Painted Canvas Curtains DIY

This summer we moved into a little home of our own, after living with my parents for the past few years, and I've caught the decorating bug bad.  I've never been much into decorating.  I think because we've always rented & I've always felt like we didn't have the extra funds for it.  And even though we are still renting now, I feel so much a desire to make our space beautiful & comfortable & nice. 

In our living room, I knew that curtains would make a big impact for a small price.  I'd seen a few DIY painted curtains on pinterest & loved the look of big stripes!  So I bought a canvas drop cloth & picked out a nice mustard yellow paint color at the home improvement store & set out to get these curtains made!

I measured my panels & cut them down leaving one side on the drop cloth hem intact (less sewing later).  Then I measured my stripes (mine are 10 inches tall) & then taped them off.  Next step was painting.  This took more time & paint then I originally thought.  But a few days of work during school & nap time & they were done.  The material sucks up a lot of paint, but it is also really easy to get nice clean lines on the canvas.  I ended up using about one quart of paint on these curtain panels.

For the unfinished edges of the curtain, I just folded them under & ran them through my sewing machine.  I would suggest doing this before you paint as you won't want to use your hot iron on the painted sections.  I painted first, but luckily the canvas folds over really easily & it wasn't difficult to hem without ironing.  You could also just hot glue the hems if you didn't want to sew.

I made hidden loops on the back of the curtains for hanging.  And because I was so excited to get them up, I didn't take any photos of that process!  I used this method here.  My loops are spaced about 5 inches apart.  I think all curtains that I make in the future will be done with these hidden loops.  They are so inexpensive, and easy & make the curtain hang so nicely.

These curtains took more time to make than I expected, but it was totally worth it!  I spent about $35 to make them & I got the exact look that I wanted.  I love them! 

Self Storage for Poor People

This is what our girls get to share a bedroom with. Luckily the bedrooms here at my parents house are really big & the ceilings are tall.

My youngest sister is having a garage sale this weekend & I knew that we had lots of stuff we could try to unload. So yesterday we began going through all of our boxes. This area had been about 3 box widths deep & pretty unorganized. We opened up every single box. Decided if the stuff inside needed to be sold, unpacked & used, or stay packed up. Then Dylan did a magnificent job playing box tetris & arranging the remaining boxes floor to ceiling on one wall in the girls room. Because unemployed people certainly don't want to pay for a storage unit.

It opened up a lot of room, we found a ton of stuff we don't care about & hope to make some money selling and the girls were stoked to have a few more feet of bedroom floor. Plus whenever I see that wall of boxes it makes me giggle.

Flashcards & Blackout Fabric

Check out my friend, Lauralee's new etsy shop, yellow mums. She has some really cute printable flashcards. If you are thinking about Christmas gifts already, like I am, keep in mind that you pay for the pdf file once & then can print as many flashcard sets as you'd like. Hello! Easy stocking stuffers & gifts for all the little people in your life.


Over the Labor Day weekend, I hit up the sale at Joann's and got 10 yards of blackout drapery lining fabric. I'm hoping that adding this to our window coverings will help insulate the house & lower our natural gas usage & therefore lower our heating bill this winter. Does anybody have any experience with this blackout fabric? Should I have my hopes set this high for a warmer house this winter? Please share.

School Supplies...Check

Sadie was super excited to go to Target yesterday & buy all of her school supplies. Luckily, the kindergartners don't need much. The only think I forgot to grab was a box of tissues.

I found the backpack at Once Upon A Child for $4.50. Yes, indeed! You know I'm gonna stretch those dollars as far as I can. It's in excellent shape & just the right color. The girl is happy & closer to being ready for this school year. As for momma, I'm still anxious & not sure that I'm ready for my baby to be at school all day.

This Is So My Life Right Now...

Wild kids in skirts & sun dresses constantly tearing apart my house. Wearing yellow rubber gloves, for some reason? Laundry over the back of the couch. Which, Dylan tells me is such a Duke thing. Meaning his mom never put laundry over the back of the couch & he's seen my mom do it. Got me wondering if my sisters lay out their laundry like this.

We are enjoying our summer. The weather has been incredible. We've only had the a/c on for a few days so far. It's a delightful 70 degrees in the house today with the windows open. I am feeling frugal & domestic. I hung my laundry in the basement to dry. (We don't have lines outside, but we do in the basement. Don't ask me, we just rent.) And I am cooking up some dried beans. Except I forgot about them & they burned on the bottom. Do you think all the beans will taste burnt now? Oh well. Maybe we'll have beanless burritos tonight. Or maybe I should just start a new batch.

Spring Clean Week

I've officially declared this week Spring Cleaning Week. I even made a list of all I need to do. It's rainy out today & we don't have any errands that we have to go out & do, so today is a perfect day to knock a bunch of these chores out. I do love a clean house, I just hate doing the cleaning.

