SO SIMPLE, NO SEW CURTAINS!

Need some curtains and need them quickly?

You might want to take a look at what I came up with.

These curtains really show my simple style  (once again, it's REALLY simple!) as well as my love of linen.

These curtains are SO SIMPLE!  They actually are NO SEW SIMPLE!

A sewing machine or needle never came near these curtains!  Not that I'm against sewing machines or anything (well I have had my moments with them), but it's just that I like quick......really quick. 

Here's how I did it.  First, look at this before picture of the window without the curtain.  The wooden blinds which had been up for 16 years was nothing but and eye sore.


YUCK!



NOT SO NICE!





















These were nice at one time, I actually love plantation shutters, but something bad happened here. I think maybe water damage in some of the really bad rains we have had may have leaked in. I really don't know. I just know that I had to keep them pulled up at all times so this mess would not show!


So......time for something new!  I have been wanting to make some curtains out of linen for this room for some time.  I thought I would have to special order linen, but was nicely surprised one day a few months ago when I saw it at Joann's Fabrics.  I couldn't believe it.  It was exactly what I was wanting .....and the good part is that it was ON SALE!  So, I brought some home with me!

If you decide to do this, make sure you know the length you want your curtains, and they will cut it for you.  I had them cut it for 8 ft., length.  The above fabric is actually doubled so I just put it in the floor and cut it in half.  (You could also have them do this at the fabric store). 

This is where the fun part comes in.  Simply (love that word), fold the edges of the fabric over along the sides at the top and then fold the top over this.  I folded mine over about 2 1/2 to 3 inches.  I didn't even pin it or anything I just folded it over and then clipped it to the rod which my husband had hung for me.  (I have never had much success at hanging curtain rods, so I don't even try.  My husband does much too good of a job!) 



Fold at top and sides so the raw edges won't show.



Curtain hooks.....way to go, in my opinion!

So simple!



I know it would have been nicer to have them sown the right way, and someday, in my "spare time", maybe I will, but for now, with company coming for Labor Day weekend, they work!  Honestly, you cannot tell they are not sown or hemmed unless you walk up and closely examine!  You're welcome to come to visit, but if you do, please don't examine my "So Simple" curtains!













I know you're probably wondering what I did for the hem at the bottom.  Glad you asked!  I simply (there's that word again!) let them "puddle"!  I hope that is not way out of style.  Is it?  I don't really know.    I just folded them under and they were long enough to puddle on the floor.  If they were not long enough, I suppose you would have to hem them.  (You could always use tape!) 



The puddle!



This little project even motivated me to actually clean the window inside and out.  I am so glad to get that done. 



A few more shots.



At night, pulled together for privacy, of course.



Hope you enjoyed hearing about these "So Simple" , quick and easy curtains.

Linking to Beneath My Heart's DIY party.

A Little Fall Decoration Inspiration

Like most everyone else, I can't believe Fall is almost here.  It has been such a great Summer!  As I shared in "Some of My Faves About Summer" I love summer!  I have really enjoyed it this year; have spent a lot of time with family.  It has been such a joy to have grand kids here a lot!

 I usually don't rush Fall decorating.  As a matter of fact, I don't go overboard with it at all.   There are some who have already started decorating for Fall.  I like a subtle transition from Summer to Fall.  So that's what I
tried to do in this mantle makeover....using flowers that are still in bloom, but those which have a feeling of fall because of their purplish color.

 First of all  I took a nature walk and gathered up some green hedge apples and cut some purplish flowers off of a Butterfly Bush (I think that's what it's called,)  and then I went shopping.....under the kitchen sink for the old metal pitcher to put the silver things in.  Then I found me some limes from some deep abyss in the pantry and a dark colored wooden bowl that my husband brought me from Costa Rica a few years ago to put the limes in.  I found a mirror upstairs that I put over the mantle as a backdrop  "It is really old"!  To the right of this little vignette, I put one of my favorite pieces.  It is an old handmade fiddle.  (One of my son-in-laws let me keep it, and it cracks him up that I use it to decorate with.  I love it!) 

The wall looks blue in this picture.  It is not blue.  It is actually white.



Well, maybe my old metal container (which belonged to my grandmother, btw),  is not quite as elegant as I would like it to be, but it serves the purpose. 

OK, guess I'm ready for Fall now!

Tag on Bag

Wrapping gifts and making them look pretty and different is one of my favorite things to do.  I really don't like to use the gift bags.  I know they are very convenient, quick and easy and pretty, but I just think when you give someone a gift that you have taken the time to wrap, it makes them feel like you really care about them.  Maybe that's just the way I feel.  I don't know. 

Anyway, I usually try to do something really unique and different when I decorate a gift.  This past Saturday, I went to a bridal shower, and I succumbed to using a gift bag.  It was a beautiful white on white with velvety embossed flowers on it.  The bag was pretty enough, but I wanted something extra.  

