Some Serious Stenciling

Wanted to get back to some projects - so here was one of the most intense ones I took on while at home for a month... Stenciled curtains!
It started with my purple chairs.

I bought these babies from my old boss when he purchased and office space and didn't like the contemporary furniture that came with it. They were a STEAL!
So, since then they have traveled with me through 4 houses and finally found a true space big enough to hold a cute little conversation area.
So now, that they had a home, they had a lovely picture window across from them and wanted curtains to tie them in. I searched fabric online - although I don't sew, i have an aunt who is a seamstress and could whip some up. But, I couldn't find a print that was as large as I wanted. Here is one that was close...

So, I recalled a Pinterest post I had seen a while back on stenciling curtains and looked it up for some guidance and inspiration. 

The first step is to get some white curtain panels. I found mine at Home Depot. They are the Martha Stewart white cotton tabbed panel. Then you just use any color of plain old acrylic paint with some added fabric medium. Just ask at Michael's they can show you where to find this. I had some trouble. I found more of a selection of wall stencils at Hobby Lobby. See some here.  One more tool that is essential is a small paint roller, sometimes called a stencil roller.  I originality thought I could use sponge brushes, but I was sorely mistaken! 

So - I laid down a large sheet and taped my curtains panels down. This project was not a "quick" or "easy" as I had hoped- by the time it was complete I was DONE! 

TERRIBLE picture, I know but it was my first steps...

Here are some things I learned that complicated things:

1. Use cardboard or something THICK to place under the curtain panel... the paint WILL bleed through no matter how lightly you apply. It went right through my usual painters sheet.

2. PUT ALL ANIMALS AND CHILDREN OUTSIDE!!! Ok, so I was not dumb enough to even attempt this while kids were home, but ANIMALS were my issue. Painted paws marks were not what I was going for!

3. Make sure you have LOTS of space or time to let each panel dry before starting the next. This was very annoying to me again because I want to start and finish before there is a need to was my roller and start over. So, I just moved my sheets around until I had enough room for each panel.

 As you can see my pattern was NOT perfect. Aligning the stencil each time was time consuming and I lost interest! (Did I say I need things to be QUICK) ;)  As soon as each one was dry enough I hung it up. 

Here are some more pics while in progress...

Sorry the pictures are dark- there is no lighting in the room. 

(See my next post... Yard Sale lamp Makeover!) 

So over all, this project took a bit more patience than I prefer... but I am happy with the result- it is the look I wanted.

Project in Short

- 2 Martha Stewart Curtain Panels $35

- Acrylic Paint and Fabric Medium $15

- PATIENCE... priceless.

What do you think?? Will you take a stab at it?

UPDATE: So after a few months passed, I felt like I needed more panels and Lord knows I was not looking forward to stenciling anymore! So, I decided to add some solid color panels to outside to add warmth and contrast. Now, finding the right color was not easy- but thanks to Ebay I snagged these for $35 and after a little handy ork (aka: scissors to remove some frilly details I didn't like) I think I love it. :)

Sorry for the not so clear picture. There is not much light in this room. But there is one cute dog! ;)

Blessings,