MAKING MINOR REPAIRS...

This is the wallpaper in my new sewing room.  How it got like this, I have absolutely NO idea as that seam was behind a console table...so not in an area where we could have brushed against it.

Last weekend Dear Hubby and I stopped at the local hardware store to pick up a few necessities...including seam adhesive.

This area of the seam was in really bad shape and I hoped that I, and the adhesive, were up to the job.

The salesman at the hardware store told me I needed to "soften up" the wallpaper with water or it would be too brittle to work with and would crumble.  Oh, I did NOT want that!  This wallpaper has to last for many more years, as there are too many other necessities that MUST be fixed before Dear Hubby retires and our income drops.  So I used a new clean sponge and a bowl of water to moisten the paper.  Sorry, I forgot to take a picture.  Beginning at the top of the seam I squirted some adhesive behind the paper, being sure to press the nozzle deep behind the paper where the pulling away had started.  After wiping away the overflow with a damp paper towel I pressed the seam down and added a tiny piece of painter's tape to keep the seam together while it dried.

The majority of the seam went really well, until I got to the big rip.  I was a little too ambitious in pressing it all together and I ripped it even further.  Grrrr.  So I carefully pressed everything back where it belonged and moved on to the next section.  I did not apply tape as I was afraid that even a non-stick product like painter's tape would make things worse.

After about 15 minutes I carefully peeled off the tape.  Voila, the seam looks SO much better now!  If you look almost dead center you will see the area that is still slightly discolored as the glue is still wet.  To the left of the seam is where the big piece ripped.  I'm sure it will blend in much more thoroughly when the "extra" amount of necessary adhesive dries.  Is it perfect like when the wallpaper was first hung 26 years ago?  Nope.  But the adhesive should allow for many more years of use, and with the busy print it is hardly noticeable. 

Maybe someday I will be able to have the walls painted and the carpet replaced with laminate.  But for right now I adore my sewing room.  I grew up in a household where everything was "fixed", sometimes numerous times, before it was eventually replaced.  I'm proud to say that my parents' teachings have taken hold and I'm actually excited about embracing the three, make that FOUR, R's of frugality...Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and REPAIR! 

Toodles...