Tag Archives: DIY

DIY:: window treatments

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So we have some nekkid uncovered windows in our house that needed addressing. When we moved in 3.5 years ago, all the windows in the house had window treatments. We liked them enough to keep them around for the time being, but some time this past summer, I decided I’d had enough. The 2 windows that overlook our front yard were covered with red valances that while nicely made, did not match one thing in our entire house. So out they went. And the poor kitchen window has been bare for a couple years now. He was just begging for some color to spice up the room.

SO — here’s a little DIY tutorial on how we made our new window treatments! Note: there aren’t exact measurements/prices of materials here, but I hope this gives you a general idea of how easy it is to make your own (or have your husband do it for you). 
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Materials we used::
3/8″ plywood
Brackets
Batting (for quilting)
Fabric
Staple Gun

Step 1:: Measure windows. We measured to the edges of the trim around the windows and then added 2 inches on each side so that we’d have room for the board/padding/fabric.

Step 2:: Cut plywood to desired lengths (4 pieces per cornice box) and secure with brackets. 
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Step 3:: Cover each cornice box with batting. I bought several bags of batting from Michael’s (in the quilting section) and we just cut off the excess as we stapled it in place.
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TIP:: Be sure to pull the batting extra taut so you don’t end up with bunches or wrinkles across the front/sides/top.
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Step 4:: Determine placement of fabric based on pattern. Flip over and begin same process as when securing the batting — pull material taught and staple in place.
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Yay! The finished product(s)::
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a blog post about bloggers

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I was introduced to the Young House Love bloggers by my friend Kristina (in the middle of the pic below) probably 2 years ago. YHL consists of a cute-as-a-button couple from Richmond, VA who have a passion for DIY-ing it on the cheap. They have such a huge following that they were able to quit their day jobs and this blog is now their baby (other than their daughter Clara and doggy Burger) and full-time job. I love the fact that they keep their projects real. There’s none of this “here’s how to redecorate your living room…. but you’re going to need a team of decorators and 5K to do it” kind of stuff. They do their best to keep projects affordable, and more importantly, doable for their blog readers.

John and Sherry Petersik (the couple that is YHL) recently released their first DIY book, and boy is it good. It was one of the very top items on my Christmas wish list. So when we heard that John and Sherry were going on a nationwide book tour, we eagerly awaited their announcement that they were coming to Atlanta… but there was none. Oh, but wait — they added extra dates, and Atlanta was the last stop on the list! Yippee!!! Tara, Kristina, and I registered at Christmas for this signing (set for 2/7/13)… we were just a tad bit excited.

We stood in line for about 1.5 hours in the FREEZING cold (at least we were covered from the rain) — and Tara scored us a spot just 5 deep from the front. High five! I did feel so sorry for those people waiting in the back of the line when we left later that night. That’s dedication.

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Being totally stalker-ish and taking photos through the store window while we waited in line. BONUS — Katie Bower and her boyfriend/husband Jeremy showed up, too! She’s a blogger north of the Atlanta area and is also BFFs with Sherry of YHL. So naturally, they’d be here for the Atlanta signing… it was so fun to get to see all of them!

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Our “normal” photo with John and Sherry…

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This needs an explanation, right? While in line, we decided we wanted to take a funny photo with them as well, but we needed something good to pretend to react to. A couple of us just started watching the thriller TV series “The Following,” about a serial killer who is obsessed with the work of Edgar Allan Poe. Part of the first episode takes place in Richmond, and YHL blogged about it recently, as that is their hometown. See where I’m going with this? So our posed reaction is to a scene in that episode that is quite shocking and terrifying… I’m not going to explain it and ruin the fun for anyone who’s planning on watching the show. I think the fake reactions were a success — especially Sherry’s.

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Lots of yummy baked goodness courtesy of  West Egg (one of my favorite brunch spots) which is next door to FLOR, where the signing took place.  I love a good cake pop, especially when it’s filled with red velvet cake!

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We dominated the Smilebooth.

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Round #1:
The photo in the top right corner was in honor of $her-dog.

