This project had been on my list of things to do for almost a year. It took me forever to find the right kind of curtains. I also spent months looking for the textile medium. I went from store, to store, to store and no one carried any. {Even though their website said they did...grrr} So it got put off again and I moved onto other things. I finally just gave up and ordered textile medium online, got the painters tape and a can of paint and attempted to measure it out.
Everyone made it seem so simple and easy. Follow the measurements on their blog and you'll be ready to paint and have beautiful curtains. Wrong! This had to be the worst, most frustrating DIY project I've ever done. Even when I painted my desk. It was horrible and it took over my dining room for at least a week. We tried taping the first panel probably a dozen different times. Let the bickering begin!
I used a few sites for instructions
Things you'll need:
Cotton type curtains/ dropcloth
Scissors
Painters tape {I used the skinny one after attempting to use the wider tape}
black paint {color of your choice, I used a quart}
Ruler
Small paint roller
paint tray
Textile Medium { I used two bottles}
BEFORE
AFTER
First off
we didn't have the correct measuring tools. We had a sewing measuring
tape. Then we tried to use a flat scrapbooking stencil and then finally
got a yard stick.
Once we finally figure our measurements. They didn't exactly measure up to the other ones on the blog. We made up on our own in the end. I ended up doing the other panels myself. Since I was doing 4 curtain panels it was more work. Luckily I was able to lay the other two on top and just trace the tape that way. It kept messing with our eyes too! Because it's an optical illusion it was driving us nuts. So we kept re-taping, because I am a perfectionist!
Finally it was time to paint. We mixed the textile medium and the paint directly in the tray. {Should've bought a bigger tray}. It will look a bit runny and I guess that's normal. We stayed with the 1:2 ratio and I went to town on the painting. After all that taping I just wanted to be done with it already. I had to go over it a couple times to make sure the paint looked even. This part may seem easy too but again it is not! Think of how difficult and painful it can be to play twister. That's exactly how it feels. I'm still recovering it didn't a number on my poor little back. So heads up on that!
Here they are opened and letting in the light. It was definitely worth it I think. Still less expensive then buying them online for 100-200 a panel. Which would've cost me $400-$800 just on curtains. While this project cost me probably less than $150. At least this way I can control the thickness on the stripes too!
My Dining room is almost complete and then I will do a little tour of it. It's coming along nicely. I'm so glad this DIY project is finally over!
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