The fall One Room Challenge is well under way now and I’ve made some serious headway on my 4 year old’s bedroom!
This week was all about getting the giant Dino onto the wall, and I’m so happy to say that I actually got it done. I didn’t know if I would with the crazy week we had around here, but I got it done and am so happy with the results!
It all started with this sketch I found by a crazy talented artist on Etsy.
I loved that it wasn’t cartoony, but still felt kid friendly. I was having trouble deciding exactly what type of Brachiosaurus I wanted to put on the wall, and this image cemented my feelings in going a less baby Dino route.
Ok, so the vision was solid, but now I had to get that onto the wall. I decided to sketch it on the wall with pencil before I painted the rest of the wall. And it’s a good thing I did! The first sketch looked too much like a baby Dino cartoon, so I made adjustments and was finally happy with its look.
If you squint really hard you can see the pencil sketch! To avoid needing to sketch the outline all over again, I taped it all with painters tape. This served 2 purposes:
- Keeping the sketch safe from the paint I would be applying to the surrounding wall
- Making the sketch shape more visible so I could decide if I was really happy with it
It was pretty good. After taking this photo I did adjust that curve above the front leg so it was less intense. But other than that I felt good going ahead with the paint.
I cut around the ceiling and baseboards and rolled the rest of the wall with my favourite paint, Sico Pure. I’m trying to use as much of the paint as possible that I already have at home. This colour is leftover from my daughter’s room and is called “greyish” by Sico.
I rolled around the dinosaur and of course got some inside the sketch, but I’m not concerned about that at all! The faux Roman Clay I’ll be applying will easily cover up any of this light great paint.
Making and Applying Roman Clay
I had about 1/3 of a bucket of faux Roman Clay leftover from the fireplace, so I decided to use that to fill in Mr. Dinosaur. I loved the idea that it would give him texture and make it look slightly more realistic!
To make faux Roman Clay you simply mix your desired paint colour with some ready mixed joint compound (for repairing or setting drywall). You’ll want to you use a mixing attachment on your drill so you thoroughly blend the two products, otherwise it will look splotchy.
Applying it is as easy as making it! Using X motions and a putty knife, spread it on the wall and keep a wet edge all the way across. Once done you can go over it with a second coat if it’s too textured for your liking.
Here’s a short clip of how textured Mr. Dino is thanks to the Roman clay application:
And there you have it friends! My boy’s room now has a giant dinosaur as it’s first guest. Up next…cement look feature wall and building a loft!
Project Tools
I put together a full list and links for all the products I used to make this dinosaur.
*contains some affiliate links*
- Sico Pure Paint (colour Greyish in Eggshell, colour Volcanic Rocks in flat mixed with drywall compound)
- Scotch Painter’s Tape – Thin
- Set of Putty Knifes
- Joint Compound
Make sure you check out all the other amazing participants in this season’s One Room Challenge.
Until next time,
Oli
