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Tue
12 ^th

Buffalo Check is my New Obsession: Or How I Made No Sew Cafe Curtains (Again)

Posted by Erin — No Comments

After adding the new kitchen countertops and installing a subway tile backsplash, I decided that I liked the neutrality of our kitchen. I liked that everything was starting to look more clean and fresh and could kind of be tweaked with some flowers or dish towels to match the seasons.

Rather than add a pop of color with a rug or curtains, I decided to go with a black/white/gray motif. So, I found a few black and white fabrics that I liked, and went with it.

Ok, fine what really happened was that I saw this buffalo check fabric at IKEA, fell in love with it (and the price) and had to have it!

I thought of the “neutral theme” idea later when I realized that everything goes with black and white buffalo check.

If you remember, my old cafe curtains were made from cloth napkins. Which is still an awesome idea and for a non-sewer (or someone who cannot make up her mind) and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to have a quick, easy, and cheap window cover solution.

That buffalo check fabric though.

So, I pulled up my big girl pants, and got out the ~~sewing machine~~ iron and extra strength hem tape. I made the curtains similarly to when I made them for Coco’s room a few years back. However, I also got super fancy and made a valence too!

Using my previous ~~cloth napkins~~ curtains as a template, I measured.

I ironed while watching Brooklyn 99 (Captain Holt, am I right?)

I hung them up.

Again, this is one of those projects I waited awhile to post as kind of a “time will tell” experiment. While I have made hem tape curtains in the past, they were decorative curtains that weren’t really open and closed very often and used more as a way to frame a window. These curtains, however, are actual real utility curtains. The kitchen is a high traffic area and the window over the sink is one that is open and closed a lot, which means these curtains would be pulled open and closed a lot. Also, over the sink means water splashing, steam from pasta water being drained, and other cooking shenanigans that happen near the sink. I wanted to make sure that these curtains would hold up to a wash, water, and heat, and some traffic before I posted a tutorial.

Here they were the first week.

Here is picture of them yesterday (over three months of cooking, baking, washing dishes, splashing, and one run through the gentle cycle of the washing machine and hung to dry).

Also, because I don’t know if I mentioned earlier, but I really like this fabric from IKEA, I overbought, so I also had enough fabric to ~~sew~~ iron tie backs, and another valence for the patio door.

Do you have any easy, quick, and foolproof DIY methods that lasted longer than you thought?

Tue
08 ^th

Spooky Silhouette Curtains Tutorial: A JoAnn Fabric Celebrate the Season Craft

Posted by Erin — 8 Comments

I have been compensated for this project by JoAnn Fabrics, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

When JoAnn Fabrics asked if I would like to participate in their Celebrate the Season Campaign, I jumped on this opportunity in a heart beat. I have always been a JoAnn shopper when it comes to crafts and DIY projects around the house.

For Halloween, the theme is Spooky Spaces. Nothing says spooky to me more than some creepy night time forest creatures. With all the windows we have in the front of our house I thought it would be spooky to have some creepy creature silhouettes hiding in the windows.

While I could have cut some shapes or painted some silhouettes onto some plain white paper, I really wanted these decorations to last from year to year. I decided to make them out of fabric and then I can hang them every year for Halloween as well as give them a quick wash in the washing machine if they happen to get a little dusty. We all know, that I don’t sew, so I had to think of another solution. When I was walking around JoAnn, I found sheets of iron on fabric adhesive. PERFECT!

Supplies:
White Muslin Fabric
Black Muslin Fabric
EZ Steam Fusible Web Adhesive Sheets
Stencils or Silhouette Pictures

Measure, then Measure Again (and then Maybe one more time for luck): I carefully measured each of the windows. In my case, I wanted to make sure that the white fabric completely covered the glass portion of the window. I, then, cut all my white fabric to size.

Create Some Stencils: While I can do some things free hand, I thought it would be better to trace out the creatures. I searched via Google Images and found a bat, a crow, an owl and a spider. I enlarged the photos and printed them on card stock, and then carefully cut them out. (The tree was too large to print, so I did draw that myself).

