DIY dot curtains

I've been loving all the black and white dot fabric I've been seeing lately.  I've seen a lot of DIYs for artwork and fabric and of course I loved this headboard from Kristin's room service project.  In the spirit of saving money I decided to use what I already had on hand.  Our living room curtains have been the same for a while and since I'm trying to phase out some of the brown (they have brown trim) I thought I'd give them a fresh look and a dose black and white.

here's what they looked like before...

Here's another little helpful hint.  I used tablecloths for these curtains.  I just sewed some ring hooks to the top and they're good to go.  Tablecloths are a great, inexpensive option for curtains and they come in a few different lengths.  You can also use the curtain ring clips to easily hang them.  The white Ikea ritva curtains would be great for this project too.

After I took the curtains down I just peeled off the ribbon trim.  I had originally ironed it on with Heat 'n Bond.  It did leave a little bit of residue behind so I just turned the curtains around the other way and got to painting.

I laid a vinyl tablecloth to catch any bleed through from the paint.  Vinyl tablecloths are always good to have around for crafting.

I just used this little Crayola brush I picked up in a 4 pack at Target and some leftover black paint I had in the garage.

I started in one corner and worked my way down and across.  I didn't worry about the dots being too perfect or uniform since I knew the curtains would be gathered and you wouldn't really be able to tell.  Plus I think I may have gone crazy if I had spent any longer painting on all fours.  It took me about 2 hours to do each panel.  And as the nester says, "it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful."  I'm sticking with that.

The best part is that this project was free because I had everything on hand and recycled the existing curtain panels.  Those are the best projects.

If spots aren't your thing, check out the circle pattern curtains that Shavonda did over at A Home Full of Color.  They're pretty fabulous!