DIY Tropical Curtains

My favorite picture of my Auntie Hilda was taken during a Christmas celebration sometime in the 1950's.  My Auntie looks beautiful and Uncle Earl is quite dapper but the star of the scene are those amazing curtains in the background.  I really wanted to recreate that same feeling in my living room and dining area.  After much searching, I was unable to find just the right curtains which meant I was going to have to make them myself.

Let me start by saying I am NOT a seamstress.  That being said, I was super excitied to find a detailed online tuorial on Textile Love.  So detailed in fact, that it was broken down into three seperate entries. They can be found starting here.

After determining the amount of fabric I needed I placed an order with Barkcloth Hawaii.  Nyna is great to work with and made sure I was happy with my order.

Trimming the panels to proper length.

 

My dining room table proved to be the perfect work surface.  With both of the extensions in place it was nearly long enough to accomodate my unhemmed panels.

All ironed and ready for the lining.

 

For the curtain lining I cheated and used off-white flat sheets that I purchased from a local retailer.  They were really affordable and already hemmed so that saved me a few steps.

 

Just like the picture on the tutorial!

 

The instructions called for a blind hem down the sides of the curtain panels.  I've never even switched out the foot on my sewing machine so this seemed like a daunting request.  I was sure I would severly mess this up and ruin my fabric.  I resorted to a strategy I almost never use...I read the instructions for my sewing machine.  Let me tell you it was like some sort of voodoo.  Everything worked like a charm and looked fantastic!   



Wow!  That actually worked!

My curtains are designed to soften the room.  They don't close over the windows but hang at the edges of the windows.  Privacy isn't an issue and the view is far too nice to obscure.
 

 

I'm so excited with the final result! The pinch pleats were much easier to do than I had anticipated. All in all, it was a lot of work but totally worth it.

 

 

 

'Til we meet again,

Ms Adventure

 

DIY "Retro" Lamp Shade

Earlier this year I picked up a great vintage lamp sans shade.  As you all know, vintage lamps are my Achilles heel.  This beauty depicts an Asian boy and girl on a boat.  I originally wanted a red venetian lamp shade but was unable to find one at a price I was willing to pay.  So it was time to get creative. 




I hit the local Target store and picked up a rectangle shade that would compliment the lamp nicely.  I think I paid about $12 for it.  Nice shape but boring, boring, boring.











I happened to have some vintage bark cloth curtains at home that I've been planning to make pillows out of for some time.  I picked them up at a local antique shop last year.  I love the colors and the pattern looks to be an oriental bonsai motif.



Step 1:  Wash and iron fabric.

Step 2:  Cut fabric for each side of the shade.  If using a drum shade you can cut one piece to cover the entire shade.  If the top of the shade is tapered then your fabric will end up more of a 'C' shape.                                                      Step 3:  Attach the fabric to the shade using spray adhesive.  Follow the directions on the can.

Step 4:  Attach bias tape to cover the edge of the fabric that was folded over the inside of the lamp shade.  This will give your shade a clean, finished look.  I used a product called Liquid Stitch to secure the bias tape.

 

Oooooh, doesn't that look nice!

 

Step 5:  Lastly, I added great chartreuse trim to cover the seams where the fabric meets at the corners of the shade.  I used Liquid Stitch to attatch the trim.

 

So overall, I ended up spending about $25 for the shade and all of the fabric, trim, bias tape and adhesives.  I think it turned quite stunning for a quick weekend project.

 

 

'Til we meet again,

Ms. Adventure

Wowsa, Wednesday happens every week!

Okay, okay.  I know it seems like I may have a problem but I swear it's under control.  It certainly makes me happy to find my little treasures and let's face it, there are certainly worse things I could be doing.

I couldn't help myself and made the trip back out to the middle of nowhere last Wednesday.  I had spied a few things that I would like on my previous trip so Daddy-o and I headed out.  I figure life is short, why not shell out a little cash.  You can't take it with you, right?

A cute little set of chalkware wall hangings.

I picked up this set of wall hangings with the intention of repairing the damage to the musical notes.  On closer inspection, I don't think this is a set at all.  The finish on the notes seems to be different than on the "Harp".  The central portion is marked "1952 Gary Art Studio".  There are no markings on any of the other pieces.

 The musical notes had several cracks in the neck and were fairly unstable.

I first used superglue in the cracks followed by spackle.  Once the spackle was dry I sanded the repair smooth.  A nice coat of paint and voila!

I chose to touch up the figures as well.  The color had been sprayed on and was pretty sloppy.  I left the faces of the figures untouched because I liked the rosy cheeks. 

I think they look darling!  The colors really pop, yet the faces retain their cherubic quality.  I love the crispness of the gold paint.  I tried several varieties but found that model paint worked the best.

A few other purchases...

Gold slip ons and a vintage barkcloth clutch.  The best $1.50 I've spent in a long time!

A great Sputnik light fixture. The finish is in rough condition but she is so lovely when illuminated that I just could not pass her up. 

'Til we meet again,
Ms. Adventure