Repurposed Curtain Panel to Grain Sack Table Runner

When I was about 8 years old and I visited my grandparents, which was quite often, they had one movie I was obsessed with in their collection that I always popped into the VCR to sing along with at the top of my lungs (not very well but I tried): The Sound of Music.

I loved Julie Andrews.  I was captivated by her.  And in that one part when she fashioned the Von Trapp children's playclothes out of drapes, I thought she was absolutely brilliant. (She totally did it herself.  No screen writing or movie costume department or anything.)

So when trying to get creative with some old curtain panels I had lying around, I was so excited to figure out how I could put them to good use for Thanksgiving this year.

I don't have 7 children to clothe or anything (Thank God!), but I will have 3 or 4 plain tables to do a little something with.  I just didn't want to spend anything to beautify them.  

So I resorted to going Fraulein Maria on a few plain cotton curtain panels sitting in storage just waiting for the perfect project.  

First rule of decorating on the cheap: never throw out scrap fabric or wood. Second rule of decorating on the cheap: never even talk about throwing out scrap fabric or wood.

(Impossible to reference The Sound of Music and Fight Club in the same post? Checkmate, my friend.)

Here is all I needed:

• Curtain panel
• Scissors
• Pins
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Iron
• Painter's tape
• Craft paint
• Sponge brush or large artist brush

 And, thankfully, I already had all of it in my craft stash.  Free projects rock!

All I had to do was cut off the tabs of the curtain panel.

And I cut the panel right down the middle to be 16 inches wide.  If the panels were longer I would have put them over a bare window, which our upstairs is still sporting from moving in, but they were only 6 feet long.  I'm a floor to ceiling curtain kinda gal.

From here, I followed my tried and true no-sew curtain method.  I have a serious needle and thread phobia...a sewing machine makes me run screaming.  Since three of the seams were already there, I only had to pin under the one raw edge.

(Pardon my photos here.  I wrapped up this project after dark...curses, Daylight Savings Time!)

I ironed the pinned "seam" first to get a nice, crisp edge.  Then, removing one pin at a time, I swiped on a line of hot glue under the seam.

I wanted to try out a French grain sack look, so I used painter's tape to create a stencil for stripes.

Then, I just pounced on top of the taped fabric with a sponge brush.  I stuck with red so that I could use the runners for fall and on through Christmas.

Once the paint was dry, and I peeled up the tape, that was it!  Really easy and it would have been much faster if I didn't have a toddler under foot.  She even helped with painting the stripes and spacey me forgot to snap a photo.  It was way too cute to handle. ;)

I have a couple more to make, but the great thing is one panel can make two table runners, so none of the fabric goes to waste.

I'm loving how it turned out for yesterday's Dollar Store Thanksgiving Tablescape.  My efforts to keep our decor at costing next to nothing almost seems pathetic...almost.  

And hey, if a two year-old could handle it, there's nothing stopping you.  

Blessings,

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Dollar Store Thanksgiving Tablescape

Just in case you hadn't noticed...I'm a tweaker. 

That's not to be confused with a twerker.  Miley Cyrus pretty much owns that title.  And that's definitely not a good look for me anyway.  

No, I tweak.  As in I study decor, and I research the cheapest way to achieve it.  And then in the midst of my madness to execute it for myself, I usually stare and nit-pick at whatever project I'm obsessed with in the moment for a good hour or two...thank goodness my toddler is an awesome napper.  (Dear Lord, I hope I didn't just seal my fate with those famous-last-words.)

You want to know a secret?  9 times out of 10, no scratch that, 10 times out of 10 I have no flippin' clue what I'm doing in decor-world.  I'd never actually attempted a real tablescape until today.  

But Robert and I had a temporary moment of insanity decided last week to have a huge Griswold-style Thanksgiving this year.  I'm so crazy excited since this is the first Thanksgiving we'll be hosting EVER!  (Thanksgivings in our newlywed 700 square-foot first apartment didn't make the cut in the past.)

But since we're living on a one salary income while I do this stay-at-home mom gig, I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg on table decor...cuz for real...stuffing my face is way more important.

After whipping up a DIYed table runner (which I'll share with you tomorrow), reusing items we had around our house, and scouring the dollar store, this was the end result.  I gotta say...I'm pleased as punch.

Here are some ideas to keep the Thanksgiving table decor as low budget as possible:

1. Use nature to your advantage.

Leaves, pinecones, and wood slices add tons of texture to a table.  And, hey, it's free!  

I used some leftover wood slices from our faux fireplace door, and they worked perfectly as candle holders.  Pinecones doubled as placecard holders.  And, since we don't have any big trees in our little yard, I found leaves in the floral section of the dollar store to scatter on the table.

2.  Use dollar store candles to create a big impact for a low cost.

When I was little, my grandparents would light candles at the dinner table for special occasions.  It was considered "fancy" and my brother and I worked extra hard to focus on our table manners when they were lit.  

There's still something special about lit candles on a table.  And, if you're a pyro like I am, it's fun to watch the flame if the conversation is slow. ;)

3.  Create placemats using posterboard and a metallic marker.

We don't really have the tradition of taking turns around the table to discuss what we're thankful for because to be honest, we're not that formal.  We're very lucky to have a family that gets along really well and laughter inevitably fills our kitchen at every gathering.  I love it!

But there's something beautiful about writing what you're thankful for.  Counting blessings always puts life into perspective...even if it's on a placemat.

4. Paint plastic dollar store pumpkins.

Okay, you don't have to paint them.  But the pumpkins I bought at my local dollar store weren't convincing as the real thing.  See?  I tweak.  It's a sickness.  But I love the little bit of elegance the white creates.