Take a break from some of your chores today to check out kind over matter where one of our daily affirmation prints is up for grabs in a giveaway.

Still Going On About Curtains

Yes. More curtains. In the process of making this set of curtains for the living room, I thought for sure I was going to hate them. Turns out that I'm quite fond of them now that they're all hung up.

These windows are the worst. We've now got them equipped with draft snakes, plastic, blinds & now these nice heavy curtains. We could tell a difference in the warmth of that room with the addition of the curtains. Now we're just keeping our fingers crossed that our next heating bill won't be so hard on the pocketbook.

I think I'm taking a break from curtains for just a little bit, but when I come back to them, the girls' room windows are next.

Stay Out Nasty Cold

We don't like you & we don't want you in here anymore. Also, we really hate what you do to our heating bill.


I am on a serious mission to get all the windows in this house covered. It is consuming me & it's pretty much all I talk about. Right, Dylan? Anyway, I can check off the dining room windows & tonight it's on to the front bay windows. That is the coldest spot in our house. It's also right where our sofa sits. Makes for a not so cozy living room.


I'm confident that these window coverings will help a great deal with keeping our house nice & warm & keeping our heating bill down. Maria & I hit up the sale at Joann's & found some nice heavyweight home decor fabric in the clearance section marked down an additional 50% off. Can't beat it.

I'm Around

Getting my laundry on. Oh, who am I kidding? That laundry has been in those baskets for days now. Don't you just hate when you need a white piece of clothing & have to dig through the whites basket. It's impossible & totally annoying.

Anyway, I am getting things done. Trying my best to keep up productivity around here. It feels good to have energy. I feel like my old self again.

But there are a lot of things to get done. Anybody else feeling the stress? I know I'll get it all pulled off in the end, but boy am I looking forward to resting after Christmas. Unfortunately I can't share any of my recent sewing with you, because surprises will be ruined.

On a side note, I joined facebook finally. I'm kinda in a race w/ Dylan to have more friends than him. Any of my buddies out there that I haven't tracked down on facebook yet? Let me know. We'll hook it up.

Ahhhh, Yes

Things are getting better around here. A little better each day, in fact. We still have moments of sadness here & there, but we are trying to move on & enjoy this holiday season. Thank you for all of your kind words on the last post. They really helped me a lot. I considered leaving the comments off on that one, but knew that your words & thoughts would be so kind & helpful. Thank you.

I cannot believe how amazing our friends out here have been. They have been right here with food & phone calls & hugs & it has been so uplifting & wonderful. Thanks to all who have offered help. The world is full of amazing, wonderful, good people. I really am overwhelmed by your support. Thank you.

We finally finished up our Christmas decorating. The tree was waiting for me to add some berry branches & now that it's complete I remember how much I love, love, love my Christmas tree. I thought that this would be the year that I'd be ready for all new stuff...not so. And last night I did some sewing. It felt wonderful. I am excited to get in the groove of making holiday gifts. I love sewing at night with the house decked out for Christmas & cold snow outside. I'll share what I can along the way!!

Merry Christmas!

I Feel Like Sharing a Little Bit Today

This photo is for Heather & all the rest of you who live in places where trees like this don't exist. This is what we see these days when we look out our front windows. We are on the second floor so we get a beautiful view of the tops of the trees.


My best snuggler this morning: a blond haired, scraped nose, 1-1/2 year old wearing just a diaper. See those teeth? I just LOVE baby teeth. Working on that one item on my list. Pulling out my camera more often to snap photos of the girls.

Oh Yes I Did

I never imagined that I would have my fabric folded & stacked by color, because I'm just not that organized. But look what I did this weekend. This is a start. I still have some piles that I need to go through & find a place for. My house is in disarray after two months of focusing on the summer market. I'm now ready to go through & organize every room & every closet. My plan is to address one room at a time & make my rounds. First stop: the kitchen.

This weekend:

We took Claire off the bottle. Cold turkey. She's done great. We've had a few sad moments but for the most part she's happy & we're already on day three!

I felt like an outcast & wondered if anybody likes me or if I need to change myself or if I'm not a nice enough person or what exactly is wrong with me. I was in high school all over again. What is wrong with me & why do I bring this upon myself. I'm too old for all that. Got over it & I'm feeling better.

Wished I could have been at this show. Decided that we don't have the money for too much extra stuff like this right now. By the way, Kori of Mates of State keeps a really interesting blog about being on tour with children. Check it out. It's very cool.

Busy, Busy, Busy

We have been busy! I'm all prepared for the shop update tomorrow & I am so very excited to finally share all that I've been working on. I think it will be my best update yet! If all goes well with the shop, I'm already thinking of another bigger update with lots of Mother's Day gifts. We'll see. All in all, I'm very pleased with myself & all I've been able to accomplish over the past few weeks. I'm not known for being speedy.

