Stripe Painted Curtain Panels

I'm absolutely in love with this look right now. If I could stripe or chevron everything in my house, I'd probably do it. Cue Elvis' Jailhouse Rock. The simple gray stripes are clean, modern and add a perfect accent to the room. Originally, I couldn't decide between stripes or chevron. To be honest, I decided on stripes because it would be 100 times easier. I took the lazy way this time :). Seeing them hung now, I couldn't imagine them any different.

I actually made these curtains over a year ago. Since then, I've gotten so many people ask me where I got these and where they could get them. I'll fill you all in on my little secret... I made them. These curtains have been one of my favorite projects to date and getting asked about them so frequently is pretty flattering. So thank you to each one of you that has. :) I'm a little proud of them.

So to share my excitement, here's a little tutorial. There are a lot of pictures I didn't find so bare with me. I do have a few, but I'll try to be thorough enough to make this way easy for ya.

Items you'll need:
White Curtains
I bought 2 sets of white curtains from Target. Not too expensive, but if you even wanted something cheaper, check out the clearance sections in different stores and even pick a few sets up from Walmart. No need to splurge here.

Paint
Pick the paint color you want. I actually used several bottles of gray acrylic paint that I had leftover from something else that I decided to use. I picked these up from Walmart in the craft section.

Tools
Paint roller, painters tape and a ruler. I definitely suggest getting a little paint roller for this project. It will roll on much more smooth and leave an even look.

First
I measured the entire length of the curtain and decided about how thick I wanted my stripes. That will determine the amount of stripes I'll have. My curtain length is 84" and divided by 7" for each stripe makes 12 total stripes.

Second
Using my ruler, I marked every 7 inches down the curtain sides. I also did this down the middle of the curtain so that when I laid my tape it would be a straight line going across, no guessing.

 Third
Laid my tape out to mark each section I would be painting. WATCH THIS STEP! Line after line, after line, after line, you'll easily lay it on the wrong side if you're not paying attention. Better to catch it before the paint goes down :)

Fourth
Now for the scary part and point of no return! Rolling on the paint. I only did one coat on mine. I would recommend two coats if you'd like to take the time to. You can see a few areas on mine where the paint isn't as thick and the light kind of shines through. However, that's all up to how you want them to look. 

Also, pull the tape off slow.

Now just hang them up. You'll love them, I swear. It will probably be no time before you start looking for something else to take your paint brush to. Good luck!

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DIY Growth Chart

The DIY stained growth charts have been scrolling through the Pintresphere for awhile now... another pin I've had pinned and had yet to complete. Finally, after a little winter cabin fever and a little spike in the temps, I put it on the weekend to do list.

I browsed around for a few inspirational ideas and came across some really great painted or stained designs that I loved. In the end, I decided to keep it simple so I would be able to easily chart my son's growth. Here are a few I came across.

The ones above are from Design, Dining & Diapers, Bower Power Blog and Cozy, Cottage, Cute. I love these ladies. They have offered so much creativity to work off of.

So first thing on Saturday while Daddy was at work, I packed up the monkey and we headed to The Home Depot. I dream of the day we're no longer carrying a diaper bag, back up clothes, snacks and a drink everywhere we go. Quick trips would once again be quick trips... One day Ashley, then you'll be wishing for these days back.

We had to do our ritual Home Depot photo op...

We picked up a 1x6x6 board which was less than $8.00 and a container of Minwax Dark Walnut stain. If you already have all the materials needed, then this project will cost you less than $10 easy.

Once we got home, little man went down for a nap and mom got to work. I sanded the entire board with 100 grit sandpaper. 100 is a perfect level to smooth out the wood. You could sand it again with a 150 grit to roughen the surface area a little more for the stain to adhere to, but the one run through with the 100 worked perfect for this project. 

Don't forget to brush off all the dust.

