I sew with a glue gun. (Don't you judge me.)

Let me say this out of the gate: I can sew, I just usually choose not to.
(OK, I almost ALWAYS choose not to.)

I don't usually buy pre-made curtain panels. I found a great discount fabric store where I can get gorgeous fabrics anywhere from $3 to $8 a yard. (Sometimes even a $1 a yard!) I like to change out the panels in my dining room seasonally. (And I can because fabric is cheap.)

This was what I had up during the fall. (I dropped the ball during the winter and never got around to doing this for Christmas.) These 2 panels flank the slider in my dining room.
They were a nice warm sage/rust flannel plaid, but spring is here and I wanted something lighter. It was time for them to go.

Here's my version of how to make No-Sew Curtain Panels:

I bought about 7 yards of a pretty stripe for about $35 bucks. I measure the area I want to cover and then add on about 5 extra inches for hemming and to create the pocket for the rod.

I unroll the bolt and lay it out on my dining room table.
It helps if you can get all of the chairs out of the way without an old cat getting pissed off at you for daring to disturb his slumber.
Once I cut the 2 panels, I also wanted to create a valance for the top of the panels. I don't measure super accurately... I just eyeball it. I knew I wanted the finished "valance" to be about 10 or 11 inches long, so to play it safe I cut two lengths about 14 "
Working with a stripe makes it easy. If you just make sure the stripes are lining up, you'll have a pretty straight line.

Use your iron to make a nice crisp crease where you want it.

A little tiny scallop? pfft. Doesn't matter.... we're going to add trim in a minute.
"Hem" the rough edge with Stitch Witchery or your glue gun.
Take the selvage edge, fold it over and iron it flat. Secure with glue gun or Stitch Witchery.

Now adding your trim: I used a glue gun and eye balled it into a straight line. (Because I am all about the precise and professional results....)
When you've glued the trim to the front of the valance panel, flip it over and "wrap" a little of the trim edge around the back and secure with extra glue so that it doesn't unravel.
Set the valances aside.
Now take the main panels, fold over the selvage edges and secure them.
Once that is done, lay your valance on top of the panel. Both should be right side up. Secure at the top with the glue gun or the Stitch Witchery.
Once they are adhered to each other, fold over and allow an inch or two for the curtain rod. This is where you are better served by the glue gun than the Stitch Witch. You will be adhering multiple layers of fabric and it will all be hanging off the rod from this point, so go for strongest hold.


At this point, get it on the rod and see where you need to hem the bottom of the panel. Decide where you want the hem to hit the floor and mark with a pin.
Fold over at the pin and secure with Stitch Witch.
Put it back up and make sure it hits the floor where you want it to.



Works for me. Cheap, easy and very little time commitment. Which is good, because I'll probably end up changing them again in a few months...

You can go and visit the Nesting Place to see truly brilliant window "mistreatments."

What's next for this room? Changing out these autumnal shades on my chandelier.

Check the bottom of the blog for the parties I will be linking this project to.

Linking this up with Crystal's Craft Spot for the Fabric Craft Challenge.


Also click HERE to meet the 11 brilliant ladies who will be my competition in the One Month To Win It competition, which begins this weekend. (I am so worried that I will be the first one voted off the island!)

Corsa The Guilty Dog can give Denver The Guilty Dog a run for his money.

Last week a video of a dog named Denver went viral because the guilty look on his face gave him away as the culprit when someone (besides the cat) ate the cat's treats.

Been there, done that, have the T shirt.

I've mentioned previously how our dog, Corsa, gives herself away with the Guilty Smile she gets on her face.

She comes in at night and we've started tying her up to keep her out of trouble. So when we get up in the morning and this is what's greeting us...
... we know she's somehow done something she thinks she's going to get in trouble for. Sometimes it's obvious. Other times, we never do find out.

This is the first time I've gotten it on video.


This was a week and a half ago and I still don't know what (if anything) she did.

If dogs made a pact to keep quiet and not spill the beans, even under the harshest interrogation, Corsa would be the weakest link.
Which is part of why we sure love her!

What I eat for breakfast. (And my cholesterol levels are fine, thank you very much.)

** updated to add** By the way, yes, I have mentioned this breakfast before, but it was in the context of Handsome Hubby putting his foot in his mouth and totally crashing and burning when I mentioned my little weight loss.**

Don't laugh. Let me explain.

I love food, I hate diets. I don't mind exercise, I watch what I eat. I never, ever look at a scale, but I do care how my clothes fit. (And also, how I look naked, even if I am one of the only two people in the world who see that.)

Anyhow, I used to be a cereal for breakfast girl. I like cereal. It's one of my favorite foods.... but if I ate a bowl of it at 8:00, I was back in the kitchen and looking for a snack again by 9:30.

