How To Paint PERFECT Lines

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Let me apologize in advance for any intense enthusiasm you may experience in this post. I'm just THAT excited about this latest project. 
It. Turned. Out. Beautifully!!! And it was super easy, so I can't wait to share it with you!

Our half bathroom downstairs should really be considered a fourth of a bathroom. Or a seventeenth of a bathroom. We're talking ti-ny. So I wanted to do something to add a little pizzazz and color without making the space look any smaller... And I've really been wanting to paint large navy stripes somewhere to fulfill my love for all things nautical. Simply put, I think it just looks wonderful. :)

What you'll need to begin are your two paint colors of choice, a small paint brush and / or roller (depending on the size of your stripes), and tape. 

Now you might be able to get away with any type of painter's tape due to the nature of this method, but the one thing I always splurge on is FrogTape. It's $3-4 dollars more than the next step down, but in my opinion, $3 is definitely worth the price difference in the long run. And I'm the cheapest girl you'll meet. :)

Step 1: Paint the wall your base color, with however many coats you need to cover well.

Step 2: Measure out and tape where you'd like your stripes to go. Press hard and well on the tape to prevent leaks.

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Honestly, I measured well to get the spacing in between the stripes, but I didn't spend too long trying to make sure they were level. And you don't have to. If it looks level to your naked eye, well, it will look level to anybody's naked eye. Don't stress yourself too much... People will be too enamored with your perfect, leak-less lines anyway! :)

Step 3: Paint over the tape, where the stripe begins, with a coat of the base color.

Yes, the color the wall is already painted. Why? Because if anything leaks, it will leak on the first coat. And this way, it will completely blend in with the color on the wall. Invisible leaks!

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I even 'tried' to get that base color to leak a little bit. See how I'm pointing the brush up into the tape? Think petting a cat backwards because you want to get things stuck under its fur (awkward analogy, sorry). But if your going to have leaks and imperfect lines, make it happen now before you paint your stripe color.

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Step 4: Wait for that to dry.....

Step 5: ....Then back to painting!

Please observe how incredibly inexpensive this paint was. I felt fairly high on the awesome scale while purchasing it.

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This time, begin using the color of your stripes. And now, go for no leakage! Like the picture below shows, I  painted from the tape towards the stripe. Aka, pet the cat the correct way. (Awkward, seriously, you think I could have come up with a better analogy...)

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 Step 6: Peel the tape off carefully while the paint it still wet. I would finish one stripe and then pull the tape from the previous one, so each stripe had just about 10 minutes to dry before I peeled the tape.

My first stripe!
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Step 7: Admire your fabulous work! Did it turn out perfect? I knew it would! It's such an easy, foolproof method. Here are some close-ups of the lines.

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I'm so thankful this worked so well so that I could share it with you, and I hope you have a blast painting! In the near future, I'll be posting some details of the finished bathroom. It really turned out so adorable! So thankful. :) 

For the time being, I promise I will temporarily avoid all cats. 

**UPDATE** Here is the finalized tiny-bathroom!!

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Ya'll stay sweet!
Agape,
CC