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  • DIY Repurposed Roller Shade: Instant Kitchen Facelift

    DIY Repurposed Roller Shade: Instant Kitchen Facelift

    If you look really closely at the left side of my shade here, you’ll see a speck. It’s no ordinary speck. That my dear readers is a squashed mosquito. Very flat too. I have no idea how long this bug was a part of the kitchen decor, but upon buying this home I knew it needed to go.
    I LOVED the roller shade though. Personally I think they are the best kinds of blinds because it eliminates dangerous cords, and they are extremely easy to pull up and down.  I digress though.  Let me tell you how I turned this into that for an easy DIY Kitchen Facelift.
     
    

    I’ll try and break down into easy steps for you – but please leave a comment or email if you have any questions.

    Measure – You’ll want to start by doing a lot of measuring. First measure the height of your window, and how far you want the shade to reach down. Then you’ll want to unroll the current shade and measure the width.  Next you’ll pick out your fabric and measure. Give yourself a 1 1/2 inch seam allowance on the sides, and a few inches on the bottom.

    Cut –  Cut out your fabric.  Next you’ll want to roll your shade onto a cutting mat on the floor. Anchor the roller so it doesn’t get in your way while you do this. Measure from the very top of the shade down to where you want the shade to end, and then give yourself another 1-2 inches (just for good measure). 
    DO NOT do what I do, and just cut off the bottom. First make sure you’re shade is straight both up and down and side to side. Then go ahead and cut off any extra of the current shade (my shade reached almost to the kitchen floor. I didn’t need that much, and I wanted to get rid of the smooshed bug).


    Iron, Fold, Pin, Hem – Go ahead and leave the old shade for a bit now. Take your piece of fabric and measure out the seam allowance. Fold at the 1 1/2 inch mark, and iron it down. This will create an easy line to follow for a finished hem. After ironing the seam, unfold it. Now you will fold the edge back in, but just so it lies on the ironed crease. Fold over again, and you have a nice finished edge.  You only need to do this on the 2 sides and the bottom. The top can be left a raw edge. Pin the folds as you go. In the corners, turn the bottom edge in at a 45 degree angle to get a more clean and professional look – just make sure the pin goes through both edges to hold it in place.

    Now you’re ready to hem it up. You’ll be sewing blindly. Just make sure you know where your 3/4 edge is on your machine, and you’ll be good to go. For my Husqvarna Viking, that put my fabric right on the edge of the presser foot.

    Position Fabric and Glue it on – You are almost done! With your roller anchored still, position your fabric on to the front of the shade (you would hate to hang it up, and realize you put the pretty fabric on the wrong side, wouldn’t you?).

    The side edges will go right up against the side of the old shade. Only the bottom will fold under to the other side. Once you have the fabric positioned, make sure it’s laying out flat. You’ll see why a little further down…

    Start with the top edge and using fabric glue, glue the edge down. Let it dry before moving down the rest of the shade. If you want, and I think if I ever do this again I will do this, use a sponge brush and smear fabric glue across the rest of the old shade. Lay down your new fabric and press flat. Let dry.
    Or do what I did do, and just glue the edges…

    Once the front if completely dry, flip your shade over, and turn the bottom edge over. Glue down.

     
    Reattach the original, or add a new pull ring for easy up and down action.
     
    Voila You’re Done!
    Unless of course you made the mistake I did, and you now have a bubble of fabric after rolling the shade up.
     
    If this happens to you, find a coordinating fabric and add a decorative strip to cover it up. Just use the fabric glue sparingly here, or you will end up with some spots (DOH!)
    
     
    I hope you found the tutorial helpful. If you have any questions on this tutorial please leave a comment or send me an email.
     
    I would love to have you join me on Facebook and Twitter, where I frequently talk about other home designs, and share photos of in progress projects.
  • Spring Cleaning Day 2 – Living Spaces and Windows

    Spring Cleaning Day 2 – Living Spaces and Windows

    Welcome back for Day 2 in the Spring Cleaning Challenge!
     
    Today we are headed to all the living spaces, and your windows. We’re going to get a lot done today.  The list is smaller, but the work is bigger.
     
    Go ahead, print off today’s checklist. After you’re done, make sure to come back and enter the Spring Cleaning Giveaway.
     
