did it myself: shelf liner + contact paper

my latest non-construction based project around the new house: lining our kitchen shelves with wrapping paper + clear contact paper. i'm shoving an abbreviated portion of our dishes into a little (recently painted) cupboard until we get some open shelving mounted and didn't want paint sticking to the rims of glasses and on the bottom of plates.

i couldn't find any attractive shelf liner or patterned contact paper, so i used #1653 pom pom by snow & graham from the paper source and sealed it with clear adhesive shelf liner from target. it was super easy, so i thought i'd share a little tutorial.

start with your tools: a pretty wrapping paper - it's easiest to use individual sheets (get them at paper source) so you're not struggling against a curl. you'll also need scissors, a pencil, an exacto blade, a straight edge, measuring tape or ruler and something with a hard edge (like a credit card) to smooth out bubbles and seal the contact paper.

measure your shelf and mark accordingly. i used an extra long piece to wrap the individual shelves so you'd be able to see the paper on the edge and from underneath.

cut a sixteenth of an inch to the inside of your line. your paper should be slightly smaller than the shelf, leaving a small edge for the contact paper to stick to. like this:

use permanent double stick tape evenly over your shelf, concentrating on the edges and the corners - be sure to accommodate for the gap, so line your tape up further in from the edges.

lay your paper down and smooth it gently to adhere.

measure your contact paper, mark and cut. your contact paper can be a little larger than what you have to cover because you can slice the excess off at the end with your blade.

peel the backing off, being careful not to kink or fold the contact paper in the process. if you do, most times any mistakes can be smoothed out. if you're covering a larger surface, peel off sections at a time and work in smaller areas. contact paper can be tricky to work with at first, but if you make sure to get the repositionable stuff you'll be able to readjust. don't worry, you'll get the hang of it!

smooth the contact paper down with your card, starting in the center and smoothing out toward the edges. run it along the edges to seal.

slice off any excess contact paper from the back. if you don't have excess, and in fact, find your contact paper didn't make it to the edge, cut a half inch strip the length of your shelf and cover that edge so the paper is sealed. you can smooth the seam so you'll barely notice the extra layer.

install your shelves and enjoy - what a treat it is to open up your cupboards!