Crafty Bitch: Round Four

So, I keep mentioning finishing my master bathroom re-do, but it’s been on-hold for a little while. You know, life. :-) But this weekend, I’ve finally made some progress.

Over the past several months, we’ve already texturized and painted the walls, removed the ghetto mirrors and replaced with framed mirrors, replaced the lighting, added all new hardware and wall décor.

But there are still three pieces left: first, I’ve got our contractor coming out at the end of the week to tile the floor (the major part of the re-do!). We had some issues at first, but we’ve finally got someone on-board to do the installation within our budget. Second, I’m going to buy a shelves for our towels, etc. and lastly, the curtains. I’ll post photos once the re-do is done (next weekend, fingers crossed), BUT I was able to tackle the curtains this weekend. (With busy season wrapping up, Greg is working 75-80 hour work weeks, so I have pleeeennnnttttyyyy of time for nesting/decorating the home!)

I’m not the sewin’ type, so I went the no-sew route as inspired by my fave home décor blog, Young House Love. I already have the fabric, so got down to it yesterday. I’ve included some simple instructions, but as always, you can probably Google for better instructions…

My supplies:

So, I started out by measuring the window so I knew how to cut the fabric. I added on several inches on each side because of the hems. I cut the fabric into two pieces for each panel. Then, I worked the sewing magic. There’s this stuff called hem tape that’s definitely God’s gift to the “fake it ‘til you make it” crafters. I measured an inch in (on each side) and ironed on the hem tape.

Then, I folded the material over and ironed the hem into place. See? (If this is too vague, there are pretty good instructions on the back of the box of the hem tape.)

I did that on all four sides for each panel. It did take some time. I’m not sure if it took so long because I was watching an all-day marathon of “Breaking Down the Bars” on the Oprah Winfrey Network channel or if it’s simply because I feel I have to try a bit harder than most…

Next came trying to figure out how to hang them. Since they were hemmed on all four sides, the easiest thing to do (and what I feel looks the best) is to use rod clips. It’s in a window nook so a traditional rod wouldn’t work. I went to Lowes and picked out a bronze tension rod and window clips, which cost about $16. Finally, it was simply time to hang it up.

A few key learnings: I need a stronger tension rod (so I’ll be replacing the cheap-o $6 rod with something a little stronger). Also, curtains look best when they have a wave to them. I should have built in an extra 5 inches on each panel to get more of that “wavy look.” So, a few missteps here and there, but I’m pretty happy with the overall look. The whole project cost approximately $54. Not too bad considering I couldn’t find any store-bought window panels that I liked or that were the right size. Excited to see this room finally come together! Would you believe I’m already planning the decorating for my “gray and yellow” guest bedroom?