Painting Curtains For My Classroom

I am a little particular...and indecisive about things in my classroom. Considering I spend more waking hours there than I do at home, I want it to look pretty and be comfortable. When I first started teaching, going on 6 years ago, I did all sorts of research to find out the best colors, scents, music, lighting, etc to have in a classroom. I painted my room and coordinated everything in it to somewhat match...sometimes even supplies I bought.  I am now ready for a change. Of course, I can't do anything the easy way.

At the end of the year I would sit and make lists of ideas of things to change. I was a little too ambitious at that point.  I thought I would start painting as soon as school got out. Well that didn't happen. I did begin in the middle of July and always had some reason not to go work on it. Now that the new school year is lurking around the corner, I need to get my behind in gear and get it finished.

Aside from the painting, which I don't really think needs a post, I will show you the process as I go. So here is step one....the curtains.

I painted the walls 2 different colors. The side walls are a gray and the front and back are a turquoisey color (yep, I just made up a word).  I wanted to include an accent color of coral. I am not the best designer so I do a lot of research...this is where Pinterest comes in handy. I found that your main fabric (bedspread, curtains, whatever) should have all of the colors in it. I can't find where I read that, but I did. I considered using a shower curtain at first, but that only had gray and turquoise. It didn't look bad on the window, but it was short. It may work for your room.

Then I decided I would PAINT my curtains to whatever I wanted.  This is mainly because I couldn't find a fabric with the colors I wanted in a large print that would look good on my 7 foot windows. I looked in a couple of local fabric stores and online. Nada. I ended up buying 4 twin size flat sheets at Wal-Mart to make the curtains. This gave me the width and length I needed and was inexpensive. It was like $4.88 per sheet.

I visited my favorite craft store, Hobby Lobby, and purchased my supplies. I used 3 different colors of acrylic paint.  I also purchased Textile Medium to mix with the paint so it works better on fabric and a wall stencil. (Textile Medium: Delta Creative $5.99, Americana Acrylic Paint in Coral Blush and Anita's All Purpose Acrylic Craft Paint in Hawaii and Rainy Day Gray)

Since I don't have a great craft space at the moment, I spread out a vinyl tablecloth on my living room floor and put down the fabric. I did have to iron it first. I used a self-adhesive spray to hold the stencil in place and foam brushes to blot and spread the paint. I didn't want it to look perfect so the lines aren't crisp and I applied it heavier to some spots. 

This did take a lot of time...and it's only one. I'm hoping that as I do the others it will go faster. 

This shows the curtain hanging in the room. I haven't sewn it to the correct size yet since I am trying to decide how long I want them. Again...indecisive. I posted a picture of this and of last years curtains on my Facebook page to get advice. I usually have plants on each windowsill in my room. Since I hang the curtains with a tension rod, it's hard to tie them back to see outside and make room for the plants. In past years I had short curtains up. I'm still undecided, but will post pics of the final room when it's complete. 

 See the window in the background. I think the curtain is too short. I like letting the light in, but it looks odd.

This is with the blinds down, which I hate, but is sometimes necessary. I also made these curtains. They are tie dyed a chevron pattern.