2 hour curtains!! oh.. and basic sewing skills.

Okay so wanted something with a Luxe look. 

Seeing as my husband is still in school and i knew he wouldnt allow me to hop on over to the curtain exchange and drop oh... $500 bones on drapes for our kitchen I got crafty... 

I mean honey my wheels were really turning. 

So here is what i came up with. First i went to Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, and Stein Mart looking for solid colored faux silk panels i could snaz up... 

Here is what I found.

I know aweful picture. I drapped it over the highchair. sorry. So then I bought some striped fabric from hancocks and found the perfect matching paisley fabric at joann's. 

So far i spend 29.99 on the panels, 10.00 on the striped fabric at hancocks, and 20.00 on the fabric at joann's. so running total.$60.00 bucks. 

Then i cut my striped fabric on the bias (45 degree angle) so i could gather the fabric for a uniform ruffle.

[ for those of you not up to par on your sewing knowledge most silks chiffons, taffeta's and organza "lay" properly when cut on the bias. This could be used for a men's tie, one of those gorgeous bridesmaid's dresses, swag curtains, and even skirts.]

Then i sewed down this ruffle and attached it to my panels.

This is wherer the craftiness began. I gathered the top portion of the panel and used a good ole fashioned poneytail holder and wrapped it around the curtain. 

(I feel they are much more durable than rubber bands.)

Over time rubber bands deteriorate and poneytail holders only break if you stretch them too far.

Then I nailed a hole in the wall. and hung the poneytail on the nail.

Next, I used my scrap fabric from my ruffle to make a 'cover' to hide my poneytail holder and i fastened in the back with a safety pin.

Now turn that sucker to 'hide' in the back and you have two lovely panels.

Now for the center section I used the lid to my cake dome for the shape. 

This is where you have to be a little crafty and gradually form the curve at the end. all i did was turn the fabric on the bias, at the bottom form my rounded edge, pin RIGHT sides together on the three sides and sew. 

Flip rightside OUT and make a panel to slip a rod in and hang. 

VOILA!!

two hours later you have a BEAUT of a kitchen window...

Enjoy!! 

Email me if you have any questions.

jbrodden@gmail.com

Reflecting

If you know me well you know I am a questioner. I am always questioning why someone did or didnt say something to me when i see them around town. I question where i will be in five years. I used to question who i would marry and what my kids would look like and the kind of dog i would have. EVERYTHING....

Now that my married life is settling down and we are beginning to plant ourselves into the south i have to begin to question... Will my next child be born in this home? Will we EVER wrap up all the projects in this house before we move? Will we have another rat sneak into our house? Will casey and i actually get to take our "exotic honeymoon" vacation one of these days??

Now at this point you may be questioning.... What is the point of this post?? The point is.... always know that God is with you. He is there to carry you through your decisions in life, help give you a level head and discernment, and comfort you when your upset. 

If I knew 2 years ago what the lord was going to bring me through I wouldnt have believed him. If I had someone tell me i would marry casey right after i met him i wouldnt have believed them. But honestly god can make your dreams come true. I prayed one simple prayer, asking the lord to move me and draw me closer to him. I didnt know i would encounter the situations I did but I wouldnt change the way any of the instances occurred. I discovered who my true friends are through this. 

The people I always wanted to be better friends with it helped me realize that they werent meant to be in my life any longer, but the ones who ARE god really opened up a window and brought such a fullness that the meaningless friends could NEVER have fulfilled. Each of you inspire me to be more creative, you each challenge me in my relationship with the lord and you show me love in such an unconditional way.  I love each of you so much and am so thankful for the time you have spent with me throughout the longest year and a half of my life. It is so hard to believe in 10 days my little suprise will be one year old. I can honestly say the lord really knew what he was doing by bringing such a sweet tempered, loving, wonderful little girl into mine and casey's lives. 

Thank you for all your support.

All Smiles

first picture of my little punkin all grins

Melts my Heart!!!!

Frugalista part two

Okay so for this post i figured i should show you examples of my frugalness and the style is not lacking... first of all my halloween decor...mason jar i had. printed labels on jars offline. crows are bogo at Joann's. pumpkins mom gave me. broom bought at michaels with a coupon, and leaves with a coupon, boo sign from marshalls... total was like 30 bucks.

Another way to save some money is make/buy basic curtains. I chose solid green for the panels in my bedroom at college so i could reuse them again one day. i know i wouldnt be in that college apartment forever and voila... perfect for the nursery...

Other ways to save money are instead of using a contractor to do something hire family and friends to help you with projects. We had caseys dad, Jerry to help us with some crown molding around the front door and i am very pleased how this turned out. 

He did an amazing job! So thankful to have such a handy father in law!

Okay I SWEAR my whole house isnt green. I mean come on though its the color of growth and prosperity, (very fitting for our first home as a family). Everything else is tan or blue, dining room will be yellow when we get it painted... we have just been lazy. Hope you enjoyed! 

Stay tuned for more updates.

Way down yonder in the pumpkin patch.

Okay so when I was a kid my mom made up this song called the paw paw patch. 