Here's what I did.

(Hang on..... this is REALLY simple,  I promise!)

 I had actually bought the card with this idea in mind. I took the ribbon handle that was in the bag and tied it to the ribbon on the card on the outside of the bag. The card had an opening in it which said, "A Wedding Wish".

I know, it's just simple little project, but it kinda changes it up just a little.  It works when you are in a hurry.  The person you are giving the gift to doesn't have to open the envelope, and it is easy to get to to see who gave the gift. 

Just make sure the bag and the card match or compliment each other.

OK, so that's my "Gleaning" for the day.  I hope someone can use this idea.

Blogging via email ......It worked!

Once again I'm trying to see if I can email a post to my blog with a picture attached.  I followed the instructions.  Let's see if this works.

--
Gail

Blogging from a Different Angle

I am hoping to be able to send a blog post through email. The main thing I want yo do is learn how to send pictures to my blog. I haven't been able to this since I've had this iPad. Please work! : )

From Barn to Charm!

This is a project that has been an on going, Summer, project. We bought these (there's two, but I'm only showing one throughout this post) night stands at an estate sale early in the summer for a whopping $10.00 a piece! This was at an old horse farm in our area that I didn't even know existed. They were selling the house furnishings (which was a huge old house), all the outside equipment and all the barn "stuff". The barn is where we found the night stands. I think from the looks of them, they had been stored there for a looooong time! They were in pretty bad condition as you can see.




  I know, you're probably thinking, "what were you thinking?"!  These are ugly! They were, but I could see potential in them, and I could tell they really were "nice" nice as in quality and as in being solid wood, and  remember the $ tag ?......only $10@, and did I mention, they are French styled? (my favorite style of furniture)!  But I do admit, they looked pretty bad!
Not to mention the smell.  Oh, maybe I shouldn't have!  Well, they did come from a barn!  Also in their "better days", they must have belonged to a nice, little, southern lady, because there was also a smell of talcum powder mixed with a moth ball smell!  WAIT, please don't quit reading.  It gets better.....Ha Ha!  Some of the table drawers were lined with contact paper, there were straight pins in the corners and edges.  (Our little, old, southern lady must have been a seamstress too!)  Of course there was dirt and, hold on, there were spiders (dead ones of course)!  WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!  I can't believe that recently I have actually been considering trying to start a business of refurbishing old furniture.  I don't think I was thinking!

We started working on them early on, but because of our busy Summer schedule, we were not able to work on them as consistently as we would have liked.

We have only had time to work on one so far. Lots of steps have to be taken to get this project from "barn to charm"!

First, while my husband sanded and sanded and sanded some more, I cleaned  the inside. I removed the wonderful contact paper (yuk!), and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned some more! Just call me the "Clorox Kid"!
After we got it cleaned and sanded, (believe me, it got the best cleaning it had ever had in it's life from me! Let's say bleached!, we coated it really good with a sealer. Then we let it set outside in the hot summer heat for weeks. Then the grandkids came and it got put on hold for weeks! That is ok, though!


 Anyway, here it us the end of October, and we are starting again. I am so pleased to tell you that all the steps we took and especially the sitting outside in the heat for weeks, took care of the smell. It no longer has the old, mothball, talcum powder smell. I'm glad, cause I don't know of I could have taken that since these are going in our room as nightstands.

I'm excited because we just got a new mattress and it sits so much higher than our old nightstands, that it is hard to reach anything from the bed. Our charming barn nightstands are much higher. I believe they will be just the right height.

Anyway, as of this week, Oct, 27, 2011 after more sanding and a coat of this paint,  (I decided to use a oil base paint and have as sleek of a finish as I could),

It is beginning to look a little more charming! 

Maybe not quite there, but close!  Just hang on! 

Ok, after more sanding and a second coat of paint on the outside as well as a second coat of sealer on the inside, it is  time for the "big reveal"!  Ta da!  I'm excited!







These are the original handles spray painted  with this paint:  Krylon Brushed Metallic, Satin Nickel

The following are just pictures of the finished project.  (well, there's a couple of tweaks that have to be made, such as the drawers need to be put in to fit just a little better.  That will have to wait until my husband gets back from an out of states missions trip.  He's the one who fixes these kinds of things!) 



Sure am glad the height of the table matches the height of the bed! 



BEFORE!



AFTER

Whew!  That was a lot of work, but I think well worth it, I think!  I hope you like them too!  I don't want to sound conceited at all, but I do think a good name for this little nightstand project is, "From Barn to Charm"!  What do you think?  Do you think they are charming?  What do you think about my opening up a furniture refurbishing business?  Well, never mind about the last question!!!

So there you have it!  I am so glad to have rescued this little nightstand from the spiders, dirt, etc.  The only thing is we have another one just like it waiting......probably until next summer!

Linking up to:  Beneath My Heart's October DIY linky party.

                      My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia's Tuesdays Treasures