Things are starting to get nautical.

My husband and colleagues know I'm trending towards the nautical look these days--you know, reds and blues, rope belts, anchors, answering the phone with an ahoy. Just kidding on that last one. While my trend has been more on the fashion front, my ideas for this look really stemmed from basement inspiration. What now?

More on this striped goodness in a bit...

Last fall we bought a red couch. Photo taken in basement in dead of winter, hence awful lighting and coloring.

And with the bead board running along the bottom half of the room already painted in a cream color, I thought, why not add in some navy blue? And the nautical scheming took off.

I really want to tear down the awful wallpaper and get some fresh paint on the walls, but I know that's a multi-day project and I just don't have the nerve to start, plus, the basement was our cool sanctuary during the heat wave last week and I'd rather it not be in chaos mode.

So to start, I made curtains. Technically we already had curtains that I made last Fall when my mode was "something funky that goes with a red couch", and now I don't care for them so much.

At least that cord to the outside has been removed and the hole caulked in.

Besides already having these curtains, I've delayed making something that would cover our side door that is at the landing of our basement steps, so I started there. And because I had something very specific in mind--white and blue striped curtains--I started to wonder how I could get exactly what I wanted. Could I paint my curtains? A quick search on Pinterest showed me that yes, it was doable.

So after sewing up some panels out of leftover canvas, I measured them out and determined my stripes would be 3 1/2 inches wide. I used masking tape to mark the stripes--the spacing looks off here, but you have to take into account the width of the tape itself.

Then I simply started painting. I liked the idea of blue on top to draw the eyes upwards. I found a thick foam brush worked best to really coat the paint on and soak into the thick canvas material.

I used soft fabric paint by Tulip. The instructions recommended washing my fabric before painting (to help prevent stiffness) and to let set for 72 hours before washing again, which shouldn't be an issue since I won't be washing curtains as much as I would had I painted clothing. I found that it wasn't too crunchy when dry. Success!

Until this happened.

I was nearly done painting the second curtain when a drop of paint sprung from my brush and landed in a spot reserved to remain white. Noooo!!! Exactly what I feared happening only moments before.

And then it got worse.

Another smudge. On the other curtain. :( I bumped into the curtain while it was drying. Then I tried to wash it out. It didn't go so well as you can see.

Project fail.

I was determined not to give up. So I brought in some forces. Well, they worked to block the color, but when I hung my new curtains the next day the big painted white smear stood out like a sore thumb. I guess I couldn't even bring myself to photograph them, so they are still hanging while I determine what to do. Cut off the bottom part and sew a new strip on the bottom? Paint the rest of the bottom in blue? Do nothing for several weeks? By default, I have chosen the latter.

But remember, this was only the curtain for the door. I still had two windows to cover in the basement, so when I was back near JoAnn's with a coupon in hand (which is often, just ask my husband), I snatched up more white fabric. I went for something heavy weight, but not as thick as canvas.

And I started where I failed last time. I decided that to avoid paint in places where it should not be, I needed to tape across the entire white portion, which also helped with measuring (which I hate, so it was a win-win).

I painted just as I had with the last set of curtains. I chose to remove the tape as soon as I was finished painting and it seemed to be just fine.

Hey! No blue smudges on the white spots! Win!

Mmm...nautical. I just can't get enough! Here's hoping this will bring me summery cheer in the cold winter months. Except I tend to avoid the sans-heat basement in the winter. Never mind.

Nonetheless, I love my curtains. Now I just have to find the energy for one more set. And to rectify the other set. Ah, maybe next week. Or month.