We would sing the two verses three times till we got to my grandparents... it was perfect my mom had it down to an art so we werent asking how long till we are there.

"hey nanie nanie nanie, hey nanie nanie now, hey nanie nanie nanie, hey nanie nanie now..

we're...... pickin up paw paw's, lets go find some , pickin up paw paw's let's go find some, pickin up paw paw's lets go find some way down yonder in the paw paw patch..."

now that AC is absorbing everything we say and do i am trying to devise a song to sing on the way over to my parents. this hit me on our way to the pumpkin patch the other day.... song to come but enjoy the pics in the mean time.

Ideal Home... Pics

okay so pristine lawn.. se la vie...

clean, wonderful kitchen, wanna join me for coffee?

umm would you like to come for thanksgiving?? paula's cooking (paula deen, duh??)
best most cozy bedroom retreat ever!!!

Our family fun trip

Here is Casey's cake Mary's Cakes and Pastries made. I was very pleased.

Casey and Jake hanging out on the quad!

Dancing to the million dollar band!

Me, Stephanie, and Ashley, and baby girl

ahhh.... singing to the alabama band.

still camera problems, ac, daddy and denny chimes

kinda blurry, camera issues, this was one of my college roommates, Abigail. she is wonderful, and this is her sweet friend claire!!

Here it is

Okay so... no pics alot of writing lately.. 

I know i know... i have been doing a little bit of soul searching and i think i am going to start doing tutorials on making curtains, clothing, decorating, all that good stuff. what do you guys think?? 

My biggest project right now is finishing the guest house so it can turn into my office. after much dismay the carpet mr. jerry brought in town to put out there wasnt near enough... sooo we have to get carpet and tile for the main room then I can move everything from the kitchen into the main room and paint the kitchen to match... can I please win 2000 bucks, take a month off from work and finish this dang thing??

 I mean seriously... anywho the pond has FINALLY cleared up... woooo hoo I can see my pretty fishies swimming around sooo happy with their life.... today i go to pick up bebe's bday present!!!!!!!! ahhh i cant wait... i got her one little happy today... also!!

Now I need suggestions and ideas on what to do for the birthday cake... bring em on because i am out of ideas and over the three layer cakes with fondant dots.. need something new...exciting.... HELP!!

whats been going on...

Well business with preppie peoie seems to be underway...

We have several fabrics that have changed over to their fall lines so i am having to resort to ordering the fabric from places like Australia.... ahhh obsurd... other than that i have been busy designing AC's brithday invitation, cleaning,

oh.... the always lovely trimming of the trees. we lucked out and mlgw is doing preventative maintenance on trees surrounding powerlines, lucklily i batted by big brown eyes at a non english speaking mlgw worker and he graciously gathered his supervisor to assist him in the process. after a quick tree shimmy my backyard can now enjoy sunlight... the hopes of growing grass back there increase and my mood improves...

ahhhh finally a sun to gather around my screened in porch and welcome me to come and cut the grass or pull the weeds.. oh the things i long for... soo, bear with me.. pics of the updates are coming, slowly but surely we are getting there. now if i just had about $5,000. to get french drain gutters, fancy shutters, re-sod the yard and all new landscaping i would be oh so happy... instead... i will dream and continue to gather pictures of what i long for my back yard to look like... what are your thoughts on doing these colors for my screened in porch?? keep in mind i need to embrace green because of my lovely green hot tub we inherited.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,1625102,00.html

your comments are much appreciated. i love the moulding and ceiling here....

First Family "Fun" Trip

Okay so previous to now we have only taken one other family "fun" trip, which was to go and see jake and stephanie (jake was casey's college roommate at bama)
Well this weekend for casey's 24th bday we are headed to tuscaloosa for the bama vs. arkansas football game. you may ask what's the first step in this process??
Calling the most succulent bakery in all of tuscaloosa, Mary's Cakes and Pastry's and order a bear bryant, houndstooth cake... then figure out where we are staying... that will be with stephanie's precious little sis, ashley... then figure out where we will tailgate. TBD.. i have an idea but we shall see...

So on this mecca trip we have several bits on our agenda, relax, scream so loud that we loose our voices, eat some good food, pray over bear bryant's grave(j/k every one else in tuscaloosa sets up a shrine that reminds me of something that muslims pray to) ps. i dont care who you are acting like the bear is still alive is creepy... let the great be dead and that be that.

now on to the other important things, like, making sure baby has a movie to watch in the car that will put her to sleep, we are borrowing grammy and poppy's dvd player till we can find one for us but i am glad to say that she is pretty pumped about barbie, the princess and the pauper.

then i need to pack the video camera, sheets, blowup mattress, casey's clothes, write out instructions for the dog. (for those of you that dont know luke seriously runs the roost at our house, this dog comes and gets us about 9:30 every night and wants us to perform the turndown service in our bed so he may retire at a timely hour of the night; like 10:20 is that much later, whatever dog you always get your way)

Then theres the clean the pond pump, feed the fish, blah blah blah........ what has my life come to.....

And if i have time, pack clothes for myself, i am officially wornout and i havent even begun this process, stay posted for how everything went