Tag: Sewing

Recent Home Updates

RECENT HOME UPDATES

After I completed my leopard living room curtains, I kept feeling the itch to check more things off of my summer to-do list. I decided to start with the kitchen curtains.

Breaking Out the Sewing Machine

For these curtains you’ll remember that I was planning to use this fabric.

Waverly Sun-n-Shade fabric “Seeing Spots”

I am not very well-versed in the use of a sewing machine, but I got one for Christmas a few years back and busted it out for this project. I have to read the directions every time I get it out, and sometimes I have to search a YouTube video or two. I thought I was ready to go so I took my picture expecting my next one to be of something complete. And then something just didn’t seem to be going right and here’s what I managed to accomplish:  Oh boy…..

So, I regrouped, reread my instruction guide, and tried again. I also put my camera away at this point and decided to just focus.

New Curtains

I sewed the curtains, hung them on a tension rod and hated them. They were gathering like Granny’s old kitchen curtains, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the gather at all. My original plan was to hang them from hooks like I did the leopard curtains, but I did not like the look I was getting. The fabric, to me, looked better when it was flat. I decided to cut them to fit the width of the window and hung them on small tension rods. They just add a little bit of accessory to the white kitchen. I have enjoyed having them up. And enjoyed even more that I didn’t have to ask my mom to make them for me. 🙂 She was probably glad too.

I just love this fabric, and I recently saw it in black as upholstery on a chair. It was beautiful. The above picture doesn’t do it justice. My camera and editing skills are not up to par at all, but you get the general idea. I think it’s better than the before that you can see below.

Another Rug Switcheroo

I also switched a few more rugs around this week. You can see in the picture above the old orange rug I’ve had for way too long. It doesn’t really “go” anymore and, honestly, needed to be retired.

I think I have enough room for a runner along this stretch of cabinets, but I just can’t pull the trigger so quickly on rugs/runners. Plus, “shopping” my house is much easier on the pocketbook, so that’s exactly what I did.

If you remember my first post that shows the entry foyer to our building you’ll see that I had a rug at our door. Since we don’t use this door much anymore, I decided I would bring this rug inside and put it at the back door. I took the rug I was using at the back door and put it in front of the sink to replace the old orange one. 

Not a major transformation, but something different to enjoy. Always shop your house first! You’d be surprised at what you actually have that works in new ways and in new places.

I Tried to Better the Painting

A few posts ago I showed you an abstract painting that I did to go in our dining space. But if you remember, I didn’t love it. So I decided to add a bit of gold brush strokes around the edges to help it look a bit more like it was “framed”. I didn’t want it to be perfect like I was trying to actually frame it, but I just kept thinking it needed something. I am still deciding if I like the changes. I like it better than before, but I’m still not sure if I love it.

BeforeAfterLike I said, I don’t know if I love it, but I definitely like it better than before.

Anyone else crafting or having fun playing in your homes this summer? Share them with me in the comments.

Sometimes I think something as simple as switching a piece of furniture with another from a different room or rearranging your bedroom furniture is just as much fun as a full on room overhaul/makeover. I encourage you to do that! Especially for your kids. I was always asking to rearrange my furniture when I was little. Putting my bed on a different wall or in a corner. It gets your creative juices flowing and inspires you to make your home a place you truly love. And bonus to you moms who find it keeps your little ones occupied in their rooms while you get some downtime. 🙂

As always, my point here on this blog is to encourage you to make your house a home, a place that you loved to be, a space to express your creativity, and a safe haven for you to be yourself and make mistakes along the way. That’s part of the fun. Lord knows I’m making plenty of them, especially in the way of decorating, but I’m definitely having fun doing it.

 

Leopard Curtains

LEOPARD CURTAINS ARE FINALLY UP

This past week I decided now was as good a time as any to start dressing my naked windows. I knew that these would most likely be the most labor intensive since I was going to have to hem them by hand. This is how that worked out before I got into the groove of stitching…

I have family members actually cringing at this photo. Haha! Anyway, I quickly realized this was not going to work, so I cut out these stitches and started again. Those stitches aren’t perfect either, but they hang by clips and hang up pretty high, so hopefully no one notices that those aren’t straight or very pretty. You can kind of see them in this picture. 

Lucky for me I was able to binge watch more shows on Netflix while I was sewing. Let me just switch gears really quickly to tell you about my two, okay three, new obsessions. If you’re wondering what to watch since summer prime time television is less than desirable, here you go.

The OA 

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Holy crap! I can’t even begin to explain it. It starts weird and gets weirder and then in the last episode you’ll be left with chills all over your body wishing there were more than eight episodes.

Riverdale

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Did you ever read Archie comics? You know, with Archie, Jughead, Betty, and Veronica? Well, this is a dark and twisted spin on these characters. There’s been a murder in the town of Riverdale, and these four main characters just might have something to do with it. It’s really great! They even incorporated Josie and the Pussycats, and I remember watching that cartoon as a kid. The acting is amazing, and all those teen/young adult actors of the 80s and 90s (Molly Ringwald, Skeet Ulrich, and Luke Perry) are all parents in this one. It’s really very cool and very well done.

And last but not least- Gossip Girl

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I know. I know. Shallow, lame, teen-geared television. This was popular when I was in college, but it is so fun. I only got into it toward the end of the series when it was being aired originally, so I am catching up and refreshing this go round. It’s a mystery as to who Gossip Girl really is, so it’s interesting to have that knowledge and watch from the beginning. Mindless entertainment, for sure, but fun.

These shows helped me through the sewing! Hope they are good suggestions for you if you’re in any summer TV slump. Any other suggestions are appreciated! Leave them in the comments!

BACK TO BUSINESS

So, after sewing and measuring and cutting and sewing some more, I finally have curtains hanging. I will say that I knew I wanted leopard print, but I wasn’t sure how it would look. As it turns out, I really like them and think they are quite fun. And why not? It makes me happy and Paul likes them too. 

I like that they’re shear and don’t block out the natural light that I so love about this apartment. It’s filled with natural light all the time, and I didn’t want that to be covered up in the living room.

The curtain rod is not the original rod I was going to use. I had a smaller one that was a silver color. I knew I didn’t want silver, so I spray painted it black, hung it up on the wall, and it was too small and just didn’t work. Luckily, I didn’t get rid of my old curtain rods, so I tried this one, and it worked! (Sometimes it pays to keep things.)

I also like how it pairs with the rug. I think that since both are neutral colors that they don’t compete with one another. And again, they make me happy. That’s what’s important when it comes to decorating your home.

Jack wouldn’t move out of the shot, so I just told him to sit. At least he’s obedient. 

Thanks for stopping by today. What are your thoughts on leopard print curtains or anything leopard print for that matter? I’m kind of in love with it and hope to one day have a leopard rug and, of course, a few leopard throw pillows. 🙂 Let me know in the comments. I hope y’all have a great week!