Raising the Bar...er, Rod + Epic Fail

Ever have an idea that you think is incredible? Seriously, like it's the best idea you've ever had? Ever?

Yeah, me, too. That idea for me was to customize Ikea Ritva curtains for the TV room. It started off easily enough. Lovey had to travel to Salt Lake where he purchased me two sets of 98" white Ritvas. Easy!

I had previously bought 3+ yards of Thom Filicia for Kravet fabric from the clearance section of Hancock. Easy!



I thought it would be the perfect accent for the curtain border. So I sat down with my sharpest scissors and got to work.

Here's what I didn't anticipate.

To create borders for two sets of curtains, one must cut eight identical 98" strips of fabric.

One must then fold under each side to the fabric to produce a straight edge and iron.

One must then fold the fabric in half and create one long 98' strip of fabric.

Multiply the above process by 8.



Seven (or so) packages of Heat and Bond later, the curtains were complete!

Then came the process of raising the curtain rods to accommodate the new 96" length (2" hem, natch). No home improvement process has ever gone smoothly in this house. Due to random placement of studs (or lack thereof), things aren't always smooth. This curtain rod raising was no exception.

The first screw I put in went straight through drywall. A massive anchor didn't help. After a few choice $&^$*)&!!! words, I went on to the other brackets - which went in smoothly - until I reached the next to last. Here's where we hit some sort of - something - that prevented the screw from going in all the way. *^%$&*^*&^*&^!!!!!!!!! This is where Lovey stepped in and saved the day. He used his massive brute strength to not only get the remainder of the brackets up, he probably kept me from throwing a hammer through a wall.

At long last, here is the final reveal.



Crappy picture due to crappy weather last week.

And a detail shot:



I have never been so glad that a project is complete. And I do love them now although it was touch and go there for a while.

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And now, I'm not too proud to admit when I have failed. And this project failed epically.

Remember the cheap craigslist lamps? The ones I decided to silver leaf? Well.....that shizz is hard! Especially on a textured surface.



Out of impatience, I tried to use chrome spray paint.



Isn't it funny how "chrome" is less "shiny" and more "dull, fake looking silver"?

Hello, Kilz primer spray!



1000 times better already. Hmmm, maybe this is how they should stay. Hmmmm.

A Happy Accident

Last year, my Grandfather turned 95. My mom, her brother, her sister and I planned an awesome party for him. Printed invitations, catered with good country food - fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, a yummy, yummy homemade cake. I decided that we needed deviled eggs. My aunt and I agreed to make them - enough for 100 people. That meant boiling and peeling four dozeen eggs each. What I didn't forsee is how long it takes to peel 48 hard-boiled eggs. Not a fun way to spend a Friday night, for certain. By the time I shelled Egg #48, I was exhausted.

I dumped the yolks in a ziploc bag and put them in the fridge. The next morning, I dumped about a half a jar of mayonaisse (Dukes, naturally) in the bag. Then I grabbed a bag of bacon pieces and the jar of parmesan. I poured it all in the ziploc back, zipped it closed and kneaded it until it was the right consistency. When I tasted the concoction, WOW! It tasted amazing! What a happy accident! Those eggs won rave reviews, and I probably could have eaten an entire dozen of them myself. What a happy accident!

I tell you that story to tell you this story.

I've been seeing Union Jack pillows everywhere.



Ballard Designs $71

Etsy $61





Another etsy. Can't recall the price.




First dibs. Too mortified at the price!



I remembered that at some point, I had bought some t-shirt transfer paper for printers. A quick google search brought me to the union jack I used.



I grabbed a piece of linen I had lying around and sprinted to the Rowenta!

Hmmmm. At first, I was chagrined at the outcome. Then then more I looked at it, I loved it. No, I loooooooved it.



I'm not sure I would have loved her as well if she'd been perfect. She looks like she's been through it. Just like my cousins in the Royal Family.

Another happy accident.

Union Jack

What in the world am I doing with this?



Glad you asked. Check back later.

Master Gallery Wall

I finally got around to installing the gallery wall in our master bedroom yesterday. The real world has kept me pretty busy lately.



The starting point was this $10 thrift store mirror I painted a peacock blue. To that I added a $5 wooden crown I found at Marshalls. I lined a gold Goodwill frame with a swatch of natural linen and framed two bluebird feathers I found in the backyard. The framed print is a photograph of a clover-covered light pole on the Battery in downtown Charleston.

From there, I just started adding.....and adding....and yeah, adding.



And here it is completed.



Yes, that is the Beetlejuice chair covered in the bed shams. It's the next big project. I just love that the wall is covered in found items, photos of places we've been and prints that I've carried around with me for years. And yes, it's driving me crazy that the little gold bird print is a little crooked in the picture. It's straight now, promise.

Sham Wow!

My first foray into making pillows was a success!



I just love the graphic pattern. Gives the bed a little "pop"!



And it matches Granddaddy's Little Table.

Here is a snippet of what I've been working on this week while I wait for my zipper foot to arrive from God knows where for my sewing machine.

Lost Out

Today. Craigslist. All 4 for $20. Damn.

Granddaddy's Table

Remember my little table?



Here he is all prettied up.






And here's a sneaky way to store your catalogues.

Fabric Finds

New year, new projects!

First up! I did a small trial of the silver leaf on the hugemous lamps:



Not terrible considering I had no idea what I was doing. I'd like to mimic the look of these lamps from Pottery Barn.



Mercury glass + burlap = yes, please!

Now! To my fabric finds.



These are the colors in our bedroom, so shams it is!



I lerve me some remnant racks! This was only $4 a yard. I have a plan for this with this:



My grandpa made me this little table many years ago, and it needs to be honored with a special place.

Also for the master bedroom. I moved my latest Habitat find in there as well. I'm seeing it painted white with chocolate velvet upholstery. YummY!

For the TV room, I need a change. Because the dining room is directly across from the TV room, the curtains kind of don't "go" anymore.



The red is just a little too, ya know, red.

I'll have Lovey buy me two more pair of Ritvas when he goes back to IKEA.


or maybe the beige



bordered with this - also $4 on the remnant rack



Look how perfectly it goes with the wall color.



OK, not a great picture. Trust me on this one. This fabric is by Thom Filicia (from Queer Eye fame) for Kravat. This fabric is still online for $54/yard! Score!

This was going to be for throw pillows, but I think they're a little too "pink".



Especially when I was going to put them with these pillows.



IKEA Stockholm pillows. That I purchased. When I went to IKEA for the very first time. Yes, I only had 45 minutes (when I needed 4-5 hours), but it was snowing and the Beasties were in the car in the parking garage.

So, I'm going with this fabric instead.



Which I hope turn out like these



Love me some suzanni print. I'm just torn about ordering it online or from my Local Snooty Design Store. After today, I'm leaning toward online. Grrr. Customer service, work on it, GDC.

Soooo, I have a lot of work ahead of me. Back soon hopefully.