Guest Project -- Paint your Curtains!

Hi! I'm Rachel from first home makeover

I couldn't wait to share this mini-makeover with you. After the stencil project I did on our back door, found here, I knew that I'd be temporarily obsessing over stencils. I immediately started thinking about what else I could stencil away. And that's when I began wandering around the house, staring at random items and furniture, trying to come up with a good stenciling idea. I walked into our guest bedroom and looked around for a moment. Got it! The curtains in the guest bedroom were just so drab and borrrrr-ring. Wouldn't you agree? So that was it. The guest bedroom curtains it was.

The curtains used in this project are very basic (inexpensive too) and you can score them at IKEA for just $19.99. Once you've got your curtains picked out, here's what else you'll need:

Craft Knife ($4)

Overlay Film ($9 for a whole book. If you're crafty, a DIYer and creative I'd suggest you buy the whole book. Trust me, it'll get used!)

Fabric Paint ($2 each - I used 5)

Sponge or roller brush ($2)

Double-sided Tape ($4)

Ruler

First, I cut the lining out of the curtains. This won't make a difference in how the curtains will look. I found that doing this made it easier to flatten the fabric and keep everthing straight while stenciling.

Next, I did an "image" search on Google for "stencil patterns." I found a pattern I liked, expanded the image to a good size and printed it out.

I traced the pattern on a peice of clear overlay film and used a craft knife to cut it out.

Because my pattern isn't solid, I had to do an additional cut in the center of the stencil. This important step gave me the mini stencil [I'll refer to this as the "star"] shown below in my left hand.

If I were to paint the big stencil above, without the "star" in the center, I'd get a solid pattern- which I didn't want

Then, I took quick measurements on the curtain to ensure my patterns would be evenly spaced. After that, I placed double-sided tape all around the back of the stencil- really getting in close to the stencil's edges. This was very helpful in keeping the stencil in place and pressed tight against the fabric.

Finally, I was ready to paint away.

I used the end of a pen to put pressure on the stencil. This helped adhere the tape to the fabric.

Here's the stenciling in progress:

My suggestion is to use a sponge brush because they are super easy to work with. I'm not sure I would have achieved these results with a roller brush- they can get really messy.

This is the first panel that I finished. Pretty awesome!