My fiance and I wanted all of our switch plates to match, so we literally unscrewed all of the old switch plates and installed brand new ones in our house. I was about to throw away the old ones because I thought making new and exciting covers for them would be too difficult and time consuming. Actually, making switch plate covers are really easy!
Earlier, I wrote a post titled DIY Switch Plate and Outlet Cover Tutorials – which will give you TONS more ideas for making covers! This post is just about what I did with mine.
Materials:
- Switch Plate (I used a metal one)
- Sandpaper
- Primer Spray Paint
- Color of your Choice Spray Paint
- Images/stuff to Mod Podge your Switch Plate
- Scissors/X-acto Knife
- Mod Podge and Brush
Instructions:
Step 1: Sand the switch plate all over with your sandpaper, so that the paint will stick to it better.
Step 2: Lay out a big piece of cardboard that you can use to spray paint on outside. I had a lot of switch plates, so I just did them all at once! Spray paint with your primer.
Lay out your switch plates
Spray paint with your primer - I also altered a tin
Step 3: After the primer has dried, take your colored spray paint and spray paint it the same way you did with the primer. Let it dry. For the screws, tape off the “screw” part and paint the tops of the screws the same way you did with the main switch plate part.
Step 4: Pick out clip art or anything else you’d like to Mod Podge to the switch plate. I used a vintage image. Cut it out and place it on your cover to get an idea of where you’d like to place it. Take your time cutting – it will be very obvious if you do it quickly! For really detailed places, try using an X-acto knife.
Step 5: Using spray adhesive, spray the back of the image to be placed onto the switch plate, and then place it. Doing this keeps the clip art in place while you Mod Podge.
Step 6: Working from the back of the switch plate, use your X-acto knife to cut an X in the rectangle where the actual switch will go, making little triangles that you can fold in from the front to the back. If your image covers the screw holes, make X’s there are well, folding them in.
Step 7: Mod Podge the switch plate and the screw tops and let them dry. All done! Easy, right?
Vintage Woman Switch Plate
I made this switch plate specifically for DIYscene’s Black and Metal October swap – the recipient loved it!
It’s gonna rule. The future will be great.