pinspired: shower curtains turned window curtains

Maybe one of my most favorite, genius ideas Pinterest has taught me is the *art* of turning one shower curtain into two window curtains.

Were you aware you could get a fantastic shower curtain from Ross or TJ Maxx for $8? I got a yellow damask one for that price, and it was originally $28!

BTW- this is how ugly the curtains in the bedroom were before.

That doesn't even show the horrid-ness of it. They were a black-out beige that blended in to the walls and just made the room feel dull and dark. 

Originally I planned on making yellow an accent color in the room with the thrift store lamps and other things, but when I found these yellow curtains, I loved them. I was excited to mix up patterns and bring some light to the room. 

Because my room came with built in curtain rods, and I didn't plan on having some huge drapes in there, cutting a shower curtain in half was the perfect width for both sides. 

It's the easiest thing you'll ever make for your house. You cut in half, sew or bond the cut end under as a hem, then either hang them with shower curtain rings or attach pieces of ribbon across the top. 

I went the ribbon route, but I think I'll be undo'ing that action and probably just getting some rings for it. Because my curtains are so light, you can see the ribbon through them when the sun is shining through.

Also when the shining through, it makes it a bit difficult to show you the design and how light, colorful, and fun they really are in the room. 

...so here they are with a little flash/nighttime help.

I'm not/wasn't worried about the pattern being centered, especially because the curtains are perfectly aligned on the outer sides of the bed. Plus, I don't think anyone is really ever going to notice unless they're looking at that picture. 

So to sum it all up, you can get two curtains for the price of one. You don't even have to spend $20-30 at Target. Two curtain panels for $8 total. That's a freakin' bargain, my friends.

Also, they look fabulous if you use two panels on one window. I really enjoy the one Little Pink Monster [Kane's wife] used for her daughter's bedroom.

Next up in my bedroom: fixing up that nightstand. It really brings everything down, huh? All I want is a "grown up room!"

love,
elizabethany

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pinspired: diy striped curtains

If you're a renter [like I will be for the rest of my life], it's hard to figure out the best way to make your house "yours." For me, I feel like it's impossible sometimes because I don't have the money to buy all new decorations and furniture to make a place really nice.

The house I'm in right now left us some drapes that were the most boring of boring, but when I looked online to buy nice ones, they were too expensive for my brain to handle. I found this pin of DIY striped curtains that were temporary and knew I needed to give them a try!

Yes, the stripes come off and no harm is done to the curtains I'm renting!

So, I gave it a whirl. I bought cheap, light, black fabric for $3/yard [had to get 6 yards] and the temporary fusible bond, cut the fabric into even strips, measured it out on the curtains, and started bonding!

As you probably know by now, I tend to take the easiest route with crafts, so mine aren't perfect. I also decided not to put ribbon on the edges of the stripes to cover up the cutting imperfections. I'm hoping no one will inspect them, but knowing me I'll point it out whenever someone comes over and I show off my latest project. I also didn't iron them out before hanging. I'll let the sun do that.

They really make a huge difference. I figured I'd like the added touch, but I think they bring a new feel to my whole living area! Here's a picture from the week we moved in and then today:

[I'm not showing the whole room because a- it's a mess and b- I wanna do a lot of revamping this month! Hopefully the official after picture will be awesome.]

Now it's time for some honesty: Doing these myself were totally not worth it. Besides the pride of finishing a project that I really like, nothing adds up. 

• It was far more expensive than buying curtains that I won't have to take apart when I move. I ended up spending around $50 thanks to a mess-up in measuring.
• It took a lot of time for such tedious tasks. 
• They're not perfect, nor are they *really* unique. I coulda gotten similar ones from ebay for $40.

If I were you, and you didn't have to salvage the original curtains, I would opt for getting some cheapies in any color at Walmart or wherever, then using tape and fabric paint to get your stripe on. Who knows... I might even try that technique for the master bedroom.

But for now... I'm going to try and forget about how much money I spent, be proud of my creation, and devise a way to steal these whenever I have to move out. 

love,

elizabethany

PS: This is the beginning of my Month of Pinspiration! I'd say it's a good start.

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