Once we started planning and budgeting for the nursery, we decided DIY stamped curtains would give us the biggest impact for the cost especially since we needed 118″ curtains. We picked up some LENDA curtains from IKEA. They are tabbed at the top, but I sewed the tabs down to get a cleaner look. See how Kelly did that here.
So there were lots of ideas about what we should stamp – bacon, t-bone, beard – you know all things Ron Swanson. Eventually we settled on a lightning bolt. It’s a cool shape and can transition easily when it’s time for Swanson to retire.
I bought a stamp template with a wood backing at Hobby Lobby. It was around $2. The stamp cutter is similar to this one. Make sure to flip your shape when you draw it onto your block. You can see how the paper lightning bolt is the correct orientation while the one on the carved stamp is backwards.
I carved all of the rubber off around the bolt to ensure I wouldn’t press down too hard and mark up the drapes where they weren’t supposed to be.
I mixed the leftover Tricorn Black from the mountain mural for the paint. I did add fabric medium just to be on the safe side. I brushed the paint on my stamp instead of dipping it into a container. I wanted to control the amount of paint (no bleeding or drips) and ensure the entire stamp was covered. You can see that sometimes I did stamp outside of the lines so to speak. I just used some Honest Stain Remover + a baby wipe to clean it up quickly before it dried.
The amazing thing about using LENDA curtains is they have faint vertical stripes, so spacing the lightning bolts was super easy. I used the level to make sure they were straight horizontally, and I was set. I used cardboard to protect the floor.
There were times when the stamp didn’t quite fill in the whole shape. I just used a paper cut out of the lightning bolt (like you saw in the stamp supplies picture), brushed paint on it, and lined it up for another “stamp”. I couldn’t use my actual stamp to restamp since the wood backing blocked my ability to line it up to the original bolt. The paper method worked well though, so bullet dodged.
The lightning bolt was the perfect amount of pattern to mix into the nursery. Beckett clearly loves it. He was eager to show off his bald head for the blog. Or maybe he was just being camera shy. The world will never know.
The stamp effect has a really charming handmade feel to it which fits with the room.
The curtains are not lined with black out liner, but I might do that later. However if I’m being honest, I probably won’t because a) laziness and b) I like how they look – all breezy and sheerish. The black blinds help tremendously with blocking the light. Plus the direction of the sun into the room at nap and bedtime works in our favor.
We hung the drapes with a Mid-Century Wooden Rod. It is beautiful and masculine. Plus the wood tone definitely fits with the feel of the room, and gold is always a good idea.
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Thanks for a great tutorial! I also checked out Kelly’s tutorial on how to creat no tabs, and as a bonus I learned how easy it is to line curtains!
Keep the great ideas coming!
Sonja Doyle
Ladypompadoura Handmade
It’s such an easy trick isn’t it!? It really opens you up to finding the perfect curtains! If I sew curtains, then I line them. It’s barely even an extra step.
Cool! I really like the Lenda curtains – we have them in our playroom (as-is, no customizing except for length) and they are a nice blend of sheer and weight. Great idea to do lightning bolts too. The stamping gives them a casual, artistic vibe.
That’s the perfect description of them “a nice blend of sheer and weight.” EXACTLY!! When I was stamping them, Nick and I were talking about how the stamp effect is really charming and handmade. I kinda want to lightning bolt all the things.
I love that bald head. His curtains are pretty rad too. Nicely done!
Seriously the happiest bald headed baby ever. His curtains and his parents are pretty rad.
I am thrilled to see the use of Lenda curtains in a well-designed home! I sing their praises like a crazy person. Great weight, texture, opacity… now I am side-eyeing my own plain white ones at this moment, trying to figure out how I can jazz them up.
Unlike you, however, I didn’t even sew the tabs. I just cut them with probably like poultry shears or something lazy. I AM SO LAZY.
And the good news is they’re easily replaced if something unfortunate happens to them. Here’s a warning: they shrink like crazy if you wash them in a machine. I learned that the hard way.
Do I see hot pink lightning bolts in your future? I’m working on making that happening in my life right now, so maybe your white Lenda curtains can be my guinea pig.
I am going to go with genius instead of lazy. I mean really. Genius. I only sewed the tabs down, so I had a pocket to thread the curtain rod through.
Thanks for the warning about washing them. I avoid washing drapes because I refuse to iron them. Thanks for permanently removing that temptation.
Love them you guys. So cute!
Thank you Kristin!
okay, so I love these. I’m calling it now: lightning bolts are the new mustaches! I, too, pretended I was going to eventually line Abe’s curtains with blackout fabric, knowing all along I’d probably never really do it. Since he frequently wakes up when it’s pitch black outside, though, I’m not sure I have much motivation to get it done….
Bold call Gretchen, but I like it and stand firmly behind Lightning Bolts as the new thing. Silly boys don’t they know sleep is the greatest thing ever!!
these are AMAZEBALLS. or amazebolts. i adore them! love the stamp design and the spacing and colors… it’s all perfect!
Oooo nice play on words Cassie. We dig them.
These curtains are rocking my world! And I am sure Beckett’s too
They look fantastic and I love the hand made quality they have.
Hand made quality with the absolute most minimal effort – new Wills Casa tag line.
These are totally rad! Good choice with the lightning bolt!
Thank you! I would like to take credit, but it was Nick’s idea. However he did basically nothing in the execution, so maybe I will just take full credit anyway!
For sure! An idea is only as good as its execution right 😉
Beckett is one stylish dude. These turned out great. My fear with painting curtains has always been that I’d get paint where I don’t want it and then the whole thing would be ruined! Nice tip on the stain remover and baby wipe. Filing that info away.
I think you should use your Ike stamp from craft night to make a dog bed for him. Or it could be the start of an Ike wallpaper. Endless possibilities.
Cool lightning bolt. Kelly over at “View Along the Way” said to stop by… to complete my life. Your home and blog is very nice, very well organized, and many other very good attributes.
I feel completed for today
..
Oh that Kelly! She’s so dramatic, but seriously we are what’s missing in your life.
Thanks for stopping by.
such a good mommy:)
Or just crazy
These are awesome! The handmade feel to them is so cozy! And those rods…I’ve been eyed them for our living room for awhile…you’ve talked me into them with your stamp of approval!
The west elm rod has all the sexiness.
Love how these turned out! The lighting bolt is great and I love that it’s unexpected for a nursery.
I want to put lightning bolts on everything now!
Such precision. I’m glad you went with a lightning bolt. I’ll be sure to mail Beckett his first copy of Harry Potter.
Genius. Didn’t even think of that, but it is the natural segway into his big boy room!
I love this! What a cool way to personalize the curtains! The lightning bolt totally has me thinking of Harry Potter, which is also a plus. 😉
Thanks what Kenz just said! I hadn’t even thought about it, but yes that definitely makes it even cooler.
Love these curtains – I actually prefer the subtle stamped look. And the lighting bolt is perfect.
Pinning.
You’re the best.
Such a great project. I bet it was a little time consuming, but well worth the effort because they turned out great. Love the style of your son’s nursery. So well put together.
Thank you so much Brandi! It was a lot quicker than I expected, but I’m used to sewing curtains. It was definitely a lot faster than that!
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This is great but I am curious why you chose stamp over stencil? About to do this myself and am looking for advice!!
Thanks!
The fabric is pretty thin. I thought a stencil would leave too much paint on the curtains. Not sure how accurate that is but that logic made sense at the time!!