Smile And Wave

Potato Stamped Bow Tie Curtain Tutorial

Need a weekend project? This potato stamp tutorial is a fun way to add some pattern to fabric (or paper) to customize something plain or just refresh something you already have in your space. I made this cotton curtain panel from fabric yardage to fit the specific size of the window in this room and then added a little pattern to the bottom 1/3 to add some interest without it getting too busy. I love the way it turned out! 

Get the full tutorial over at A Beautiful Mess, grab a potato, and have a little fun refreshing your own space!

-Rachel

 

Ruby's Room Makeover Reveal

Sweet little Ruby has one of the coolest rooms in our house but it sat in a sad state for over a year. I knew I'd have a little more project-focused time after the holidays so I started planning a few minor adjustments to make her space feel more special. Thanks to some paint, darling decals, time at my sewing machine, and a few trips to the hardware store, it feels completely different. We didn't spend very much money on this makeover but the right improvements and an overall idea of what we wanted went a long way in making this a room we all want to hang out in! 

As you can see, our before photo was pretty sad. The big kids had shared a room until we moved here so we when we split them up, Sebastian's mattress went to his room and left the top bunk with nothing but slats. This wall is the only space in the room that can host the bunk bed and was an ideal option for making use of the incredibly random cubby space that was carved out from empty stairwell space when the house was renovated by the owners. Except the slats weren't safe for kids walking across to get to the cubby hole! Indecision and a tight budget kept me from making a move to either buy a second mattress or get some plywood cut to create a floor that was solid enough for the kids to play on. We just stacked all of our extra pillows and quilts up there and made sure Smith never ventured up the ladder but it was pretty tacky. We also weren't sure if we would keep the bunk bed or bring her old iron bed up from the basement so I didn't bother painting over all of the worn out places. 

The old rug was dingey and the curtains were kind of just leftover lace panels from my fabric stash that were hung with tacks instead of on rods. There wasn't really anything on the walls because I couldn't decide if I was going to keep the bunk bed here or bring in her regular twin bed so I didn't want to start nailing things up and then change such a major wall space taker upper. None of this kept anyone up at night because we're so thankful we have the freedom to complain about how dumpy our safe, warm, private rooms ever look but I also know how much a well-organized, beautiful space can create a sense of peace and allow a little more cheer into all areas of our lives.

My first step was painting the bunk bed. I purchased this gorgeous but inexpensive area rug on sale at Wayfair to help style some of the finished photos in my weaving book but I knew it was going to be the focal point of Ruby's room makeover when I was done with it. She loves pink as much as I do! I then decided on a few complimentary colors to help calm down the pink and let Ruby choose which shade of minty blue to paint the bed. I used an HGTV sample size (I'll have to dig for the specific color number) and painted two light coats over my white. The sample size was 20 oz. of paint for $3.84 and I was pretty happy with the results. It's hard to be such an inexpensive makeover project! It immediately felt better in there.

I also measured out the space above the slats and had some MDF wood cut in two large sections at one of our big hardware stores in town. Getting it cut in two sections was the only way I could ensure I could get it home from the hardware store in our car but it also made it light enough for me to heave them up onto the top of the bunk myself. I went with MDF because it's a smooth surface so there won't be splinters should a child walk on top of it barefoot. I then covered it with two large quilts to help soften the look of things and now it's kind of a lounging space for Ruby to play as well as a safe way to reach her cubby hole. 

I then wiped the walls down to remove any hand and footprints and put up the gold Coronata Stars removable wall decals from Walls Need Love. Phase two was complete and just those two changes were already making such a big impact on the room. See how I measured my grid in this post here. 

My next step was figuring out what we already had that we wanted to reintroduce into this space. I folded our white, queen-sized quilt in half to use as her main bed covering and then brought in a lap-sized quilt I made last year. You can find the tutorial for that one over at ABM. I reintroduced some pillows we've had for years that worked well with all of that pink and then made her a new pink pillowcase with tiny panda faces printed on them. It was such an inexpensive way to incorporate something new that was a perfect fit for our animal loving little girl! I also made a floor pillow that doubles as a large bolster pillow and I'll be sharing the DIY for that later this month. The faux fur bolster was an easy project made from some leftover fabric from my Sew With Us e-course that I just stuffed with poly-fil and stitched close. You can find the tutorial for the kitty pillow here.

Once I had the bed fixed up, I added a curtain to her cubby hole using a wooden dowel that I cut to fit snugly and two screw hooks that I screwed into the ceiling. I added ring clips to the dowel before carefully fitting it into the screw hooks and hung a cut of knitwear fabric that I brought home to make more pillows but Ruby thought it should go up here instead. I think she made a pretty dandy choice. The dowel and curtain hooks I already had on hand and the fabric for the curtain was only $6 with a coupon. Look at me using coupons!

