How to Paint in the Bathroom (Without Touching a Single Wall)

My latest "looking forward to being home" project led me to my bathroom. Specifically, to my shower curtain. I like art. I sunflowers. I like Van Gogh. The answer was pretty clear. But all the shower curtains I found (and there are some pretty cool ones out there) were $50-$80...

No thanks.

I'll just make my own. 

Here's what I wanted:                                      Here's what I made:

Sunflowers, by Vincent Van Gogh

And here's what I used to make it: 

• Little bottles of acrylic paint (once dry, they're waterproof.) // $0.50 each
• Opaque, PEVA shower curtain // $8
• Paint brushes

I kept the variety of paints pretty slim, knowing it'd be easier to just mix for the shades I don't have. But feel free to get different shades if that's easier for you!

Hang up the shower curtain taut against a wall (I used thumbtacks) because it makes it easier to measure the proportions of what you're trying to paint. Since you're not working on the floor, it allows you to work in small chunks at a time. Unless you're a professional artist (and I'm definitely not) your proportions might not be exact. That mountain might be steeper. That sky might be less cloudy. But that's okay, because you're making it your own.  

Don't pile on the paint! If it's too thick, it'll peel right off. What you're painting on is essentially plastic, so the paint spreads easily. You won't need nearly as much as if you were painting on canvas or paper. 

I didn't de-wrinkle the shower curtain before I began painting (I burned my first trial against a blow drier...) and found that the creases ease out over time.

There's something so therapeutic about spreading paint all over a large plastic sheet... and now the biggest thing in my bathroom makes me smile every time I look at it.

This is what home improvement is all about.

Just as I finished, I saw that this shower curtain on amazon went from $70 to $20... with free shipping... 

(but I like mine better.)

Monogrammed Coir Doormat

I was digging around the internet trying to find a doormat I liked, and eventually narrowed it down to the following: 

// 1. Constellation Bias // 2. Izola // 3. Wellfleet // 4. Piano Cocoa //

But then I realized that I don't want to spend $40 on a doormat. Instead, I spent $8 and used Lia Griffith's monogrammed door mat tutorial to make my own. Here it is:

I fell in love with the design and didn't want to change a thing. Literally. (She uses a G, too.)

I used: 

• Coir doormat // $5, Ikea
• Black spray paint // $3 from a local hardware store
• Griffith's stencil // print here

The hardest part in making this doormat was making sure that the stencil was a) in the middle, and b) not lopsided. I've never been good at eyeing straight lines (I think it's because I always kinda tilt my head to my left), which is terribly inconvenient for someone who's into geometric designs.

Heads up--unless you mount the mat to the wall, you can't use a leveler to align anything. Unless you're okay with the risk of getting paint on walls, you can't push the mat against one outside to make sure it's straight.

I used tape measure to make the stencil's placement as straight and centric as possible. It was a lot of guess and check, but I made sure the edges of the antlers were equidistant from the edge of the mat, and that the top and bottom of the "G" were equidistant from the mat. 

I'm actually still not sure if it's straight (I can never tell, remember?)

Oh well.