How to Hang Prepasted Borders

Equipment List (some items are not always required)

Scissors, measuring tape, pencil, sharp utility knife, putty knife, tray or pan filled with room temperature water, and the BORDER, of course.

Applying the Border:

1. Open the border and run it through a pan of water, making sure you get every area on the back wet. Do not leave the border in the water more than a few seconds. Leaving it in longer will wash away the dried paste on the back. Fold it in half without creasing, paste side to paste side, and wait 3 to 4 minutes to activate the dried adhesive. The term for this is "booking." Check your border during this time, and if you feel it’s made a good amount of paste, you are ready to go.
2. Always start your border in the most inconspicuous place on your wall. Because when you come back around, your border will probably not match. If you drop your border somewhere down below the window or door jambs, you never have to worry about your border not matching back up. Running your border into the side of windows or doors will fix it so you don't have to match.
3. The easiest way to hang a border is to first...ask a friend or family member to help. Then fold your border so they can hold one half while you put up the other half. The best way for me to explain that is to hold your arms out to your sides, fingers pointing out. Bring one hand to your chest, then the other. Think of your arms as the border and fold your border like that, paste side to paste side, without creasing. While your friend or family member holds the weight of one side, you open the other side and press it to the wall. Then work your way down to their side and open it and press it to the wall, smoothing and wiping away the extra paste as you go. Wipe any paste that seeps out with a wet rag, rinsing the rag often. When your border is completely up, take a clean, wet rag and wipe the border and the surrounding wall once again.
4. To match one border to another on the wall, overlap the second border onto the first border until the pattern matches. Complete putting up the second border. Then go back to the area that you overlapped and using a sharp utility knife and a ruler, cut a straight line from the ceiling down, through the two borders where they overlap. Then peel off the top piece of the border that is no longer attached. Peel back the second border far enough to grab the last piece of the first border, that is now no longer attached, and remove it from the wall. Then smooth the two pieces back down and you should have a continuous pattern through your border one to your border two. Repeat the process if you are hanging more than two borders.
5. Then stand back and enjoy the new look of your room.

Note 1: Don't just think of wallpaper and border as a wall decoration only. You can use wallpaper to change the look of furniture. It's a simple and inexpensive way to make furniture look new again.

Note 2: Wallpaper sizing applied to the wall before wallpapering will make it a simple process to remove your paper or border when it's time to change your room.

Note 3: Whenever you put a border on top of another border or paper, be sure to use a paper to paper paste to insure your new border will stick.

You can download the instructions here