I wanted the cubby to have a soft surface to rest on but knew I didn't want to spend $100 on foam so I used a curtain panel that I'd found on sale at Target to create a large envelope pillow case. I then carefully folded up a few of the sleeping bags we don't often use as well as two quilts that have seen better days and tucked them inside. It solved a storage problem and a comfort problem at the same time and only cost me $12! The lights were purchased last year when we moved in and are perfect for keeping things cozy after dark.  

I replaced the lace fabric I had pinned up with tacks with a proper curtain rod and added some painted shapes to a white curtain panel. Here's the super easy potato stamp tutorial I created for A Beautiful Mess in case you are in need of an easy fix for some windows in your own space. Also, we brought in plants to add some more life into this space but have decided just to leave the large one as Smith hasn't seemed as curious about knocking it over. 

This art print was downstairs for awhile and is from Strawberry Moth. It may be one of my favorite prints in our house.  The woven basket is from Target a few years ago and the chenille blanket is vintage. You can find the tutorial for making your own pom pom wall art over here. 

Ruby is a big fan of her revamped space, especially because we added twinkly lights to the underside of her bunk so she can play Checkers with Brett before bed. Imagine my panic when I went to wake her up the morning after I finished everything and she wasn't in her bed! In my bleary-eyed state I got a little nervous and then heard her soft snores coming from behind the pink curtain. She had woken up in the night to go to the bathroom and crawled up there to go back to sleep! I wonder if she'll let me hide up there when I need a mama moment. Ha!

Thanks to a little bit of paint, some wall decals, a repurposed rug, and a lot of elbow grease, Ruby now has a lovely space to enjoy that feels so much better even when it's messy. It's really incredible how much impact a few little changes in a room can make, even as a renter! 

Now that Ruby's room is nearly finished, I'm thinking up ways to give Sebastian a similarly low-cost room makeover. His space is downstairs and has acted as a catch-all for our extra chairs and random toddler toys that we toss in there when we're expecting people to come over so it's time to put some thought into making it work for him. I can't wait to see what we come up with!

-Rachel

P.S. This post was partially sponsored by Walls Need Love to showcase their vinyl wall decals but all opinions are my own. I'm so thankful to get to work with companies that have great product geared to make our lives more beautiful! 

Finger Knit Fabric Necklace Tutorial for ABM

Sharing the easiest statement necklace DIY you'll ever make over at A Beautiful Mess today. After taking a few months off to write my DIY Weaving book, I'm so happy to be sending projects out into the crowds through their platform. Those ladies are dolls and they have a great team of hard-working friends helping work all of that magic. If you haven't already heard, they're about to release a new photo-editing app that gets your brights brighter in one little step! I can't wait to try it out! It'll be available for Android users this time, too, if I'm not mistaken.

Go see their news and then read through my post on how you can add something special to your winter wardrobe in just about an hour. 

-Rachel

 

The First Layer of Ruby's Room Facelift with Walls Need Love Decals

As a house-renter that has lived in nine different spaces in the last fourteen years, I'm well-versed in the ways to make your home feel as much a reflection of your style as you can within the usual renter restrictions. I'd been hearing people talk about the removable wallpaper and vinyl decals that were on the market over the last few years but never felt that urge to investigate further. After working with Walls Need Love to help add some magic to Ruby's seriously neglected room, I'm a new believer in the power of pattern on your walls! 

I'm working on a full before-and-after room makeover post but wanted to show you how uninspiring things were feeling in her room up until last week. Our rental was fully refurbished by the landlord and the designer that picked the paint colors chose a warm light gray (not sure the exact color/brand) to compliment the warmth of the original wood floors and moulding. It's not the worst but it can feel like it's always overcast outside and left me feeling a little unsure about how to make the most of things.

I can't begin to list the many little room challenges I ran into when trying to make the best of what we had to also fit the design of the room because I'm so thankful we get to live in a rental with this much charm! However, a few of those design roadblocks, a busy workload, and a shoestring budget were all keeping this room from feeling enjoyable for anyone to spend time in. Warm and spacious, yes. Pretty, nope. 

While browsing through the Walls Need Love design packs, I instantly knew this was the one I wanted in her space. Originally I thought I'd use them inside the little cubby hole above her bunk bed to help make it feel extra special on the inside but I realized it could really transform the whole look of her space if I used them on that entire wall. I did test the wall decals on our paint because I've pulled some texture off in other places with washi tape and was thrilled that you couldn't tell they'd been attached at all. 

