No Sew Shower Curtain

Have you heard of Chrissy over at Boerman Ramblings?  If you haven't, you should check her out.  I totally stole her idea was so inspired by her No sew Ruffle Flower Embelishment that I decided to put it on my shower curtain.  Yeah, Hubby the Great isn't too fond of the frilly shower curtain, but I'm lovin' it :o)

I have never owned a ruffler foot for my sewing machine.  I have always wanted one, but never found a project that justified buying one.  This was no exception.  I wanted some frills, but not enough to spend $30 on them.  When I came across Chrissy's site, I knew I had struck gold.  Endless possibilities folks, endless possibilities. 

I searched and searched for a gold and gray shower curtain... Nothing reasonable popped up, so I settled for a solid white one.  (Got it at Home Depot for dirt cheap)  It worked for a little while, but I wanted to make it a little interesting.

Hence...

I started by cutting my fabric into 2 inch strips.  I wanted the edges to be a little raggy so I didn't sew the sides at all (besides, it's a no sew shower curtain right?)

I went with fabric glue because hot glue is a pretty high risk factor for me :o)  This stuff works wonderful!

I measured a line across the shower curtain and then traced a bowl where I wanted my flower.

I laid a small line (a few inches) of glue down and then scrunched up the fabric to create a ruffle.  I held it until it set (maybe 30 seconds) and then repeated the process.

It created a nice little ruffle that is surprisingly strong.

When I got to the circle, I did the same thing around the it.  When I got all the way around, I just rotated in a little bit and went around again.  Chrissy can tell you way better than me... go here.

Imagine the possibilities :o)

2 things I notice in this picture...
1. I should have ironed the shower curtain
2. I'm almost out of toilet paper

The best part about this project... FREE and EASY!  I did this project in about 45 minutes with a sick child laying on my knee.  Just a keep-my-hands-busy project :o)

That's my favorite kind!

Happy Friday!

-Katie

Linking up Here:

The Shabby Nest

Fingerprints on the Fridge

At the Picket Fence

Tatertots and Jello

Pocket Full of Pink

Be Different, Act Normal

Funky Junk Interiors

The Gingerbread Blog

Flamingo Toes

Lines Across my Face

I heart Naptime

Under the Table and Dreaming

Nifty Thrifty Things

Monday

Lines Across My Face,Dittle Dattle,C.R.A.F.T.,Sumo's Sweet Stuff,Keeping it Simple,Singing Three Little Birds,

Embellishing Life Everyday,Pinkkopotamus,Around Tuit,Craft-O-Maniac,

Life Made Lovely, The Girl Creative, Skip to my Lou, Sew Chatty,  Sarahndipities, Between Naps on the Porch

Tuesday

Home Stories A to Z,Giggles, Glitz, and Glam,Lady Bug Blessings,The Blackberry Vine ,Reasons to Skip the Housework 

Funky Polkadot Giraffe ,Cherished Bliss ,Not Just a Housewife ,Project Queen, Coastal Charm, DIY by Design

Wednesday

Ginger Snap Crafts,Night Owl Crafting,Blue Cricket Design,Someday Crafts,My Girlish Whims,seven thirty three

Creations by Kara,Sew Woodsy,Goodbye City, Hello Suburbs,Sew Much Ado,

Saved by Suzy,Sweet Peas and Bumblebees, Lil Luna, Fireflies and Jellybeans

Thursday

The Shabby Creek Cottage, Saved by Love Creations, The 36th Avenue, A Glimpse Inside, House of Hepworths

The Idea Room

Simple Fabric Art

Empty frames?  Sure, everybody's got them laying around.  I'm not sure how they lose their insides, it just happens.  Perhaps everyone has a little procrastinator in them and never gets around to changing out those pictures.  

I have been working on completing my bathroom.  It has been an adventure.  This bathroom was the main reason we DIDN'T want to buy this house.  What am I supposed to do with yellow tile?  I'm slowly figuring it out :o)

I wanted some artwork that would help pull out the yellow and dark gray accent colors I had goin' on,  so I found some fabric scraps that I had and some empty frames and figured, why not?

I LOVE the way they turned out.  These are seriously simple to make.  Could not be ANY easier!

I started by spray painting my frames.  (There is no picture because I did it the day before the fever started. They sat in my yard for 3 days before I remembered they were out there :o)

Cut a piece of fabric about the same size as the inside of your frame.

Find a good surface that you can attach your fabric to, this one had a little lip in the inside that was perfect for this project.

 Find the center of one side of your fabric and staple it to the center of one side of the frame.  I used a staple gun (this one was $1 at a yard sale) to attach it, but I'm sure hot glue would work just as well!

Staple the center of the other side.

Attach the top and bottom the same way.

Staple along each of the sides pulling tight as you go.

Then staple along the top and the bottom, again, don't forget to pull tight!

Didn't they turn out cute?  It's a fun little way to pull out some accent colors in a room.  Now the yellow tile isn't as out of place.

