DIY Window Clings

I am a sucker for window clings.

It all stems back to when I was a child. We had these Easter clings made out of reusable vinyl and I loved putting them on our sliding glass door. It was very detailed; I could design the eggs with different colored stripes, and put the facial features on the Easter Bunny. I really need to ask my mom what happened to them.

The only problem, is the window clings in stores now are made from some sort of weird gel. They are cute and transparent, but really don't hold up well after a year in storage. Or through a 5 year old trying to pry them out of their package. Or a 2 year old trying to pry them off the window and re-position them. They stretch and tear.

I absolutely loved the window clings I found at Target a couple of years ago. But when I pulled out my Valentine decor, we had already tossed half of them. This year I was very careful when putting them up, but the gel got weaker each year and a few more of them tore. Then I found all of them in bits on the floor after Avery had tried to play with them. It is embarrassing to admit, but I was sad!

Then, later that night when I was watching the kids stick their foam letters to the wall in the bathtub, I got an idea. I could recreate my same window clings out of craft foam and once they were wet, they would stick to the window. I tested it out with a random foam snowman we had, and he stayed on the window for a whole week so I decided it would really work.

Using our old window clings as a guide, I lightly drew the shape I wanted to cut with a pencil onto the foam sheet. The foam was super easy to cut, and by using my precision scrapbooking scissors I was able to use even the pieces I had cut out from the center (the little heart wings of the birds, and the heart spikes on the dinosaur). I love how they turned out! And the best part, is that my little Avery can play with them to her heart's content, and they are durable enough to last. 

I have to say though, after a week, there are some pieces that don't want to stay on the window more than a day or so. They are always the same pieces, so I am not sure if it is that particular foam piece or how I cut it. But Avery likes to play with them nearly every day, so it's not really a problem. :) I just give her a little cup of water and she dips the pieces in, and sticks them to the window.

I'm excited to make more for different holidays!