Using masking tape to aid in your painting endeavors isn't really a new trick. But Anna over at Door Sixteen has a great little tutorial on making your paint lines come out crisp and clean without any bleeding or peeling. Plus you can check out her sweet diy medicine cabinet! Click through for more...
Anna tells us the trick to super crisp lines is two things:
1. Allowing Things To Dry 100%
2. Painting a first layer over the edges of the tape itself.
By painting over the edges of the tape you create a barrier for your other layers, keeping them all in check! The project looks great and is a great inexpensive diy solution! Check out her full post with more pictures and information on her medicine cabinet build!
PS, Have you seen her house tour yet?
(Photo curtosey of DoorSixteen)
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The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
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How to Make Easy 3-Ingredient Energy Bars at Home
True Greek Recipe: Paximadi Bread Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Capers
I just discovered green Frog tape. It prevents bleeding. I'm using it on a house painting job, and it works great. Won some science award for it's special ability. Check it out at http://www.frogtape.com/FTST/index.html
No, I do not own stock in this company!
I also find it helps to take the edge of one of those wooden paint sticks and run it along the length of the tape after you've laid it down juuuuust in case.
I meant to say, "wooden stir sticks."
I love Door Sixteen, have followed Anna for years (since her previous blog), and find her post full of good advice, but I wouldn't have done it the same way.
Mainly, she did two rectangles, rather than treating the cross as a single, solid shape. There are seams in the paint in the body of the cross where the rectangles overlap, and they've been bugging me since I first saw the post.
I don't know if she intended that look -- and if so, then it's "right" whether or not I like it! (and the rest of her place is so, so right even in my opinion.) But if not, I probably would have taken some step or other to avoid that seam -- either marking out the entire cross shape, or -- depending on what paint was used and how well it sands -- sanding lightly to smooth those edges before applying final coats.
I don't agree with letting the paint dry. If you let the paint dry over the tape, the paint forms a continuous film and can lift off when you pull the tape.
To get clean lines, run the back of your nail along the tape edge so there is no gap. After painting, lift the tape before the paint dries.
Miranda: That was indeed intentional. I laid the paint on very thickly with the intention of it looking dimensional, as though one strip of the cross is draped across the other like a bandage. In person, the effect is MUCH more pronounced than it appears in the photo.
To achieve a single-layer effect, one would simply have to carefully use an X-acto knife to trim out the finished shape from the placed tape. Of course, that has nothing to do with my recommended method of under-painting with the base color, which is really the helpful tip here! :)
Webherring: I have used this method many times in multiple areas of my house, and have never had a problem with the paint lifting off.
THAT SAID... I should note that I always use the painter's tape made for delicate surfaces. It is much thinner than regular painter's tape, and I find it hugs the surface very well without any rubbing or burnishing (with sticks or fingers!), both of which can lead to over-adhesion and peeling.
I'm not sure why this post doesn't link back to the original entry on my site, but here it is:
http://www.doorsixteen.com/2009/03/16/medicine-cabinet/
Rubbing down the edge of the tape has never been enough in my experience (although typically I haven't had perfectly smooth surfaces to work with). I recently saw a tip to smooth a thin layer of painter's caulk over the seam before painting, which looks like it would work. I also agree that you're supposed to remove the tape immediately. Even when the tape says it can stay for 48 hours or whatever, it's always ripped the paint of my walls if I don't take it off right away.
Okay, there's some confusion here...
Unfortunately, AT did not link to my original post (or quote it correctly), which reads "let everything dry completely between coats". In other words, don't stick tape to paint that's not COMPLETELY dry (at least overnight), and don't brush your top color on until the base coat is COMPLETELY dry. Otherwise, I can guarantee you will have a huge mess and lifting paint all over the place.
By all means, go ahead and pull the tape off right away once the last coat is applied!
If you're having problems with tape ripping the paint off of your walls or other surfaces (and you're sure the base paint is 100% cured), try using the painter's tape made for delicate surfaces. I have left it in place for well over a week with no problems.
p.s. AT, you really should let bloggers know when you're linking to their posts, especially when it's something instructional and there could be questions involved!
where did you get the cabinet?