By the way, do you see that light above our table?  I just bought a fixer-upper chandelier from Goodwill this morning that is destined to take its place.  You'll be seeing it eventually.

And do you see that one candle out of line with the rest?  Did I just give myself away?  Do you think I'm crazy now?  I warned you. ;)

For our "napkins" I cut up a roll of burlap I had in my craft closet.

Those scalloped red salad plates were actually a Goodwill find a few months ago for $1 each.  They'll probably make another appearance at Christmas.

So what do you think?  Decent for a first try at tablescaping?  I think I'm even more excited about how cheap it was than than actual decor itself.  The dollar store is freaking fabulous!

Since I didn't get a chance to share yesterday, we snapped this quick picture before trick-or-treating Friday night.  Olivia wore out those ruby slippers of hers.  After hitting up the first house for candy, she was hooked!

Be sure to check out yesterday's giveaway for $100 to Freestyle Mom!  I'm not ready to admit that Christmas is right around the corner but this shop is really getting me in the holiday spirit.  I might end up a tad jealous of the winner.

If you're already getting started on Christmas shopping, I just discovered Raise.com for buying discounted gift cards and selling unwanted ones for cash.  Friend to friend, I had to share.  It's pretty brilliant. ;)

Blessings,

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DIY Halloween Sidelight Signs {and Fall Porch Reveal}

I'm a little behind in the blogger world when it comes to fall decor.  In my defense, we live in Charlotte, North Carolina where we just had our first fall weather day this past weekend.  

And it was magical!  You know the kind of day I'm talking about?  That first day when it's just cool enough to get away with wearing your boots and not feeling like a lunatic?  We had our annual pumpkin carving party at my in-laws' house and the air was so crisp and clean and ahhhhh refreshing.

So when we came home with our freshly carved pumpkins from the party, my giddy-like-a-little-kid hubby didn't waste a second in planning our porch decor.  (He's the most fall/holiday spirited person I know.)  But while he was at work today, I added a little decor of my own.  Ha!

You see all of those funny looking pumpkins?  That would be the hubby's handiwork since my main goal was to keep our toddler away from all the shiny, pretty, sharp knives.  They're quirky and silly like our family. ;)  

And even though they're super cute, they seemed a little lonely.  The porch needed...something.  I've always wished we had a grand front door with beautiful sidelights, but alas, builder grade strikes again.  So a pair of sidelight signs was my answer!

I lugged Olivia into Lowe's and asked the super nice associate (who chuckled and seemed like he'd seen his fair share of Pinterest-crazed mommies) to cut a piece of plywood for my project.

Here are the supplies I used:

• 2 plywood cuts of 12"x70"
• 1 sample pot Valspar Blackstrap
• 10 sheets of cardstock
• Xacto knife
• Masking or packing tape
• White craft paint
• Paint brush

Technically, the plywood piece cost $17, but considering I only used about a third of it for this project, I only counted the two signs cuts as costing $6.  I have big plans for the other cuts from the plywood sheet though.  ;)

The sample paint pot cost less than $3.

I painted the Blackstrap paint directly onto the plywood pieces.  Since it was raw wood, it took hardly any time to dry and soaked the paint right up.  I still had plenty of paint leftover too, at least half the pot.

For the wording, I used PicMonkey to format my stencils. I used good ol' Times New Roman.  (I think the former English teacher in me is showing.)

Then, I printed each individual letter on the cardstock. 

And I cut out the letters to create my stencils using an Xacto knife.  (You think Santa will bring me a vinyl cutter this year?  It's times like these when I mentally put it on my Christmas list.)

The cardstock sheets were perfect for lining up and spacing out the stencils, so there was no guess work at all.  I taped down the sides of the stencils to keep them from sliding around.  (Ignore my ridiculous garage clutter back there.  I think our junk reproduces all on its own.)

Using white craft paint from my stash, I pounced my brush on the stencils to prevent any smudging under the stencils.

And that was it!  I knocked out this project in less than an hour!

They added so much personality to our front porch!  And while I was getting the plywood, I picked up a bundle of cornstalks for $5.  Amazing what wood, paint, and dead plants can do, right?

I revamped my door wreath too since it was still sporting the spring/summer look until last week.  I used two fall garlands from Walmart for about $4 each to wrap around it and secured with floral wire.  You can get the gist of how to make it from the DIY Initial Wreath I posted back in January.

I love that I went with traditional fall colors this year.  Our front yard doesn't have big trees with pretty falling leaves, so I was dying to put red, orange, and yellow everywhere.

And these are some of the pumpkins from our weekend party.  I snapped a bunch of pictures from Saturday, so of course, I have to share them with y'all.  ;)

My in-laws have a gorgeous hiking trail behind their house, so we took advantage of the first fall weather.  My idea of roughing it is staying in a motel without a hair dryer, but even snake-fearing, bug-swatting, girlified me LOVED our hike.

Does this not melt your heart?  There's nothing sweeter than a little girl and her daddy.

My in-laws have this cool old barn behind their house that I would trudge into and start picking if I wasn't terrified of what other critters might be lurking in there.  So I just admire the barnwood instead.

Their trail is covered in this lush green moss and it's like walking on carpet!  Nature and I don't always get along, but there aren't words to describe how close I feel to God in these woods.

Little miss Olivia loved every second of trudging through the leaves.

I love this child more every day, and every day I'm amazed that's even possible.

So it's official.  I'm completely ready for fall!  Bring on the trick or treaters!  ...if I don't eat all of the Halloween candy first.  The big bowl of it in our foyer needs to stop calling me.

Do you have any fall weather in your area yet?  What cute Halloween crafts have you seen lately?  Is your porch already decorated?  I'd love to see!  

Blessings,

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