When staining, I would suggest using a cloth instead of a sponge brush. The brush is easier and makes less of a mess, but using the cloth helps the wood soak in more of the stain. Make sure you have latex gloves, this stuff is super sticky and your fingers will turn out looking like tootsie rolls if you don't. Trust me; you'll do that, end up having to run to Walmart for something ridiculous and end up on the People of Walmart site. :)

I used Minwax Dark Walnut for the finish. The deep brown wood grain color turned out beautifully. Also, I DID NOT use polyurethane to cover the stain. I wanted to keep the rough worn look.

Now to let it dry. I always, ALWAYS jump the gun on this step. However, being outside in the cold helped the process along nicely. After 30 minutes this was ready to get taped off for painting.

From the floor, I measured a foot up the wall and decided where I wanted my board to start. The measurements on my board start at half a foot, 6 inches. Don't forget this step when drilling it into the wall!

The taped off sections are for each feet using Frog Tape. This stuff is amazing and has 'Paint Block' on the edges preventing ANY paint bleeding. It worked perfect for me. 

The foot marks are thicker than the smaller markings in between and go across about 3/4 of the width of the board. The smaller inch lines (done every 2) I just marked with a pencil. To be honest, instead of taping off each line, I just decided to wing it with the paint. If you do, take your time. Never will a task make you question your age like this one will. My hand was shaking like I was 90 from concentrating so hard!

After the paint dried, I pulled the tape off... revealing my beautifully straight paint lines. :)

For the numbers, the easiest method would be to just print out some numbers and X-Acto knife them. If you have a Cricut machine with this little cartridge, then that would work even better. I on the other hand had to trace these babies because my printer was out of ink.

Just tape the numbers to the board where desired and sponge/blot the paint on. Blot lightly because you don't want the paint to bleed under the paper. There's really nothing holding it down to the board other than your hand.

Finally after letting the numbers dry a little, they were ready to be removed and my finished work was revealed. I feel in love with it instantly. Kind of like that feeling you get browsing through the Pottery Barn catalog, drooling all over the decor and furniture.

When drilling the board into the wall, I would suggest using a screw anchor for this. I don't usually like using them because they're a bit time consuming, like 5 minutes because I'm impatient. Here is what we used. Remember, you're taking up an inch of your screw through the board, so its going to pull out of the drywall more easily without the anchors.

And once it was finally hung... GORGEOUS!

And of course a photo bomb...

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Playroom Chalkboard & Numbered Hooks

As if I haven't mentioned it enough already, I love love love Pottery Barn, but not so much their prices. Yikes! While browsing through their playroom ideas, I fell in love with the little chalk boards placed on the walls and noticed they had pails hanging on the side for chalk, crayons, what not... I'm sure ours will be filled with loose toys or who knows what once the baby is up and moving. Here's the picture I fell in love with.

Of course I could have just purchased these from Pottery Barn, but why would I go and do that : ). So... another project was started.

I was determined to find these little pails and after looking at Hobby Lobby and ACMoore, I finally found them at JoAnn Fabrics, I think for maybe $2 each, if that. I intended on doing just number hooks, but while at Michaels one day, I was browsing through their dollar section and came across these perfect little wooden hooks for $1.00.

Of course I didn't just leave them like that. I whipped out the paint, mod podge and Cricut. I painted each block black. Cut numbers out with my Cricut machine and mod podged them onto the blocks.

This project really took me no longer than an hour. The paint dried quickly and the Cricut cut the numbers out in less than 1 minute. I just let them sit out overnight and that allowed the modge podge to completely dry. I couldn't be banging into the walls with nails at 10pm anyway, otherwise we'd be up with a baby the entire night... you know the saying, "if you're the one to wake him up, you're watching him"... not this momma! : )

Here's the finished product.

Chevron Painted Pillow

I've fallen in love with the new Chevron pattern floating around in the blog world and knew I would have to find some kind of project to incorporate it. First something small, those are A LOT of zig zags going on.

So I decided an accent pillow for the couch wouldn't be so scary to tackle.


