Spruce Up Your Bookshelf for $7!

Hi Cupcakes!

It's been WAY too long since my last post. I suck, for real. I know. But, I think my next few posts will be worth that wait! AND, I have a couple really fun surprises for you guys this month! Get excited! 

Also, I am officially part of the "visual team" at Pottery Barn...which basically means I am responsible for floor sets and making things look pretty, which means so so so many more inspiring things to share with you guys here and on my instagram account @thecaliforniacupcake! So don't miss that! I don't have much else to share with you guys right now so let's just jump right in to this little how-to!

So today I'm talking about sprucing up a boring (cheap) bookshelf! And no...no painting this time ;) This project is so quick, easy, inexpensive, and versatile. I just love it. This can totally be done by yourself, but it's significantly easier with a little helper (or a big one)...I recruited the Mr. for this one...so when you see some hairy arms in these pictures...don't worry, it's not me! Okay, so some of you may have heard of contact paper You can buy it at Lowe's and it's like $7 for a few yards or something like that. It's stupid how affordable it is considering how many uses it has. Well, today, we're using it on the back of our bookshelves to add some glam to an otherwise plain piece of furniture. Check out the step-by-step!

Thing you'll need:

Contact Paper : I used "white granite" from Lowe's - $7

Scissors or a razor blade

Credit Card, Gift Card, or anything similar

Hammer

Obviously, a bookshelf...

STEP ONE :

Start by taking off the backing of your shelves. This is the last piece you attached when you put the shelves together. The nails should pop right out, don't worry about tears on the edge of the backing because you won't see them when you re-attach it. 

STEP TWO:

Here is the contact paper we chose. Feel free to use any color/design you like! Get creative! Unroll your contact paper and lay it out on the front of your shelf backing. Make sure to line it up with the bottom before you cut it! 

STEP THREE:

Now it's time to cut your contact paper to size. In this step, it's better to cut it too long than too short...excess can be removed, but you can't really add on extra to the bottom. Catch my drift? I didn't worry too much about the cut line being perfectly straight because I knew I would be cutting off the excess later. 

STEP FOUR:

Now that your contact paper is cut to size, peel off the backing...contact paper is just like one giant sticker. Don't worry too much about it catching on something because you can pick it up and reposition it pretty easily. Once you have the backing peeled off, turn it over, line it up with the edges of your backboard and put it down. 

STEP FIVE:

For the next step, take whatever card you grabbed, and, starting from the middle...smooth out any air bubbles by pushing them out to the edge of the paper. I honestly thought this part would be a lot more difficult, but the bubbles just come right out! 

STEP SIX:

After you push all the bubbles out of your first section, measure out your contact paper for the remaining part of your backboard and repeat steps 3-5 until your whole piece is covered! 

STEP SEVEN:

Grab your bookshelf, putting it face down on the floor, and put your backboard (also, face down) on top, making sure to line it up with all your edges. Don't worry about the excess on the edges just yet...that's next! Grab the nails you removed in the first step...and your hammer, and start hammering away...

STEP EIGHT:

Now, for the excess paper on the edges, you have two options. Your first option is to grab your scissors and cut along the edge of your bookshelf to get the extra lined up right. Your second option is to just fold over the excess and stick it to the back, nobody sees the back of a bookshelf anyways, so don't worry about what that looks like. It's totally your choice! Try both and choose that way!

AND WE'RE DONE!!!

I love how simple and inexpensive this DIY project is guys! It cost me $7 to do this and it took me maybe 30 minutes! I used the white marble look because our bedroom is very glam and the color scheme is white, grey and black, so it just fit. And just as a side note, if there aren't any contact paper colors you like, you can also do this project using wrapping paper and double stick tape...but thats another post for another time ;) Let me know if you're interested in seeing that! 

Hope you guys liked today's post and I hope it was helpful! Leave me comments and tell me how you like to dress up your boring furniture! And don't forget to subscribe via email to get updates when I post new stuff! If you don't already, follow me on social media for daily inspiration and fun! Instagram : @thecaliforniacupcake Pinterest : Shannan Gladwin

XO.