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Dust Ruffle = Curtains?

I am going to be a Grandma for the first time soon. To say I'm excited is to put it mildly!


So when my daughter asked me to help her decorate the nursery, of course I jumped at the chance.


The problem?

My son-in-law is a HUGE Florida State fan and he has asked that my grandson's room be a Seminoles room - decked out in their colors of garnet and gold.


This is where my daughter is a much better wife than me...she said yes.


This has proven to be a huge challenge. There isn't much baby stuff in garnet and gold! Oh and have I mentioned that the budget is ....CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP? They live in a rental so paining the walls is out of the question.


We worked on the nursery this weekend and I have to tell you..it is starting to come together!


I found this dust ruffle for $1.00 at that Habitat yard sale that I got the ugly lamps.

Now putting the dust ruffle on the bed in the room that needs a dust ruffle would seem like the easy answer, but my daughter and I didn't like that...so we made them into curtains!

Here's how we did it. We had to start with some visualization by hanging the dust ruffle on the widow. The dust ruffle idea actually came after I first hung a dish towel up there for some inspiration. Trust me, this looked much better.

My daughter doesn't own a sewing machine or even a seam ripper, so we had to get creative! First, I simply cut the patterned part of the fabric off the dust ruffle.

Next I ironed the fabric with a heavy starch, and cut it to just beyond width of the windows. My daughter didn't want the curtains too gathered - this is a boy's room and she thought the gathered approach looked "girly". So we kept the curtains pretty straight across.


Since I didn't have a sewing machine, I simply ironed the "hem" on the side of the curtain and top of the curtain. (The bottom already had a hem since it was the bottom of the dust ruffle.) My daughter had found some curtain rods on clearance at Target, and we bought some cheap rings to hang the curtains. Here's the finished product!

They were so easy and really have inspired us for the rest of the room...


I will keep you updated as this room evolves...and my son-in-law's smile gets even bigger...


Have you ever made curtains out of a dust ruffle or something else creative?

Time to Redecorate...My File Drawer

I like to think of us as organized people but the truth is if something happened to us, our grown children would be shocked. I started poking around our file cabinet the other day and got the giggles. There they were...files on cars we no longer own...dogs that are no longer alive and clubs we no longer belong to.

Organizing is a great thing but we have to remember that it is kind of like laundry.... just because we did it once it doesn't mean we will never have to do it again. So when you get your 1040 from the government this year consider it your reminder that it is time for you to decorate the inside of your file cabinet once again...

I found these at

http://www.charmingcards.com/category/designer-file-folders/c64



They also have these that made me smile...



Won't my husband be surprised when he sees how I decorated this year...

Sew Up Some Fun

Please excuse the picture....for some reason it didn't turn out very good, but the project was perfect.

If you have a child that you want to teach how to sew, may I suggest the good old fashioned bean bag.

I cut 4 and a half inch squares out of some scrap fabric...I like this size because it works well for little hands to catch.

I used soft flannel...it feels really good... but you can use whatever you have.

Then simply sew up the edges... don't forget to leave a side open to fill. I like using rice instead of beans because it's not as lumpy. Be sure not to fill it too full.....you want the bags a bit limp.

Then hand stich the opening closed and go play some catch.

A quick, inexpensive project that can produce hours of fun....it doesn't get much better than that.

Now if you'll please excuse me, I'm off to decorate my future grandson's nursery today! Have a great weekend!

A Non-Traditional Headboard for My Teen

My teenage daughter hates the idea of having a headboard.


I don't understand...not having a headboard on a bed drives me crazy. But I also know this is probably one of those times when people would tell me..."pick your battles."


I have to confess to you... that is easier said than done. I was determined to find something that we could both agree on.


Then I found these frames at Home Goods in the clearance section...my favorite part of the store...for only $3.00 each. I bought all five of them.

My daughter is quite the athlete so I decided to put a picture of her in each one doing different sports. Basketball...soccer...snow skiing...etc.


I then decided to hang them in a staight line...high enough so she could still sit leaning against the wall and yet low enough to not look like we had stepped into the land of the giants.


The frames are 9 and half inches square and I decided to hang them 6 inches apart from each other. This was close enough to make them look like they belonged together but not so close that it would become obvious if one became crooked. Remember, this is a teen's room and none of us really knows what goes on in there when the door is closed.

She came home and loved it.....yay me!!!!!!!

Even though I would still love to have a headboard....for $15.00....I have a solution that we can both live with.


Do you have a non-traditional "headboard" over your bed? Tell me about it!

My Ugly Lamps

I went to the Habitat for Humanity Resale shop yesterday. I don't go there often but it is a great place to find what you didn't know you needed. I once bought a french door for $5.00. Mr. Amazing doubted me, but we replaced the front door of our rental house with it. Worked perfectly and really brought in a lot more light.

Well, yesterday they were having a yard sale. This is the stuff they had that they didn't think was good enough to be in their store.

Look what I got!

Yes...I know...they are really ugly...my best friend even referred to them as "butt ugly" today. But they were only $2.00 a piece! I couldn't buy the inside parts for that.

So here is my vision...I would like to paint them white. Not just white, but I want them to have depth to them...you know...like glass tile has...

Sorry for the blurry photo - my camera didn't want to cooperate. I hope you can imagine the look I am envisioning.

So this is where I need your help. I don't know how to paint these lamps so they look like glass tile.

Oh and by the way, the lamps are ceramic.

If you know how, please tell me. If you have another idea for the lamps, I'm open to suggestions...just in case I can't figure out how to execute my vision.

Thanks in advance for your help!

New Front Door Trim

When we built our home, we wanted somewhat of a colonial look on the outside. I thought that would be easy..all I had to do was buy one of those beautiful door surrounds and paint it white. What I didn't realize was just how expensive those surrounds can be.

Once again, trying to make me happy, Mr. Amazing created me one out of pieces of woodwork nailed and glued together...if I remember right he used about six different types of boards to make this.

This is our daughter on her wedding day in front of the entry door to our home.

He was able to purchase all the lumber he needed at our local Home Depot, but the side boards were once again a bit expensive. Not willing to waiver on the design, he had to come up with a plan. He purchased plain 1x8 boards and decided to router the design himself.

Now many years later I am trying to make the house more beach cottage looking than colonial and he is trying to make the house more maintenance free...

It was time to change the door molding.

He decided to go with a PVC product that requires very little care. The problem was the boards were just a bit plain looking for me.

We had no idea if the router would work on the PVC, but what did we have to lose?

It cut like butter...and better yet ...needed no sanding.

This is our new...maintenance free...updated...door surround.



I am so excited...once again Mr. Amazing came through for me...

What do you think of the new design? Have you ever decorated with PVC?