As far as Boog is concerned, things are slowly improving.  This is the first morning in over a week that she woke up without a 103 degree fever! Things always get a little worse in the afternoons and evenings, perhaps one day she won't ask to sleep at the table while we eat dinner :o)

Thanks for those of you who are praying for us.  If you have left me a comment or emailed me, I'm sorry if I haven't responded.  I love that you are reading and showing the love, I just haven't sat down :o)

-Katie

Partying Here:

House of Hepworths

Updates...

My little munchkin is still fighting a fever and not much is helping.  We ended up returning to the doctor for another visit.  She was diagnosed with Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease (sounds pretty gross, huh?).  She also has a sinus infection.  She was pretty dehydrated because we couldn't get her to drink fluids and the poor child was so week from not eating it was sad.  

This morning things were real bad so we headed to the Emergency Room.  The wonderful people down at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta were awesome once again (we dealt with them a lot about 18 months ago when Boog had an unexplained seizure). 

In the waiting room she did find a little strength to color.

 By this afternoon things were looking up.  They put her on some strong pain medication for the sores in the back of her throat and she was able to drink a whole cup full of milk!  Essentially we just have to keep this up and down until the sores go away... momma's draining fast.

Her medicine made her loopy and

she decided it was necessary to keep grandma's glasses on while riding home.

Even asleep :o)

She is asleep now and all is quiet.  Praise the Lord.

*SO*

This was a half finished post that I had from before the whole Mouth Disease thing started that I wanted to go ahead and share.

My bathroom is coming along nicely with just a few small details left.

No, I'm not changing out this tile.  In a commitment to stick with my free-to-me month, I'm making it work!

These lights are all over the house and I just can't find any way to make them work.  They will slowly be replaced by painted brass fixtures from the restore.

Fortunately for free-to-me month, I have this one waiting in the wings for Hubby the Great to install for me.  

And in case you are wondering... this is what I look like most of the time when I am snapping pictures. Hair up (sort of), t-shirt, sweat pants, and that beautiful little Nikon!

My shower curtain is getting a major up-do soon and I have some fun plans for some wall art... but not tonight.  Tonight I am going to sleep.

Goodnight blog land... I am taking the night off!

Fevers and Gallery Walls

I hate when my babies are sick and there is nothing I can do about it. Boog has had maintained between a 102-104+ degree fever for the better of 4 days now.  The days have not been easy.  With doctor's orders, we have been waiting it out.  1 more day and we have to go get some blood tests done.  She has been asleep for almost 2 days straight. It's pitiful.  I never thought I would be so excited to see her pull out a puzzle and ask me to help... but it happened this morning!  So we will see.

Not much project-finishing has been going on, but I was able to snap a few pictures of the gallery wall that I put together before a sick little 3 year old rocked my world upside down.

Here is what the wall looked liked when we first moved in.  We were in that just-make-it-work-until-I-can-find-what-I-really-want-to-do-with-it stage and that big dresser in the middle of a narrow hallway was just a little too crowded.

I painted the wall Anonymous by Behr (my new favorite color) and added a lot of things that mean a lot to me.  Putting a gallery wall together is pretty easy.  I just put everything I love from all over the house in a pile.  I start on the floor by laying the biggest piece that I have down first (for this wall it was the chalkboard that my girls climbed up on the couch to color one day and surprise me with :o)  Then I play until I'm happy with it.  

As you can see, I haven't gotten to paint these bright, brass doorknobs yet!  I'll get there...

This house has a strange layout- one of the many reasons that we love it.  This is the hallway that connects the living room to the playroom (go left) and the garage (go right).  That doorway there is to a guest bathroom.  I love the centrality of this gallery wall, it really adds something interesting to the wall without crowding it up to much with a piece of furniture.

Now to the keepin' it real portion.  I showed you how it looks when you look right down the hall, wanna know what you see when you look left?

Haha... it's an awesome wet bar with a wine bottle border and a bright orange laminate countertop.

Don't believe me?

Work will be done here soon, because I don't think I can handle it anymore!!

And a few more fun features have really helped my mood in the last few days - so I want to give a shout-out to them!

Emily over at Mirrors, Metaphors, and Kaleidoscopes featured my Fall in a Lightbulb on her Saw It, Loved It Sunday segment.  She has such an adorable cute (newly designed!) site that I envy a little bit :o)

Stephanie at Under the Table and Dreaming (which I have no need to introduce you to because she's awesome and everybody already knows her) featured my table and fall centerpiece on her Fall and Halloween Creative Ideas post!  Go check her out... endless hours of inspiration!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend and please keep my little Boog in your thoughts.

-Katie

Partying Here:

Fingerprints on the Fridge

At the Picket Fence

The Shabby Nest

Tatertots and Jello

Be Different, Act Normal

Flamingo Toes

Lines Across my Face

I heart Naptime

Under the Table and Dreaming

Sumos Sweet Stuff

Between Naps on the Porch

A Little Fall in a Light Bulb

Necessity breeds Creativity.  I have heard it over and over.  Now, I am putting this challenge out to myself.  Due to our financial status - out of necessity, I am hoping that creativity is born.

