex Glass Cleaner




4) Peel the paper back off the Con-Tact liner and
place into position.  The Windex will allow you to
move the piece around easily until you are satisfied with
it's placement.  This really worked well.  Use a plastic
card to smooth the bubbles and Windex out.
If the film is too large, take a razor blade or an Exacto knife
and carefully cut the excess off.





5) Allow window film to sit for a few minutes
to adhere well.

 


6) Place your stencil (unless you are going to freehand
your designs) loosely with a bit of masking tape.
I stopped using the masking tape after the 2nd stencil
as I began to feel more confident in the process.




7) Using a white paint pen (I used Elmer's Painters) fill in
the desired areas of your stencil.  Be careful to not
put too much paint on as it could bleed through below the
stencil.  Once completed, remove stencil carefully and
allow paint to dry on the stencil so you don't make a mess
in the next position.  It only takes a minute or so for the
paint to dry. 




8) Step back and enjoy your new beautiful
customized window film!




View of the window with the curtains.