January 17, 2011

Stencil Me In

Ever since we moved into our home in February (that's almost a full year ago for all of you keeping track), I have wanted to put curtains up in our bedroom.  I feel like curtains are the shoes of the room; they have the potential to absolutely MAKE the room.  And without them, the room seems less complete.  Upon my request, my sister picked up a couple sets of IKEA Vivan panels for me waaaayyy back in March.  I was never sold on the plain white, though, and instead have been longing to interject a little pattern into our basic bedroom.  So for a long time, our bedroom sat like this:

I apologize for the mess, and  bonus points if you spot the preview of what's to come!
After patrolling my favorite stores and websites for 10+ months looking for reasonably priced, geometrical patterned (as opposed to floral or stripes, etc), that fit my color scheme (clay brown, not chocolate)...I was about over it.  One day, though, I was randomly watching "The Nate Berkus Show".  He featured a stencil to use as a wall-covering, and immediately I knew I had my answer...I would stencil my Vivan curtains (genius, I know...note sarcasm).

My project supply list included the following:
  • set of curtain panels (I already mentioned I used IKEA Vivan)
  • 3 inch **sponge** roller
    • at one point in my project, I needed a new roller and attempting to avoid a trip to my craft store I went to Home Depot (more convenient) instead...BIG MISTAKE!  The wall rollers just pulled up my stencil constantly
  • acrylic paint in chosen color (I went through approximately 5 bottles for 2 panels)
  • stencil paper
  • craft knife to cut stencil
  • stencil tape to hold stencil down each time
  • cardboard
  • Nate's stencil
The process was really pretty straightforward.  First, I printed out the stencil and taped it on top of stencil paper.  Using the craft knife, I traced/cut out the lines of the stencil.


 After ironing and hemming the curtains, I just laid a panel down on the floor and taped the stencil to the top left corner. I used my roller to paint over the stencil.  I put a piece of cardboard under the part of the curtain that I was painting to make sure none bled through on to the floor.  Once done, I just lifted the stencil, taped it down at the first one's end point, scooted over my cardboard, and got my roll on again.  Here's a look at my work in progress:

And a close up in case you're like me and need lots of images:
After repeating that process about a bajillion times, this was my final result:
And hung in all their glory in our bedroom:



I'm pretty pleased with them.  The whole project cost me about $50 for 2 sets of window panels and all of the supplies.  Time wise, I spent about 2 hours per panel, although admittedly, I started to get a little less precise with lining up my stencil as the process went on.  Because the curtains were going to fold, I reasoned you wouldn't be able to tell, and for the most part, I think I was right. 
Overall, it really was quite the easy project (although  my back and knees were not so pleased with me after being hunched over for a good part of the weekend)...pretty mindless, fool-proof work (the kind I excel at).  A bigger stencil would certainly have helped (I couldn't find one in a pattern I like without having to spend beaucoup bucks...and at that point, I may as well buy the beaucoup buck curtains).  But I got curtains that met all of my criteria, so I think it was worth it. 
What do you think?  Ever attempted stenciling anything?  I am already trying to come up with other things I can stencil!!!

16 comments:

  1. wow! i think they turned out great!!! i also think curtains really make the room but i always seem to have quite the time putting the rods up!

    have a great day!

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  2. New follower/admirer from Meg's Mingle here...enchanted by your ability to do all this amazing stuff (I am incompetant with a capital 'I') and intrigued by the fact you have a cockapoo...I'm going to see if you have any photos of him/her next. I've seen a labradoodle but not a cockapoo.
    Please do drop by and maybe follow if you fancy a laugh. All talented people are more than welcome...please bring the dog!
    Warm wishes
    Carol from www.facing50withhumour.blogspot.com

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  3. Hello hello! Just visiting from Mingle Monday! These look amazing, I'm so impressed. I'm pretty much the most domestically-challenged person ever....

    Check me out at www.poodleism.com!

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  4. Those look fabulous! A little too ambitious for me {though I do need curtains in our bedroom as well}, but overall I think they turned out perfectly! Good job!

    I'm visiting from Mingle Monday. I hope you have a wonderful day :)

    xoxo,
    Joelle

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  5. Hey from Mingle Monday!
    I LOVE the curtains. They're awesome! I wish I was that talented. ;)

    -brittney
    http://brittneyschermerhorn.blogspot.com/

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  6. luv the final product!!! stunning job :D

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  7. Saying hello from mingle monday...was drawn to your blog because I'm in the same general area as you are! And I love those curtains! I don't have patience for that kind of thing, but the end product seems to be totally worth it! :)

    happy monday :)
    chloe.

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  8. Love it! Stopping by from Mingle Monday.

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  9. WOW! Thanks guys for all the support:). I am pretty pleased with them as well, but it's certainly nice to hear that others like them

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  10. Absolutely love the curtains! When I move this summer, I will definently be trying this out.

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  11. Looks great! It's amazing what you can do for a small price isn't it. I'll be back seeing as I'm going to be following you.

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  12. What a great project! They turned out awesome. Found you from TDC; I'm your newest follower!

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  13. Wow, thank you for sharing this idea! I bought some inexpensive white fabric for my living room curtains, and I'm not liking the all-white look. Guess what I'll be doing soon!

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  14. So cool! I would never have thought to do that. What a great design. I never like the designs on the curtains in the store...never thought of making my own!!!

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  15. WOW!!! These turned out so nice...great job..

    sherry ;-)

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  16. Yes, they turned out great! I'll have to check out the stencil!

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