Use A Few Affordable Dollar Tree Finds To Make A Luxe Light Switch Cover

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Most light switch plates are fairly straightforward and utilitarian — white or off-white, unembellished, fitted to the wall just so, and attached with plain screws. When you turn on the light, they keep your hands out of the electrical wires that operate the switch, and they make it easier to wipe fingerprints off the wall, due to their slick, plastic construction. But if you're not satisfied with the decorating status quo for light switch covers, there's luckily a way to spice up a switch plate cover with the help of a few Dollar Tree items.

This project allows you to repurpose drinking straws, about 14 or 15 of them, give or take. If you use the Multicolored Flexible Plastic Straws, you'll use more of them than if you use the Neon Bubble Tea Straws, so the number of straws is a bit flexible here. It doesn't matter the color, since you'll be spray painting them. Gold Rust-Oleum Universal All Surface Metallic Spray Paint from Amazon runs just under $10 and turns the DIY from pastel colors of yellow, pink, and green to glittering gold in a matter of minutes. If silver's your luxe color of choice, swap out the gold spray paint and replace it with Rust-Oleum Stops Rust Metallic Silver. Crafter's Square Colorful Cardstock can be used as the foundation for the new light switch cover. All of these items have to be modified before they're attached to the old light switch cover. To that end, you'll additionally require a pair of scissors, like the Jot Assorted All-Purpose Scissors, a utility knife to shape the card stock, a hot glue gun and some glue sticks, a screwdriver, and a pencil.

The light switch cover you'll replace will be needed for the luxe cover you'll make, so remove the plate from the wall with a screwdriver. Once it's removed, place it on the card stock and trace around it. Also trace the center square hole and the two screw holes. Cut out the switch plate shape, using the scissors or utility knife. Glue just over a half a dozen straws onto the pattern. The straws can hang over the ends of the pattern slightly, but one end should be longer than the other. You'll need the extra material because you'll trim it to the decorative shape you desire. Once the glue dries, cut the longer end of the straws into the shape of a triangle. Or for something different, give it an oval top. Also trim off the short-end of the straws so that they're even with the bottom of the switch plate pattern.

Finally, paint the straws before re-attaching the switch plate. The simplest paint job is just a coat of silver or gold spray paint. However, if you want decorative patterns, paint stripes and other shapes on the plate. To do this, paint the piece a solid color as you normally would. Once that's dry, tape strips of AllFun's Artist Tape over the sections of the plate you want to mask off. Once the plate is masked, paint it with a second color. Black and gold stripes would look like a vintage light switch cover from the Art Deco era, but you're not limited to design motif. Hang it up once it's finished.