Hearth & Holm: DIY

No Sew Roman Shade

My kitchen window has had a nappy treatment for some time now, so I guess it's time I did something about it. I have always loved the look of the roman shade but are expensive and daunting to make. I thought I could just buy a cheap-o blind at Wal-mart and somehow sew some fabric to the blind... (I often have these great ideas without thinking them though.) Of course I turned to the internets for some kind of tutorial on how to make a roman shade from blinds. I found this nifty tutorial on exactly what I was looking for! How to make roman shades from blinds:

http://365days2simplicity.blogspot.com/2011/04/easy-no-sew-roman-shades.html. This site has step by step instructions to make all your roman shade dreams come true. And in true blog fashion, I have added my own pics, tips, and suggestions on how go about turning a plain, old, boring blind into a fabulous, fashionable, and functional roman shade!

First things first, shop for some totally awesome fabric. I found a great print at Hobby Lobby for a steal, for like $6 for duck cotton or some such nonsense. Apparently the thicker the better. Whatevs, any fabric will do. If you want to filter more light, I would get a darker color, or double up on the fabric. If you want a print on both sides of the fabric, IKEA has a good selection. Pick out some ribbon as well if you want. A tip for easier measuring is to get a print with a pattern to use as your guide.

You will need some fabric glue, which can be purchased at Wal-mart or any craft store, and your blinds. Again I got mine at wallies for $4.00. Other things you will need is an iron, glue gun, scissors, measuring instruments, and iron-on "no sew" tape. (Sorry I can't remember the official name.)

I started out by measuring the window and cutting my fabric. Next, I hemmed the edges with iron-on tape. (I did not need to hem the top and bottom. I hot glued them to the top and bottom rail at the end.) I then used the iron-on tape to attach the ribbon to the fabric.

Now for the fun part: taking apart the blind. (Refer to instructional tutorial on how to do this. Don't worry, it's easy as pie.) http://365days2simplicity.blogspot.com/2011/04/easy-no-sew-roman-shades.html

After taking apart the blind, I was ready to glue my fabric to it. I placed the fabric face down, and placed the blinds on top. Just like starting a wood floor, the first line is the most important in making sure subsequent lines are level. Making sure my top rail was totally straight, I used the fabric pattern as my guide for straight lines, placing a blind every 5" or so. An easy way to begin gluing was to flip the blind over to the surface that I was gluing to the fabric (convex.) It was easier to place glue on the blind than the fabric. I used a foam brush to smooth the glue. I felt this is a very important step because it looked "globby" otherwise and did not adhere as well. I then flipped the blind back over and pressed down the length of the fabric making sure the two sides weren't crooked. I was careful not to glue the drawstrings to the fabric. You're supposed to let this set over night, but mine was perfectly dried in 3-4 hours. I adhered my top and bottom rails with hot glue taking care not to glue the top corners because I needed to be able to slide the "locks" into my blind brackets. After installing the blind, I later hot glued the corners to their holders. And that there's how you turn a blind into a work of art!

*Note: if you have problems with your fabric bunching up as you pull the drawstring, don't panic. You may need to crease the folds with you hands and straighten it a little for it to start working properly. I had to do this with mine as I had thick fabric and thick ribbon.

Our backyard is teeny tiny but wanted to make the space I do have fun enough for my two children to grow up with a "normal" childhood. I have wanted to do a sandbox for many moons but have not had the gumption until my four year old's birthday came up. I finally decided to go for it-a sandbox that is-expanding upon this theme to a "Picnic at the Beach." It was a freaking hard project...mainly because our backyard is somewhat inaccessible. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but the end result was really great and I'm glad I decided to go for it. Never mind the fact that my kids go to bed every night with sand crusted in their hair and lining their pockets. It's their favorite thing since Thomas the Train! We hauled in huge stone pavers, (16 inches wide) then added a yard and a half of sand. (That was 4 truckloads, a total of $40.00. Not bad.) The waves, dolphin, and whale are made from spray painted card board, and the sky is plastic table covers. I purchased some pretty sweet sandbox toys from Toys-R-Us (the best selection in my opinion.) The Adirondack chairs were from Wal-Mart for $5.00 a piece. Add a kiddie pool and some beach balls, and you have yourself a beach in the backyard! It was definitely a huge hit with my kids as well as the rest of the neighborhood!