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Sewing a valance can be super simple.
What you need:
- sewing machine
- fabric
- coordinating thread
What to do:
1. Wash and iron fabric.
2. Measure window and cut fabric. Our window is 6 feet across so I measured for 7.5 feet to allow for hemming and slight shirring.
3. Hem all sides of the fabric.
4. Pin down fabric along the top to measure for curtain rod hole. Pinning down every few inches helps to make it easier to sew in a straight line.
5. Sew along the pins, trim any loose thread and FINITO! You have your simple valance.
I’m going to begin my newest sewing project next week…another valance! I’m obviously hooked on getting new window treatments for some of the rooms in the house and they’re pretty simple to do too! This time around it’s going to be our upstairs family room that gets hit with a new look and I can’t wait for it to be complete. Went to the fabric store yesterday and after an hour, finally decided on a color that I really loved. This weekend I will soak it and iron it to get it ready for sewing. Stay tuned!
For a long time now I’ve been collecting linens similar to this one. Every year when we go to Italy, I scour the markets for perfectly embroidered tablecloths to bring back home with me. The best ones I get from vendors that sell used linens because not only are they very cheap, but the embroidery is usually a lot better with vintage designs that I absolutely love. I already can’t wait to go back to see what good finds I can pick up this next trip over!
We have begun the process of prepping our guest room into a big girl room for lovebug. The room is a decent size, even with the lofted ceiling, and could easily be two small rooms but unfortunately no way to divide it without causing one HUGE mess. So, for now our little girl will have a big room all to herself and I am beyond excited for the preparations. We will be picking out paint this weekend and salvaging pieces from around our house to furnish the room as well as attempting to paint some “art” for the walls. My parents had kept my almost 30-year-old dresser and nightstand in excellent condition and they will now belong to lovebug. There’s no way to be certain that she will care for the set as diligently as I did, so I snapped some photos of it just this morning to have with me forever.
Before leaving for vacation we added a little backyard project to our to-do list and I hadn’t had a chance to post about it until now. We are very lucky to have a nice-sized backyard and so we thought about putting in a small patio under our enormous horse chestnut tree. Basically, we were going for something a little rustic looking, but practical and safe. Our little lovebug just started walking and cobblestones were not going to work for us. So we used large flagstone and had them barely touching one another so that eventually we would have some grass or moss growing in between. I’m going to wait for some end-of-the-summer sales to add to what we have out there presently – 2 beautiful Adirondack chairs that were a wedding gift from an incredible couple – thanks Emily and Jason!
The before picture of our backyard:
Carving out the area of the patio:
Laying the sand, gravel and eventually the stone:
My husband’s uncle watering the seeds thrown in between the stone:
The finished project:
And one of the stone walkways that lead to the patio:
It turned out exactly as we had pictured and my husband was happy to have been able to help 2 of the 5 days it took for the project to be complete. Makes it all the more meaningful to us to have had some part in the creation.