I then measured out 3" from the edge of the cubby wall and 3" from the corner of the wall to help me get a feel for how the design would fill the space. The two stars were 16" apart from the centers so then I found the center between the two stars and measured 16" vertically from there to create my diamond shape. I continued measuring 16" down from each star and marking with chalk. This not only made the job of marking the pattern faster, it helped me get a visual of whether things were looking spread out enough and lining up well before taking the time to place all of the decals. 

The pattern felt big enough to complement the size of the room without feeling too busy and I love that the stars are metallic. It has a little bit of a whimsical, vintage vibe. 

I think I used one-and-a-half design packs to fill this space so it's not only a great option for renters it's a really affordable way to make a big impact! 

I've already shared a teaser photo from the Pom-Pom Wall Hanging tutorial but I'll be sure to share the full effect of adding these stars to the wall and making a few inexpensive changes to this corner of the house! I'm so thrilled with it but knowing Ruby is thrilled with it is all that matters to this mama. 

I'll be back soon with a few more projects and a full before-and-after! If you'd like to see some Walls Need Love removable wallpaper in action check out the first photo in our Christmas House Tour. It's a game changer, folks!

-Rachel

P.S. I was compensated for sharing this post in partnership with Walls Need Love to get the word out about how fantastic their products are but all opinions are my own. I'm so thankful to get the chance to share products I love in this space and for all the ways these opportunities help me continue to do what I love over here. 

Christmas Home Tour 2015

Forgive me for posting a Christmas House Tour a full three weeks after said holiday but there were A LOT of photos taken to document what ended up being the cleanest our house has been all year. A girl has to have some proof of that kind of magic! Some of this was shared over at The Stir at Cafe Mom last month but I have a few more photos below. If you're interested in all the blurbs behind the photos, head over to The Stir. Otherwise, reheat your morning coffee and start scrolling. 

Hi, Sunday.

Our kitchen is kind of dreamy. It's the largest and brightest version of any rental we've ever called home but it sometimes felt underutilized and cavernous. We had these beautiful built-ins that are part of the kitchen but are also right next to our mudroom. For months they were just a place to store things up high so Smith wouldn't get into them and since it was visible all the way from the living room, it made everything feel cluttered. 

I recently partnered with Walls Need Love to give them a little makeover and picked out one of their removable wallpaper prints that felt like a good fit for this space. As soon as I finished adding in that last panel I stepped back and suddenly felt like I'd leveled up. It has taken our kitchen's style even further and has helped me keep them styled instead of full of random piles. As a renter I've always overlooked the idea of adding wallpaper to a space but these panels are removable and adjustable so they are perfect for renters! I love the little bit of pattern they add that can be seen throughout the house. 

My SIL recently gifted us the vintage enamel table that Brett's grandpa helped build and it's been a great spot for keeping Smith busy eating breakfast while I get the big kids' school lunches ready. It's also the perfect place for letting the kids help bake since it's a little lower than our counters. 

There's a built-in spice rack or dish display rack in the kitchen next to the fridge that sits mostly empty until just after Thanksgiving when I fill it with my vintage Santa mug collection. Almost all of these were gifted from my MIL and the kids love drinking hot chocolate from them. 

I bought a cedar garland from a local nursery to turn into wreaths and then decided to keep part of it for the walk kitchen walk through. It felt so grand having it up there and made me wonder what this beautiful house looked like so many Christmases ago when it was a new house. The owner stripped it down to the studs and rebuilt it so there have been some changes from it's original floor plan but there is still so much charm at every turn. 

This year we kept the decor pretty minimal and pulled decorations from year's past instead of going out to purchase anything new. The little lawn ornament deer that I've had for a few years did get a makeover and is looking pretty fancy with a gilded rear.

This year's Christmas break was pretty great but exceptionally busy with my book deadline on December 20th and then a sprint to pack and figure out last minute gifts. I'm so thankful I had the opportunity to share a Christmas tour over at The Stir as I always get more accomplished when I have a deadline! I'm also so excited about how much better our kitchen built-ins are looking now that they have a little Walls Need Love pattern in them! 

Now that I've finally got it documented, I can't wait to share the next project I've partnered with Walls Need Love to give a much needed facelift! Stay tuned. 

-Rachel

 P.S. This post was in partnership with Walls Need Love and I was compensated for sharing about their fabulous, renter-friendly product. However, all opinions and feedback are my own and I'm so thankful to get to partner with companies I love. 

Pom Pom Woven Wall Hanging Tutorial

Hello 2016! With my DIY weaving book coming out in the fall, I thought it was only fitting to start the year off with a relatively simple woven wall hanging DIY that adds a ton of texture and dimension to your space and won't take all weekend to make!

