Sticker Shock

So we have this awkward wall in our house.  It’s basically dead space above the archway going into the dining room.  Except the old owners put a four-by-four-foot white frame with nothing inside—at least not that they left for us.  So here’s this framed out space that your eye is naturally drawn to as you enter our home—with nothing in it.

I thought, briefly, that a picture of me would look great in the space, but the rest of the family decided that was slightly vain and conceited of me.  Then a friend suggested we put a blown up picture of our dog, Chester.  Um, probably not.  And then it hit me.  Wall Words.  I’m sure you’ve seen them.  There’s even an online company called Wall Words who sells stickers with quotes, scriptures, even custom designs that can be adhered anywhere in your house. In three easy steps.

Right.

So I got right to it.  I shopped the website for a few days and found the perfect scripture.  Ecclesiastes 3:1. I placed the order, and it arrived just in time for the weekend.  A perfect time to hang this lovely piece of décor.

We read the instructions.  Three easy steps.  Yep.  Even the picture on the instructions sheet showed a little girl hanging her own name in her bedroom.

Matt said, “I’ve got this.  You go relax.”

Will do.

Ooops, we only have an eight-foot ladder.  Hmm—that will definitely not reach the space.  I’ll bet our next door neighbor has one we can borrow.  A quick phone call later, and a plethora of ladders to choose from.  He even had them laid out on his driveway when we walked over.

You can’t beat good neighbors.

So Matt went to it.  Three hours later.  Three.  A trip to Home Depot was in order.  Seriously, it’s a STICKER.  But we have textured walls—apparently more texture than normal.

Some spray adhesive.  Some finishing spray.  Another hour later.  And one freezing cold house because the spray fumes were toxic and required ventilation. Nice.  I was beginning to think the little girl pictured in the instructions must be a wall hanging, sticker prodigy.  We just weren’t getting it.

It’s been 24 hours now.  The living room is a mess.  Out little sticker made it through the night with only a few letters curling.  Matt and I are still on speaking terms.  Yay us!  I’m having a bit of a spiritual crisis, though.  Doesn’t God want us to have scriptures on our walls?  After all He tells us to keep His commandments before us.

Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:9

It’s quite possible they didn’t have textured walls back then.

We are now considering plexiglass.  What doesn’t stick will be covered.  And what started as a very easy, inexpensive project has turned into….well….I’ll keep you posted.