stencil-painted-nursery-curtains

when we were trying to decide what kind of curtains we wanted to use in the nursery, we knew two things. one, we knew we wanted them to be relatively inexpensive. because we needed four panels, we didn't want to spend $40-$50 a pop on each of them. secondly, we knew we needed something with a pop of color, but that wouldn't stand out of our neutral color scheme. you all know my obsession with painter's dropclothes. they are cheap, have amazing texture, and in this case, can be painted extremely easily. my mother-in-law purchased this cute medallion stencil a couple of years ago and did this same exact treatment for the curtains on their back porch. because hers turned out so well, we figured we would give it a whirl.

after watching griffin suffer through the long and tedious process, carol offered to do the remaining three for us. i know, she is too sweet. however, hers not only look better, sorry grif, but she also finished all of them within the week!! thank you carol, we love you :)

here is a step-by-step process:

{step one} measure off where the medallions will go and place a piece of tape to mark off

{step two} place stencil on the surface and, using a stencil brush, press/smash down on the stencil. it is important to smash, as opposed to the normal brush technique, so paint doesn't get underneath the stencil

{step three} carefully pick up the stencil and carefully place it on the next spot

here are a few pictures of griffin working on the first one...

and some of the finished product...

we absolutely love the way they turned out. they are bright, colorful, and playful, yet they still fit into the neutral color scheme of the room. our next nursery project are the shelves. maybe later this week.

have you ever tried stenciling before? do you have any helpful hints or tricks? do tell. 

love, 

maggie