I fashioned this one around a gorgeous skein of yarn from Knit Collage as part of Ruby's bedroom makeover that I'll be sharing later this month. Pink is her favorite color and that extra dose of gold sparkle woven throughout the Knit Collage yarn added the perfect amount of whimsy. The base of this weaving is made from jersey yarn, a bulkier yarn option that makes quick work of things and creates a strong structure for the weight of these poms. I love how it turned out!

Supplies

• frame loom (similar, also similar)
• 1 skein of sport weight pink yarn
• 1 skein of light worsted weight peachy pink yarn (similar)
• 1/2 skein of chunky wool yarn (similar)
• 25 yards of pink jersey yarn
• pom pom maker 
• weaving sword
• stick shuttle
• tapestry needle
• scissors
• weaving comb (optional)

 

The first step is to make all of your pom poms. I used a Clover pom pom maker because years ago I realized how much prettier my pom poms looked using one of these gadgets over using my fingers or any of the other DIY methods. Buy yourself a two-pack and call it a small investment in your aesthetic happiness. I also used the larger of two pom pom makers for the end result (blue), although the smaller one (green) is shown in the above photo. Can you blame a girl for not wanting her colors to clash? 

I made three large pom poms from my chunky wool yarn, peachy pink yarn, and darker pink yarn. Three across and three down gave me just the right size for the space I wanted to fill on my wall but you can adjust yours accordingly. Be sure to leave at least five inches per strand when you tie them off so you can stitch them onto your weaving in a later step.

Warp your frame loom to the width you'd prefer and then weave a place holder with either your weaving sword or a strip of cardboard. This will help save the space for when we remove the warp from the loom so we can easily insert a dowel. It also means we'll be weaving upside down for this project!

If you are brand new to weaving and would enjoy a detailed tutorial on the very basics of weaving, head over to my Weaving Class tutorial on A Beautiful Mess and give it a read through. 

Wrap your stick shuttle about four times with your jersey yarn. You won't wrap it as much as you would with a worsted weight wool yarn or it'll get too bulky to pass through your warp so this turns it into more of a giant needle to help guide it through. When you run out of yarn, leave your tail down behind your warp and overlap it with the next long strand by about two inches. 

As you're weaving your rows, always be sure to create an arch before pushing your yarn down to the previous row of weaving. Again, refer to my Weaving Class tutorial for detailed step-by-steps for basic plain weave. 

Once you've woven about the same height as your three rows of pom poms, flip your loom 180 degrees. 

Cut rya knot strands in the length you prefer. To determine this, count how many warp rows you have and divide by two. Each rya knot will wrap around two warp rows. You can add in as many strands per rya knot as you wish depending on how bulky you want it to be. I only used two strands and each was about twenty-eight inches long. 

To add a rya knot, find the center of your two strands and place it on top of two warp rows. Wrap one side of your strands around one of the warp rows and back out. Repeat with the other side. Since we are working upside down, you'll gently push this rya knot to the top to rest snugly against your last weft row. Repeat all the way across. You'll want to trim these at the end. 

Add in another two or three rows of plain weave to secure your rya knots and the structure of your weaving. 

Cut the warp row strands off the bottom of your loom so that you have enough room to tie them in knots, two at a time. 

Since jersey yarn is so much bulkier, the support rows under the rya knots were a little more noticeable than if I'd been working with smaller fibers. I decided to fold them back behind the weaving like I was hemming fabric. I stitched it together using my tapestry needle and some of the yarn from one of the pom poms. This not only created a clean bottom edge, it helped frame the wall hanging against the wall to help counteract the weight of the pom poms. A happy accident. 

Don't remove the top of your weaving just yet as it'll help keep things spread out well while we stitch those pom poms on. Start by finding the center of your weaving and stitching your center pom pom from your top row about three or four weft rows down from the top. Use your tapestry needle to stitch the tails around a warp row and then tie a double-knot on the back side. 

Add in the rest of your pom poms in the same way. You should mostly cover up the weaving with the bulk of your pom poms but you can always make smaller pom poms and create a polka-dot effect or something similar. 

This is how the back will look when you're done. 

Gently pull your warp off of the top of your frame loom and remove your weaving sword or place holder. Insert your dowel into those same warp loops at the top and add a hanger. Trim your rya knots so they are even or create an interesting silhouette by cutting them into a V-shape or alternate angle. Hang on your wall and enjoy your splash of color!

I love the shaggy texture of these gorgeous fibers!  

Mix your fibers as you wind them onto your pom pom maker for even more interesting pom pom combinations or add in a few more rows of rya knots for an even greater impact. 

Have you taken the weaving plunge yet? I feel like it's the perfect medium for battling cabin fever if you get a cold winter where you are. After spending the last five months weaving in secret for my book, I'm so excited to get to share what I'm making again! 

-Rachel 

Details: Corona star decals c/o WallsNeedLove.