One day I had a visit to the doctor, and despite my protests they insisted that they weigh me. What-evah! The number on the scale surprised me... me who doesn't care what the scale says. It did NOT surprise me in a good way.

The next morning I switched from my light bowl of breakfast cereal to a big breakfast of two eggs and two pieces of whole grain toast, spread with avocado instead of butter.
I cook the eggs on a griddle with a little canola oil spray, a little garlic salt and a lot of pepper. I take half an avocado, spread it on the toast and sprinkle just a little salt. If I eat this at 8:00, I am not hungry again until at least noon. I am getting protein and healthy fats, which are keeping me full and giving me lots of energy.

Two weeks after I switched to this breakfast, I needed a follow up visit to the doctor. Of course, they insisted on weighing me again. This time I was glad.

I lost 3 pounds in two weeks by eating a bigger breakfast.

I didn't increase my exercise levels. I didn't do anything else out of the ordinary. Just made a smarter food combination.

Tank top weather is approaching. I'm just sayin'.

Got any grass?

Not that kind! Wheat grass. It pops up everywhere in spring displays and decor.

A few days ago Melissa at 320 Sycamore did a post on sprouting wheat grass inside. It reminded me: Every year I tell myself I'm going to do this early enough to enjoy with my spring decor...
And every year I forget to do it again. (Very similar situation for the spring bulbs I never manage to plant in the fall!)

Screw it.

I went to my local grocery and spent $1.49 on some instant gratification.
I took an old tin I had sitting with my flower pots, etc out in my Scary Spray Paint Area in our side yard. The tin was dirty. I didn't even properly clean it, I just kind of brushed away some of the dust with my hand. Then I shot it with a coat of apple green paint.

It looked OK, but not quite right. I took the last little bit of aqua spray paint left in the can and used that over the top of the green.

I am not kidding that I had a W cut onto contact paper that was laying around, so I slapped that onto the front of the tin. Ta-Da!

Simple and fast. Definitely faster than sprouting my own. It looks nice next to my latest Dollar Store find as well.

Happy spring!


Please check my sidebar to see the places I link up each week.

Projects of the moment....

I spent the weekend finishing up a couple of orders for my artwork.
This one for a client who wanted simple Easter artwork...
It has a pearl wash over it so it isn't photographing very well. This is a more accurate representation of the color:

I'm really happy about this one because the guy is a repeat customer. This is the second piece he has ordered from me. He wanted it in coral to go with their beach-y color scheme.

Again, I need a better camera for this stuff.


I needed to get these finished up so I can get started on my first entry for the One Month To Win It contest.

Have a great week!

A crafty competition...

I'm pretty happy to tell you that I've been selected to compete in Season 2 of the One Month To Win It craft contest!

There are 12 crafters competing for 4 weeks. Each week, we will get an assignment to create something for a certain theme or using a certain medium. We will then submit it anonymously for readers to vote on. Three crafters will get cut from the competition each week.




So! Please keep an eye out. I'll let you know when the weekly crafts are put up for reader votes on One Month To Win It.

I'm so excited!

I guess I better get crafting!

Hello, Butterfly! Easy decor for your porch,

Spring is here and I wanted a little color and sparkle for our front door, so I thought this easy arrangement of twigs and butterflies would be just the thing.

My 14 year old, Conner, reads my blog and has been complaining: "Mom! There's too much decorating and not enough funny."   Sorry Conner, I'm getting into spring mode and have lots of projects in the works. Trust me, I will still be posting about the lame/funny things you guys do, but for now, more decorating...

This project took all of 20 minutes to put together.
Time to break out the spray paint.
I painted the tin an aqua blue and gathered up some sticks. Oh, how I loves me some sticks! To see a few of the eleventy billion stick projects I've done, search my blog under the label: Sticks

I tore strips of crepe paper, made little paper blossoms and hot-glued them to the sticks.

I also wired on some blue butterflies I had left over from last year's Mother's Day Brunch. (That post has a tutorial on how I made these guys as well as more on the paper blossoms.)
Shortly after I had painted the tin, I hung it on the branch of a shrub in my back yard to dry...
Because I'm professional like that.
I forgot about it and a rainstorm moved through and splashed mud all over it...
Because I'm forgetful like that.
I cleaned off the front of it, but the speckles of mud on the inside reminded me of a Robin's egg, so I left it...
Because I am creative like that.
And also..? Lazy.
I think it's kind of fun and whimsical.
I thought about adding some embellishment to the front of the tin, but I think I'll leave it kind of simple...
It ties in with the front door and I think I'll just leave it.

Happy spring!