DIY Animal Print Bookcase Background

So you know when see photo like here, and you can’t get it out of your head?  And then the universe keeps putting similar pretty things (like this and this) in front of you?  I did some researching for the original wallpaper, and found it.  It was beautiful and stole my decor heart.  Alas, a part of me wondered if I could recreate the look by myself.

All of the walls in my house are pretty long/wide, or they are taller.  I didn’t want to commit to doing it on a larger wall since I wasn’t sure of the end result.  So I opted to do it on boards to back my bookcases.  And if I didn’t like the look or want to change them out in six months, I can take them out without repainting the wood!  So here goes my attempt at a DIY Animal Print Bookcase Background, drumroll please…

I measured the spaces of my bookcases (between the shelves), and brought them with me to Dick Blick.  I bought 4 big sheets of foam board and had them cut to size.  Their custom cutter was the reason I went there.  I think I paid $4 for the cuts, but it was totally worth it.  Note:  the sales associate warned me the cutter can be 1/4 inch off.  Well she was pretty accurate with that.  Practically every sheet came 1/4 too short short.  Oh well, it’s still better than me making a mess of it with a box cutter at home.  TIP – pick the straightest boards you can.  When they’re standing upright, you don’t want the boards that curve.

I went to Dick Blick and bought a block of Speedball Speedy Cut.  This is cool stuff, it’s like modeling clay that works like a stamp.

I draw out the shapes I wanted with a pencil…

And cut them out with an Exacto Knife...

Cut a variety of shapes and sizes…
So now you’ve got your stamps.  I used black acrylic paint and squirted some onto a  styrofoam plate.  Literally, I dabbed the stamp into the paint and then ‘stamped’ the board.  Easy as pie.

The one thing I learned after I was done stamping all of the boards, was that the paint creates a film on the outer side of the stamps.  I couldn’t figure out why the shapes weren’t coming out as crisp in the end as they were when I started.  When I cleaned the stamps, I saw the gunky semi-dried paint on the sides.  Ahhhh…  So looking back, I should have cleaned the stamps half way through the stamping.  I’m probably the only person that will notice, thankfully.

I really like the end result.  And I’m glad that if I want to take them out (and put them back in later), I can do just that.  Hope you enjoyed this little project, and it inspires you do something fun with your bookcases!

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