Pinterest Copycat

If you guys are anything like me then you are addicted to pinterest! The minute I sign in I am pinning the most beautiful and amazing things. I then find myself trying out those things as soon as I can. Some of my favorite recipes come from there that I probably make WEEKLY!

I found a few projects recently that I just couldn't resist trying in my home. The first was the DIY ruffle curtain found here. A boy, a girl and a pug gives you a detailed tutorial on how to make these inexpensive curtain. Really these were pretty easy, it just took some time to hem all the pieces and sew them together. But I love how they turned out. Before I had just plain white curtains and sewed the ruffled strips right to the existing curtain.

I love ruffles but was afraid it was a bit too feminine. So I tried to tone down the ruffles and I think it turned out perfect for the look I was going for. 

It adds a lot more character to some boring old curtains. And the best part is it only cost me $10 and I feel like I have totally new curtains:)

Another project I tried was "frosting" my front window. 7th house on the left has a free pattern that you can download to make your own frosted window out of contact paper. The end results are amazing!

This project took some time. I did it while watching an episode of The Bachelor :) Each one of the Moroccan tiles was traced, cut and stuck on separately! I think that my scissor fingers suffer permanent damage from all the cutting, but it was totally worth it! I tried to get a picture of it outside but it was really sunny and a bit hard to see.I'm in love!

 

 The last project I did was probably my favorite. Sugar bee crafts shows you how to make an inexpensive giant picture. 

Basically what you do is take your photo to Office Max and have them print it in black and white. I got mine printed as 24x36. It only cost $4 so I got 2! One for my Living room and one for my sons room. Then you go to Home Depot and get a large piece of foam board. Mine only cost $7.50 and I was able to get 3 large pictures out of it. 

I cut it down to size using a box cutter and used spray adhesive to attach the photo. Mine had this silver lining on the back that was easily removed.

The edges were a bit rough, so I painted them black with craft paint. On my sons I added a ribbon border to cover the rough edge.

Once it was done I just used Velcro to hang it on the wall.

This is where normally you would be done but I wasn't satisfied with the "finished" look. To me it looked plain and like it was missing something...probably because my wall is big and empty.

 

So I made a big chunky frame to surround the picture and I love the finished project! It gives it such a custom look.

Stay tuned for a tutorial on how to make this frame. Its super easy I promise!!

tie up curtain tutorial

As you all know I have been working on our playroom loft. I have to take things step by step to get a room to where I want it. First was the entertainment center, then a rug and now a curtain for the window. I made this tie up curtain for only $8, which included fabric and a curtain rod!

Here is how I did it:

I went to Hobby Lobby and got 1 1/4 yd fabric. It was discounted 30% off! I measured my window which is 34" wide and cut my fabric accordingly. I cut 4 pieces for the ties that were 5" wide and 26.5" long and 1 piece that was 10" wide and 34" long for the rod pocket. Then whatever fabric I had left was my main curtain panel. 

Next I folded all of the outer edges about 1/2" and ironed them. Then I folded all 4 tie pieces in half and ironed them.

Once all pieces were ironed I sewed a straight line across the edges to prevent fraying.

 

Now that all edges are sewn it is time to assemble.

To place the ties I just folded the panel piece in half to find my center. Then I placed each tie piece in the center of each half. I pinned one tie piece on front and on back like so:

Then place the panel piece inside the rod pocket piece and pin.

Sew a straight line across the pinned section and you are done!

Now for the curtain rod, I just got the cheapest one at Walmart for like $1! 

It works perfect for a simple curtain like this.

Once its hung, tie the front and back ties together to gather the panel.

Normally I line all of my curtain to prevent sunlight coming through, but the loft gets such good light that I didn't want to take away from it. Plus this fabric was a bit thicker so it bunched up well enough without a liner.

I hope that was simple enough and made sense. Really its a simple and cheap project that only took me about 1 hour total to make. And if I can do it so can you :)

linking up to:
Not Just a House Wife
Tip Junkie
Homemaker On A Dime
Cherished Bliss
Todays Creative Blog
House Of Hepworths