I started with one white fabric square (cut in half) that I purchased at Wal-mart for under $1.00. I picked up a cheap bottle of gray paint, $2.00, while I was there also. This product is easily under $10 if you include having to purchase the stuffing, tape and brush. Super easy!

I measured the spacing between each piece of tape to 1 inch. Just use a wider ruler if you want thick stripes.

Once I got it all taped off, I dabbed on the paint pretty thick to make sure a second coat wasn't needed. If it dries too thick, then it can always be sanded down a little.

My words of wisdom, let it dry! I always jump the gun on this part and really regret it later when either the furniture, dog or I am covered in little paint streaks. It really never fails. My husband always knows when I've been working on something when he comes home to a paint crime scene.

Stuff it and sew it up!

Heres the finished product. I really LOVE this pattern and intend on trying it on our curtains in the bonus room... fingers crossed!

Remodeled Dining Buffet

First of all, if my grandmother reads this, she will absolutely hang me. She had given me this old dining buffet with a hutch which is beautiful. However,  it just needed to be updated just a smigin to this era. That's a proper form of measurement right?

We don't currently have a dining room table, but within the next few years, I'll find a way to convince hubby that it's not just a waste of space.

So this is what I started out with...

I recently unloaded the car so it's quite a mess. Note to self - Clean the house.

Since this piece of furniture was real wood and still in great condition, I decided to prime it up before painting. I took drawers, doors and screws out and patched all the holes. I think primed every part that I was going to paint.

After making a few modifications and about 2 coats of black paint, this is what it turned out to be. I'm very happy with it. Now I'm working on making baskets of some sort to put on the shelves. They're just dying for some attention.

{After}

{Before}

I think it looks great and will work just as well with a dining room set when we decide to get one. 

Just to follow up; here are a few painting furniture tips...

1. Before painting, sand down the furniture. This allows for the paint to adhere better and gives a fresh surface.

2. Priming before you paint can be pretty important. If you don't, the paint will not stick and will just peel right off especially with laminate. I suggest having your primer tinted if working with dark colors.

3. Make sure you put enough coats on and get in the little crevices. I use a roller and then a regular paint brush to get into the small spots.

4. Let it dry! : ) I know I have a problem with this and when I let my excitement get the best of me, I later pay for it and have to remove paint from something or repaint a certain area.

Living Room: Before & After

Who doesn't love a little before and after? I certainly do! I turn into stalker mode full force when I see before and after. I may or may not even post these to Pinterest. That, my friends, is God's gift to use... my never ending idea board. :) I just love seeing the transformation and creativity that someone else does. So here's a little living room before and after for you.

Before:

After:

The color in the picture is a little off from the real thing, but it's Sisal from Ralph Lauren. I fell in love with it over at Thrifty Decor Chick. She used this through her entire house. I got into DIY mode and decided one weekend I was using this in the living room. Spend the entire weekend, but I got the living room, hallway and hall bath all in this color. It's a great neutral color that you can accent quite well with. 

I recently made the curtains hanging up over there on the left and made custom curtain rods for the baby window. You can see that little post here. 

{Half Wall Makeover}

When we moved in, there was this fantastic "in the way" half wall as you walk in the front door... hehe. I prefered not to have it there, it added dead space to the living room so when we decided to remove it, started with the baseboards and turns out the hard wood was only put down to the halfwall, so guess what.....  you got it, it stayed.

It had a wooden ledge on top which of course was the wooden finish and was just an eye sore to me. It was the first mismatched thing you saw when you walked in the room. Well maybe it was just me : ), but that counts right? 

It didn't blend in with the room so I wanted to do something. Here is how it looked before...

So I used the color of the trim to match it up and here's how it looks after...

I love it!! It looks so much better and I don't have this big mismatched wall staring at me every time I walk in the room.

Give yourself a pat on the back Ashley.... : ). It's a miracle how just some touch up paint can make something look 10 times better.

What do you all think?