Momma Told Me: Draw on notebooks, not the walls.
There's a certain age in every child's life where they're not quite too cool to give Momma a hug in front of the school, but also find a fascination in bands like One Direction and shirts screen printed with 'YOLO.' This, somewhat traumatic phase, for mothers, is known as 'Tween' the years marked as the period between child and teenager, roughly ages 9-12. When I was a child no such term existed- I transitioned without hesitation from Polly Pocket and Barbies to
Tiger Beat and the Backstreet Boys. And, have you noticed that most eating establishments now list age '10' as the kids meal cut-off, when it was once a solid '12'? Yes, it seems society is trying to propel our children towards adulthood faster and faster, and labeling them tweens only serves as a sort of self entitlement to begin sassing and 'expressing' even younger. Fear not, parents and guardians, you can still hold onto the special glimmers of childhood with simple encouragements of self expression.
While we watch the children from Sabrina's (11) school exit in less and less clothes each day, shaking our heads, some parents cast their own opinions on our decisions to allow Sabrina to color her hair with 'alternative' hues. Sabrina's mother, and Jay and I don't see the harm in giving tweens a safe outlet for expression, which is what she seems to crave most as she gets older and hurtles towards those teenage years. After all, what is life but one big search to discover yourself? The search does not end simply because you reach a specific age! One expression that has seemed particularly important to Sabrina as of late is labeling that which is her own, part of which involves creating her own unique space (her room).
When you're renting a condo, and on the brink of expanding into a family much larger than your space, it's hard to give the green light on permanent decor changes such as wall borders and painting. Anyone who has ever rented knows it's an uphill battle to get your deposit back without having to dash 4 coats of eggshell on a hot pink wall! When My Wonderful Walls reached out to us with a proposal to experience their unique Wall Stickers, I was immediately intrigued. The biggest downfall with their current selection, arguably, is that the majority of the sets feature bright vivid colors that may not necessarily play well with existing decor, and could come off as juvenile. That being said, I, personally, wanted the
Wild Horse wall sticker for our living room, Sabrina, however, surprisingly picked the Forest Friends Wall Sticker Kit for Girls. With a whopping 91 peel and stick, re-positionable, wall stickers, this initial concept was a bit frightening to the adults.
Our fears were immediately cast aside when the My Wonderful Walls tube arrived with a playful instruction letter that instructed us to being our decor journey with a dance or two. As it turns out, all of the stickers came on one large piece of rolled up paper. The stickers themselves has a unique proprietary SafeCling™ fabric adhesive material that gives them a refined canvas-like finish. Sabrina's cat, Sophie, was especially intrigued with the 'production' process of her new sliding closet doors and their transformation to whimsical forest. While
My Wonderful Walls does provide some simple decor tips for painting backdrops on walls, the wall stickers work perfectly well as decor on nearly any naturally painted surface. Our only issue was convincing the precocious 11 year-old that every sticker didn't have to be in the precise perfect spot. After all, we easily peeled several off and repositioned them throughout the decorating process!
As someone who has decorated with vinyl wall art in the past, this Wall Sticker experience is unparalleled. Not only were the stickers easy to peel off the initial backing, but they reapplied with ease and strength. They left no residue, and could even be layered to create depth within our scene. The color and texture within the stickers was very decorative and, as Sabrina noted, 'not childish at all.' A big bonus for us was the ability to customize a piece of the sticker set, the forest post, with a child's name or phrase, for free. We have a horrible time trying to find Sabrina's name on items, and the fact she could claim her room on that simple wall stickers was a big highlight to her. I can't speak enough praise for My Wonderful Walls and their unique wall sticker decor and sets!
Enjoy special discount code MommaToldMe15 for 15% off regular prices at MY Wonderful Walls from now until 2/28/14.
What Daughter Says: Allow your tween to claim their space without the mess and fuss of paint, choose decorative wall stickers for removable expression.
My Wonderful Walls is giving one lucky Momma Told Me reader a $150 credit to go shopping on their site for colorful wall decor!