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Round #2:
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Round #3:
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Round #4:
A-town down.
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My prized signed book! Thanks to John and Sherry for coming to Atlanta to meet all of us — I love your blog and your cute little family. It’s always fun to see what you’re up to each week. You’ve inspired my husband and me to create new things and make our house more fun and personal with each DIY project.
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more patio funness! (sure, it’s a word)

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The Patio Project Chronicles continue with minor updates on our first 2 projects — the hanging pallet bed and the wine crate planters. Craig finally had time to stain the planters and coat the insides and bottoms of them with a sealant to keep water from running out everywhere when the plants are watered. I think they look so great — especially considering they were in a trash pile at our neighbor’s house before Craig rescued them!


And we got plants! I wanted mums for the fall/winter, but Craig was told at the garden store that we missed the window for those. So after a little pouting, we I moved on. The plants that look like mini Christmas trees (how appropriate for the season!) are actually rosemary plants. I really like the way they look when paired with the pansies. They’re festive and a little unexpected. I just hope the bunnies that terrorize our neighborhood plants don’t sniff out the rosemary and eat it all!


Moving on to my favorite part of the patio — the hanging bed! We’d been brainstorming on how we could easily and cheaply create some sort of cushion for the bed… but we don’t own a sewing machine, and I don’t know the first thing about making something like that. I remembered that my favorite bloggers, Young House Love, had posted about some cute seat cushions they’d gotten recently for their new deck. I searched their blog archives for that post and found that they’d gotten them at Garden Ridge. I have never been to a Garden Ridge, so I looked them up and found one just north of Atlanta. They have like 100 different options for outdoor cushions, but most of them resemble something you’d see on your grandma’s patio if she lived in Miami in the 80s.

Luckily, we happened upon this modern pattern in black and white, and I’m in love!! We hadn’t thought to measure the bed before heading out on our cushion search (we were already out running errands), so we just guesstimated and got 4 cushions to cover the width of the bed. Turns out, they work perfectly! They’re outdoor material, but we plan to only put them out when it’s being used so as to preserve the fabric longer. When we’re ready to use it, we just have to tie each cushion to the slats in the bed so that they’re nice and secure. Craig also stained the bed to match the fence and planters.


Perfect for lazy afternoon reading and napping!

DIY project:: sparkly pumpkins

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It’s officially fall!!! I don’t know about everyone else, but I can feel it in the air in Georgia, and it’s glorious! I am quite enjoying the cooler weather, especially in the morning, and not getting sweaty walking 20 or 30 feet to my car after work. To help get into the fall spirit, I decided pumpkins needed to be purchased. Not real ones just yet since it is still September…. so plastic ones would have to do the trick. But I wanted something a bit less “pumpkiny” than these guys below. So, enter the spray paint.

I had the hardest time deciding on colors…. I must have spent 15 minutes staring at different bottles and color combinations at Michael’s. I ended up deciding on some super glittery spray in both gold and silver and got the “sparkling canyon” in satin to round out the metallics.

Craig was sweet and set out a big drop cloth for me to work on in the garage. I set them all out in groups so that I could divide them up among my 3 color choices. The large pumpkins were fairly easy to spray, but it was a bit difficult to control clumping where the spray rolled around to the bottom side of each pumpkin. The little mini pumpkins were almost impossible to cover! Every time I sprayed one, it would go flying across the drop cloth. I don’t know the best way to remedy that problem…. buy heavier pumpkins, I guess.

After a couple light coats on each  pumpkin, it was clear that the awesome glittery spray paint was just not cutting it for this job. The silver spray bottle got stuck in the “on” position and proceeded to just spray tons and tons of glitter everywhere…. everywhere except for the pumpkins. The gold did something similar. So it was on to Plan B with those sets…. this time, I went to Home Depot — and was AMAZED at the assortment of spray paint they have!! I chose non-glittery metallics in gold and silver to cover up the crazy, half-glittered pumpkins. These cans are great — easy to spray and they don’t stick like the others did.

And here’s the finished product! Lots of sparkly pumplins in various shapes and sizes… some a little more glittery than others, thanks to the first round of painting-gone-wrong. I tossed them (meaning I actually very carefully placed them so you can’t see the dried clumps of paint here and there) in a big glass bowl on our dining room table.

And then I accented them on each side with two of these guys!! Our family friend Leslie had gotten several of these gems at the local Dollar Tree in Arcadia, and I just loved them, so I had to get some of my own. Next time, I’ll stick to the pre-made glittery items. Happy Fall, y’all!