Friday, October 26, 2012

Paper Scraps Make a Window Wrap (tutorial)

This is another peek into my office make-over. I decided to keep the teal walls and bring in black, white, grays, and pinks. A large part of my design involves the use of scrap paper, so it seemed to be the natural fit for a unique window treatment.


Here's the easy-schmeasy how-to...


My window is 38" wide, so I did the math and decided I needed 18 two inch strips of paper (That equals 36" with 2" to spare for space between each piece.) I picked eight pieces of scrap paper (four pinks and four black & whites), because I wanted to repeat my patterns.



Punch holes in the center of each end of the paper. Don't skip out on measuring here, even if you're good at eyeballing it. You want the holes to be in the same spot on each piece of paper. (SHORTCUT:  Measure and punch the holes on the first strip and use it as a template to mark the other pieces.)



This step isn't exactly mandatory, but you will be happy you took the time to do it. I'm talking about grommets. They give your project a finished look, and they add strength to the paper. Unfortunately for me I had the wrong kind of grommets. Each one required 12-15 "punches" to set and took four times as long, so I decided to skip the step I said not to skip. I didn't add the grommets to the top holes, but I'll go back and do it later.



I used binder rings as curtain rings. My original plan was to use clip rings, but they were $22 and the the binder rings were $4. Don't forget, this project is an effort to get the best look for the cheapest price. (By-the-way, this is what the top holes are supposed to look like with grommets. I totally cheated in this shot, because these are the bottom holes.)



My final touch was to add a two bead drop to the end of each strip of paper. I just raided my jewelry and craft supplies and used what I had on hand.




A simple tension rod is all it took to get it in place. I love the outcome. I even like the movement in the paper and the way it doesn't hang perfectly. What is perfect are the horizontal lines. The strips line up well and so do the beads. Now if I could just figure out how to rid myself of the mini blinds.

Thank you for visiting creative confetti!  Please take a moment to "like" creative confetti (website) on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter or Pinterest. And I'd love to hear from you, so drop me a note via the comment section or the email option on my profile page! 



Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Oh, the Mama


Mom: "Hey, you know that Baby Doll Goo Goo?"

Me: "Huh? Oh wait, do you mean Honey Boo Boo?"
       
Mom: "Yeah, that's her."

We started laughing and never finished the conversation.

(Side note: I've never seen the Honey Boo Boo show.)

Monday, October 22, 2012

Office Makeover Sneak Peak


I've missed the blog world. I have so much catching up to do, and there are about a ba-dozen posts I want need to read.

Here is a tiny peek into the office fix-up. Keep in mind that I am doing everything on a budget. That means that I don't always get to do things the way I would like... for now. The lamp below is a great example.

I found an adorable glass and gunmetal lamp at a local Goodwill. The lampshade was purchased at the same store. Together the price was $5.00. That definitely works for me.

What didn't work was the lamp itself. I knew this before I paid the $2.00 for it. It's a touch lamp, and I knew I could remove the sensor and reconnect the wires. It doesn't have an on-off switch, so I have to unplug it to turn it off. That's cool because I plan on putting a low wattage bulb in and leaving it on like a night light. (Please no anti-green environment hate mail over that last part.)


I didn't have any twist-on wire connectors, so I wrapped my wires in electrical tape and secured them to the bottom of the base.

Another thing that didn't work was the color of the shade. (Too bad I didn't get a picture of that.) It was a purpley-goldish hue, and that didn't fit into my black/white/gray/pink color scheme. So what do you do when you want a cheap fix? You spray paint the shade.


Looks pretty good, huh? Unfortunately It didn't look so great 
when I plugged it in. 


EPIC FAIL! That did not work. Now I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that I stink at spray painting. That's not true. (Although it may be true about spraying fabric.) There's about 3/4 of a can on that shade. That lampshade sucked the paint right out of the can. I'm not even sure I had to press the nozzle. Besides the pitiful paint marks, it still glowed golden brown. 
That meant a new plan.



I decided to wrap the shade with this adorable striped ribbon. Once it was covered I was going to belt it with a baby pink ribbon around the middle to accent its slender waistline. Cute, right? Of course it's cute. Unfortunately I didn't have enough ribbon and it was going to cost about $8.00 for more striped ribbon. That cuts into my el-cheapo plans, so onto a new idea.


Plan C was to wrap the shade in black tulle. It isn't as cute as the ribbon, but it is a good compromise for now. 


And the finished product. My original inspiration was an Audrey Hepburn style lamp, and this still fits. I'm sure I'll leave it that way for a while. (But be on the lookout for the striped ribbon in the future.)


Thank you for visiting creative confetti!  Please take a moment to "like" creative confetti (website) on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter or Pinterest. And I'd love to hear from you via the comment section or the email option on my profile page! 



Sunday, October 14, 2012

Forgive Me, I've Missed You


Puss in Boots from DreamWorks Animation's Shrek


It has been too long since I've been on the blog.
I've been a bit neglectful due to illness and a new job.

Please do forgive me for being away,
And thanks to those who stopped by to play.

It won’t be long before I return,
With new ideas my brain doth churn.

It will be much fun to share with you,
A few fun things to create anew.

Some you may have seen but have not tried,
And maybe a few that will be a surprise.

As soon as I finish my office re-do,
I promise to log on and get back to you.

But don’t get your hopes up too high,
These are simple ideas that are easy to try.

I love you guys for your loyal support.
I promise to make my absence quite short.

Thank you for visiting creative confetti!  Please take a moment to "like" creative confetti (website) on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter or Pinterest. And I'd love to hear from you via the comment section or the email option on my profile page! 

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

focused on Glory (painting with clouds)

Week 38


Last night's sky. 


This morning's sky.

Thank you for the beauty Lord.



Thank you for visiting creative confetti!  Please take a moment to "like" creative confetti (website) on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter or Pinterest. And I'd love to hear from you via the comment section or the email option on my profile page! 

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