     
    I always like to start with something that can finish itself. By starting with all the drapes in the wash, they can get clean while you work on the rest of the list.
     
    Pick Up and Put Away
    Don’t just put stuff somewhere. Give it a place. If it doesn’t have a place, make one, or throw it out. This is the time to get rid of the junk that we let overtake our lives.
     
    Wash Walls and Dust
    At this point, make sure you’re getting up in the corners, and removing any cobwebs. I remember growing up, we had these really high vaulted ceilings. It was never until spring cleaning week that we’d even notice the cobwebs, but they were always there.
    The best way to removed spiderwebs is with a broom. You can just use the broom as is, or attach a cloth to the bristles.
    When dusting, don’t forget the light fixtures, and ceiling fans. This would be a great time to replace any burnt out light bulbs as well.
     
    Wash Windows & Blinds
    Blinds are the bane of my existence. We always end up with the flimsy little things that collect dust and fingerprints like crazy. I think a great way to clean them is with an old unmatched sock (you know you have some!). Put the sock on like a glove. Soak your sock gloved hand in hot soapy water, and with the blinds closed start rubbing it across.  After you finish one side, turn the blinds and do the other side.  
    I’ve posted before on how I like to wash windows, but here you go again. Newspapers. They don’t leave streaks or little fuzzies behind.  I’ve also found brown packing paper to be effective. Don’t forget to head outside and get the other side of the windows.
    Lastly, we get to the window tracks. These collect dirt and bugs pretty well too. I would start with using the hose on your vacuum. Suck out as much dirt as possible. Then go in with a rag, or toothbrush. Make them shine!  This right here, will completely change to mood in your whole house. No kidding. Something about cleaning the dirt out of those window tracks, just changes the outlook on the rest of the house.
     
    Vacuum
    Now that you’ve finished all the above ground jobs, take to the floor. Vacuum everywhere you would on a normal vacuuming day. Then move the furniture, and vacuum behind and under where it normally sits.
    Before moving the couches back though, go through the cushions. Have a garbage bag nearby to toss away garbage. Use the hose on your vacuum and really get under those cushions clean. Then move the furniture back.
     
    Now that you’ve finished the living spaces, and windows, you can enjoy sitting on clean furniture, and looking out fresh windows. Doesn’t it feel great?!
    
    
  • A 2 year old, a Hammer, and a Single Pane Window

    A 2 year old, a Hammer, and a Single Pane Window

    What do you get when you mix a 2 year old, a Hammer, and a Single Pane Window?

    Are we remodeling? you ask.  No, No we’re not. This happened shortly after Princess R, the mentioned 2 year old, locked herself (for the 3rd time) in one of the bedrooms. I attempted using the hammer to pry the door open, but the walls are a good 2-3 feet thick, and my hammer is not that long.

    I guess I left the hammer on the floor….though I may have also put it on Mark’s dresser. But that doesn’t matter, because Princess R climbs his dresser all the time in search of treats. I guess this time she thought the Hammer would be a fun toy.

    There I am, pot of water boiling for our Oh so Healthy Macaroni and Cheese lunch, mixing up a bottle for Prince L, when I hear it. The sound of glass shattering.

    What in the world? I say to myself. So I hand Prince L his bottle, and go investigate.

    I yell up the stairs “Girls, did something break?”

    “MOM! R has the Hammer and she hit the window!”

    SHOOT! Off I go, running up the stairs, just as I hear it again ~Shatter~ 

    Once I got the kids out of this room (which we don’t use for anything anyways), and the glass picked up, I made the dreaded call – our Landlord. How was I supposed to explain my 2 year old having a hammer, because I left out, because the doors have privacy locks that she can lock, but can’t figure out how to unlock, so I needed the hammer to pry her out without breaking the door, which resulted in her getting the hammer and breaking the window?

    Thankfully, it boiled down simply to “The kids were playing upstairs and a window got broken. What do you want me to do?”

    Well, hopefully he’s on his way over today to fix it. In the meantime, I probably should go cover it with some cardboard and tape to keep some semblance of heat inside the house.

    Of course after this little incident, we then had Princess C turn off the lights, and lock Princess R in another room. Sigh. I’m going to need some of these door muffs to keep the locks from being turned!

    Source: etsy.com via Adelina on Pinterest