I'm not a decorator. I just don't have the funds to be one at this time. I do plan on having a home with really cool decor sometime in the future. As for now, I focus my efforts elsewhere. But, this yellow pot & plant that I put on our bedroom dresser the other day are really making me happy. Hello spring!


The kids have been playing well together. Sadie was excited about her new bathing suit that day & had to wear it inside.

What wonders a new set of crayons & some glue does for my 3 year old. I just love her artwork.

Dumping It All On You

It's been a while since I've posted about what's been going on around here. So here comes one big crazy, long post.



I'm still liking my hair a whole lot. What I'm loving about it:

1. I don't have to blow dry it. That part is crucial for a straight style with my wavy hair. I don't have to ignore my screaming kids in order to get my hair blown out.
2. I always feel like I have a ponytail in. Nice & cool on my neck.
3. Dylan loves it.

Our Easter was really nice. I didn't get a photo of both the girls in their dresses before church & Claire was napping after church, so there went my chance. I didn't make a big deal about the clothes this year. Sadie wore a floral dress that she already had. One that I got on clearance at Target for $6. Claire wore a hand-me-down dress from Sadie. Easy-peasy. Sadie loved her crayons & her new princess coloring book & Claire was happy as could be with her new red ball. I don't believe in gifts for Easter. I mean, what do we think this is...Christmas?



At church the primary kids sang a song during sacrament meeting. Sadie was scared & didn't want to go up to the stage. As soon as they finished she started crying (pretty loud), because of course NOW she wanted to sing.

At home we found the eggs that the Easter bunny hid while we were at church. All except the three that the dog had eaten. Then I took the eggs to make egg salad sandwiches for lunch. Once Sadie saw what I was doing she had a complete meltdown & was so mad that I had "ruined" her eggs. I did tell her beforehand that I was going to make yummy lunch out of them. I guess she didn't quite understand. :(

Also, on Easter Sunday, there had been so much talk about new, short hair that Sadie decided she wanted short hair too & I found her standing in front of the TV with the baby nail scissors snipping bits of her hair off. Luckily the didn't go any higher than chin length & there's no need for a clean up haircut at all. It just looks like her bangs are growing out. We sure lucked out there.



Claire is 11 months old as of Easter day. She is getting more bold with walking. Takes 5 or 6 steps & then falls down to crawl. She can climb up on the couch now. She puts her finger to her nose & says "shhhh". Still says "mama" "dada" "dee dee" & now she says "go" & "dog" both of which are mostly a g sound. there is a slight variation for each word, but she is definitely saying those words. I think she's also trying to say "ball", which is just sounds like "ba".


I had a few friends from church over yesterday. We had a brunch, where everybody brought something really yummy to eat & then we planted some seeds. Here are our starter pots for tomatoes, peppers & cucumbers. We don't have much space to grow outside, and if we end up with anything, I'll be happy.

I'm also continuing to post items in the shop. I have some Built By Wendy patterns that I'm getting uploaded. So if you are interested in those & haven't been able to find a good price on them, I've got 'em.

We're looking forward to warmer weather. I've got two little girls with nasty green runny noses today. Poor things. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Hello Sunshine

Please think about coming around a little more often. Because I really like you a lot.



I found this writing on the inside flap of the girls dress pattern that I got at the thrift store earlier this week. How old is it, I wonder? The pattern was printed in 1967. But, I can't get over the fact that it looks so much like my mom's handwriting.


Happy Birthday Amber! Have a great day. :)

Brrrr

We got a little bit of snow this morning & Sadie could not contain her excitement. I let her go out on the patio for a little bit, but we're getting really nasty wind with gusts up to 50 mph, so I lured her back in with a mug of hot cocoa. She didn't let me forget the "mushmellows". She was so cute. She wanted to make an angel. Not enough snow for that. I guess the time has come to get her snow boots for this year.


We live in an old house. It's quite drafty. The worst spot is this door that leads to the stairwell down to the front door. The stairwell is always freezing & this door has an inch gap where the cold just pours in. I made this draft snake the other night. It took me all of 10 minutes to make it. It is quite amazing the difference it makes. Our front room stays so much more toasty. Unfortunatly, Sadie found it & has now made it her own toy, so I need to make a new one. Actually, I need to whip up quite a few more of these for different doors & windows throughout the house. I love making something practical & useful with stuff I've got around the house.


This is basically just a tube of fabric filled with lentils. You could also fill it with any other kinds of dried beans or rice. Cut your fabric whatever length you need plus an inch & 4" wide. With right sides together, sew up the long end & down one of the short ends. Flip it out. Fill it. Turn in the other end & sew closed. Easy Peasy.

Dish Soap

This is an old Martha Stewart tip. Putting your dish soap in an olive oil bottle. It's a whole lot prettier than the actual dish soap bottle. This one was given to me for my birthday quite a few years ago. I think it was only a dollar or two at Target. I use this way more now that I don't have a dish washer.