Trading Phrases Review
There’s an ugly wall at my house.
It stares at me when I come through the front door.
It taunts me while I watch TV.
It breaks the rhythm of my decor and gives no cause for celebration.
You know the wall…the naked eyesore that no one comments on, but is there, like an elephant in the room.
In the 1990s I and my girlfriends would gather at each other’s homes for stenciling parties.
It was a good time gathering with my gal pals, exploring the tastes of my friends and sometimes swapping or combining stencils.
While it was good fun, it was messy and time-consuming.
It took skill to make it all the same and if there hadn’t been refreshments, no one would have stuck around for the clean-up.
Then there was the issue of change. It took the primer and paint to change the look.
Recently I was given the opportunity to try Trading Phrases.
I absolutely knew which wall I was targeting for this review.
From the get-go it was smooth sailing.
I was impressed by the extensive quotes available, they even offer the option to create your own.
I selected the quote that fits into my family.
The color selection gives options for any decor from muted hues to vibrant colors, pastels, and trendy coordinates.
I chose the colors that went with my decor…garnet, and Celedon.
It was great fun.
Then it arrived.
I selected the Joy, Laughter, Possibilities phrase (catalog number: CUS835)
My husband, who pretended to be interested in the selection process lost his mind. “You are NOT sticking stickers on the wall. It’s going to be a mess to paint over.”
“Ah, but they peel right off.” I poked.
Then, I bolted for the commitment, “So? I’m thinking we should hang this up this weekend.”
He nodded, but truthfully, heard nothing I said. I laid out the two pieces so they would flatten, as the instructions recommended.
Cynical Dear Hubby, walked by the table and took one look and exclaimed, “I am NOT putting that on one letter at a time.”
“No problem. It’s a sheet you put on and then rub the whole thing. It’s two parts, but once we get the main one up, it’s a piece of cake to add the last three words.”
He was defeated. I was winning and that naked, ugly wall was about to get pimped!
I should mention here that the ugly wall is above the staircase.
We don’t have a ladder.
Trust me, I heard from my husband and his expletives are creative!
But I can be a ruthless nag, so it’s a fair compromise.
Grumpy Gus, aka: Dear Hubby, leaned across from inside the railing while he marked off the area.
I started peeling back the paper (it looks very much like contact paper with letters between the waxy part and sticky part). It was effortless.
My husband aligned the sticky paper, with the letters to his measured lines.
He had to reposition it a couple of times, due to the whole “I don’t have a ladder” issue.
The letters stayed on the sticky part and it peeled and lifted nicely until he had it situated.
Then he used the tool that came with the phrase and rubbed all the bubbles out and stroked over the letters.
Now was the moment of truth, he pulled up on the “contact paper” and voila it was beautiful.
The letters stayed on the wall but the paper came off.
The color is amazing. I chose Garnet for the main wording and it was vibrant and rich.
We took a break as we had a kiddo needing a ride home from a birthday party.
Coming in and seeing the color and beauty on the wall was exciting.
Grumpy Gus positioned himself on the inside of the banister again and marked where the last three words would go. I measured the words and drew a line to position them evenly on what was up.
Then I pulled back the paper, as I did previously.
These letters are larger and a script font.
There are a lot of flourishes and thin points.
This created some technicalities in that I had to pull much slower and use tweezers to press the fine lines back to the sticky paper.
It took some time, but wasn’t anything that turned me away from this project.
Grumpy Gus applied it the same way as the main lettering. Peeled off the paper and I WAS IN LOVE!
The finished piece is eye-candy.
I chose the Garnet and Celedon colors and they fit in perfectly with my living room.
The colors are rich and look hand-painted.
It’s a large piece 16″ tall by 48″ wide.
It really pulls my room together.
I spent the afternoon, standing at my banister, admiring it.
The difference between the before and after is awesome.
Trading Phrases is the perfect way to transform a naked, ugly wall into a masterpiece that’s the focal point of any room.
The process was easy, it took us about 45 minutes from start to finish.
The results are elegant and our guests ask if we painted it. I am very thrilled with Trading Phrases and how their product delivered results!
Disclosure: No monetary compensation was offered or accepted for this post. I was sent the item mentioned in this post in order to facilitate my review. The opinions are my own and in no way influenced by the sponsor. Others experiences may vary.
We appreciate your subscription to Mommy’s Memorandum