Stencil printed and cut out on card stock

Trace and Cut: Using my stencil, I traced my spooky creatures onto the paper side of the EZ Steam sheets in PENCIL. I did not want there to be any chance of marker on the fabric or blending through onto anything, so I thought that pencil was the safest way to go. (Note: Since I was doing silhouettes I did not really worry to much about which way they were facing, but keep in mind you want to trace your stencils right side down so that when you iron them on your fabric they are facing the correct way.) Next, I peeled the wax like backing off the EZ Steam sheets, and carefully pressed them onto my black fabric. Using the tracings as a guide, I carefully cut out the shapes.

Adhesive webbing with traced creatures affixed black fabric.

Heat it Up: Once all the shapes were cut out of the black fabric with webbing still affixed, I carefully arranged the shapes onto the white fabric. Once I was happy with their placement, I began ironing. I laid a cloth napkin over the black fabric cut out, and using a medium setting on my iron, I pressed the creature onto the white fabric for a few seconds. (Note: Different brands adhesive webbing have different instructions, please make sure to read carefully.)

Hang Them Up: There are several ways to hang these curtains in the window, but because the fabric is so light, I just used a bit of duct tape in the corners of the windows to hold the fabric in place.

Here are my creepy creatures hanging in the window. I think they are pretty spooky, and I am thrilled that I can use the decorations from year to year.

To see this craft again or more spooky spaces from other awesome bloggers, check out the JoAnn Fabric Creativity Made Simple site HERE!

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Linking up at Hope Studios for Tutorial Tuesday.

Don’t forget, you can check out more creative inspiration here: http://bit.ly/creativitymadesimple

Fri
07 ^th

Fast, Easy, Cheap: No Sew Curtains

Posted by Erin — 12 Comments

When we first moved into this house, we removed a lot of things, especially upstairs. One of the things we removed was all the window treatments. They were dusty and in various stages of disrepair. I figured I could do something on the cheap. The first step was to get everyone room darkening shades for privacy and for sleeping. This held us over until we could do something a little more decorative. I did a little research and found this tutorial on Young House Love. I’m going to share how I made these curtains, but the Young House Love tutorial is great for tips on how to hang curtains.

I don’t own a sewing machine (someday I hope to). So, the idea of doing something with just an iron made me so happy (my iron doesn’t get the workout it used to since my hubby has decided to outfit his entire work wardrobe with wrinkle free apparel).

Since Coco, already has a room darkening shade, and these curtains are purely decorative, there really is no need to open and shut them, therefore I only needed a few yards of fabric to make floor length curtains. Overall this project was quite inexpensive, especially if you have a 40% off coupon to JoAnn Fabrics, and a home sale at Target where I bought the hardware. After doing this project, I’m totally convinced I could make curtains for my whole house. It only took me about an hour and a half, which for me any project that can get finished during afternoon naps is a dream project (just like this sentiment art).

Supplies:
Fabric
Heat n Bond (it comes in different widths and strengths)
Fabric scissors
Iron
Ironing board
Curtain rod
Curtain ring clips

Measure, Measure, Measure! I always follow the measure twice (three times), cut once philosophy. Also, make sure you leave enough allowance for the width of the heat and bond. That will be how wide your hem is.

No, seriously, cut it out! Cut your fabric to length and width. Really, does there need to be more explanation?

Iron ’em out! Iron ’em out! Smooooooth! This step could not be any easier. All the directions are right on the back of the Heat n Bond. My only tip here, is just make sure you hold the iron in place for the correct amount of time while “hemming” otherwise if there is not enough heat, there will be no sticking. Keep in mind, if your fabric is thicker you may want to hold the iron in place for a few seconds longer.

Hang ’em up! This part I left mostly to the hubby, because the kids woke up, and he could hang the new curtain rod without having to use a step ladder. I clipped the curtain rings about every 6 inches, so that they would gather nicely.

So viola, there you have it! Fast, easy, cheap… curtains.
Linking up today at Serenity Now and Tater Tots & Jello. These are great places to check out anything from home projects to recipes, crafting to organization tips.