For the next month, I will only be doing projects in which I have all the supplies for.  I plan on depleting my stash of fabric, spray paint, drop cloths, lamps, and acrylic paint.  I plan on finishing painting rooms that I have been putting off and using trash to make some treasures (hopefully).  I am giving myself a $10 allowance because that is what I have in gift cards. 

I'm sure you didn't need to know all of that, but I wanted to challenge you to not go spend money on supplies for projects if you don't have it to spend.  Seems like a Duh, but for me sometimes it's hard to distinguish between a need and a want.  Use what you have to create a similar project instead.

My first project came from the trash and my back yard (don't click away just yet!)  I saw these beautiful little vases on pinterest made out of lightbulbs.

via Pinterest

I found a great tutorial on how to hollow out a lightbulb here.  Once I hollowed it out I used gorilla glue to glue a round washer on the bottom so it would have a flat surface.

I went outside and found an acorn that was still stuck to it's stick and painted it silver (I promise I'll stop painting acorns soon :) 

Just for fun, I focused my camera on the reflection in the bulb rather than on the bulb itself.  You can see my neighbors house perfectly upside down if you look carefully :o)

It's a fun little versatile piece that will change with the seasons.  I have some super fun ideas for these babies at christmas time!  

Love ya!

Katie

Linking Here:

Tatertots and Jello

Be Different, Act Normal

One Artsy Mama

Flamingo Toes

Under The Table and Dreaming

I Heart Naptime

Confessions of a Stay at Home Mommy

Skip to my Lou

Between Naps on the Porch

Craft-O-Maniac

Not Just a Houswife

Tip Junkie

DIY by Design

House of Hepworths

Yesterday on Tuesday

Release Me Create

The Gingerbread Blog

Dittle Dattle

Fun Features!

I love when I get a feature from a place I have never been before because I love finding new, fun blogs to stalk.

Jennifer over at Social Salutations has some really fun things going on so go check her out!

She featured my claw foot tables on her post today.  LOVE the other things she featured to!

Thanks Jennifer!

(Another) Jennifer over at Scissors & Spatulas also featured my claw foot tables today!  

She has some really awesome creations over there too including this nursery!  Almost makes me want to have another baby... or at least someone I know to have a baby so I can help decorate their nursery :o)

You can find it Here

I love when great blogs fall right into your lap!!

Thank you so much for the feature ladies.  A very sick 3 year old can make for a rough day so thanks for the bright spot!!

-Katie

Lamps, Lamps, and, oh yes, more Lamps

One thing you never, ever have to buy new.

A lamp is one of the easiest things in the world to change and very readily available now that brass has packed up and headed out of town.

If you missed my first two lamp posts, you can find them here and here.

The first lamp came from my grandmothers back porch.  It's a gorgeous lamp with a lot of detail.  The brass just didn't go with anything that I had goin' on, so I pulled out my sandpaper, clean metal primer, and Pewter Gray spray paint.  I refinished them the same exact way I did all my doorknobs.

For the shade, I used some spray adhesive to attach some drop cloth.  The colors blend perfectly together.  And the coolest part about this lamp?  It's got a little switch down at the bottom that you twist to turn it on!

This is also a pretty decent view of my next refinishing project. It's a working record player cabinet that is about to get the works!  When I switch picture angles, you can also see 3 more lamps that are in process :o)  I promise I'm not a strange lamp-lady! 

This one I found in my mom's closet.  I did it awhile back, but I wasn't sure how I felt about it so I didn't share it.  As it turns out, I love it... it just took a little while to grow on me.  (Can I say "it" any more in that sentence? I counted six...)

I sprayed the lamp with a color called "Bright Idea".  If you want to see a much cooler lamp in that color, go see Amy at A Little Piece of Heaven.  I think that's my favorite lamp...ever!

For the shade I used a Tutorial by Stephanie Lynn on how to make faux curled rosewood.  Her wreath is gorgeous and I was originally going to cover the entire shade, but I burned myself 1 too many times and decided to create a pattern.  I really heart it now.

I think of lamps as the icing on the cake.  It's a cheap way to stick your signature in a room.  It takes maybe 10 minutes to spray paint a lamp and I can't tell you how many conversations they start.  It's usually the first things people notice in a room.  Go to goodwill and find a $5 lamp with a fun shape and see what happens.  It's easier than you think :o)

My next attempt?

via Under the Table and Dreaming

But I can't find that stinkin' paint anywhere!?  Any suggestions?

Have a great night!

Katie

Partying Here:
The Idea Room
The Shabby Nest
Tatertots and Jello
Be Different, Act Normal
One Artsy Mama
Under the Table and Dreaming
Craft-O-Maniac
Yesterday on Tuesday