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cheekyredhead Shower Curtains...Great ways to use them! Dec 16, 2008 8:38 PM When I was a kid we moved every year because of my Dad's job. Mom was always finding new uses for all sorts of things. I have seen her do some very cool things with some really unusual things. This has taught me to look at any object as options. I have found the wonderful world of shower curtains...and the possibilities are endless. Let's look at some of the facts...they are either water repellent or water proof. One typical size shower curtain can cover the top of a queen-size bed. Often they do not have a seam and are usually one complete piece...which is great if you need a really big piece of fabric. They are relatively inexpensive and can be found in various colors and prints. Possibilities...are endless. I bought 2 in maroon velvet-like shower curtains and used them to recover my dining room chairs. All I needed was a pair of scissors, a screw driver and a staple gun...and it took only one hour. My neighbor paid me $50 to show her how to do hers. In college...I used three matching ones in my room. One as a curtain in the window of my room, another to cover a folding screen to use as a room divider/camo cover to hide unsightly laundry. Another to use as a bed cover...which I never slept with but used to protect my real bedding from my roommate and her party crowd that visited frequently. All could be tossed in the wash and even hung back up while still wet. With a shower curtain I have recovered an old chair, made pillow covers, and even hung it as wallpaper. Yes...wallpaper. In an old rental with really gross avocado green paint that they would not let me re-paint. I covered one really odd-shaped wall with one fabric shower curtain made out of a very light water-repellent fabric. How? In an old quart size jar I dumped about five tablespoons of regular white school glue and filled the rest of the jar with warm water and shook it well. Place shower curtain in a bucket or sink and soak it in the glue/water. I had cut the end off of the curtain that had the ring openings and that left just enough fabric to cover the odd wall. Squeeze any liquid out that you can. Place the curtain on the wall starting at the ceiling, smoothing it on the wall as I went with a soft sponge. When I moved out I asked the owner if he wanted it removed. He was surprised to see how quickly it came off after spraying it with Windex. I washed the wall and it was the same old ugly wall again in less than 10 minutes. (Note...if the paint is a "flat" paint I wouldn't try this) I used the same method to cover a weird-shaped window over my power-jet tub in my new home. When it was almost dry I cut the edges to the window and used a flat-head screw driver to tuck the fabric into the window edging. It looks custom and only cost me $40 and it matches my shower curtain...how'd they do that? Shower curtains make great table cloths and often can be cut to size and sometimes you don't even have to hem them depending upon the fabric. At the 99 cent store you can get heavy duty plastic shower curtains which make the best paint drop cloths. Sometimes shower curtains come with a surprise...the rings. Yes they are usually really ugly...but they come in handy when you have to keep a roll of wire together. I use them for managing cords behind my computer/TV/stereo. They make a great chain to occupy a little one with...use common sense here. They also can be used to keep belts in tow in the closet, and I have even used them as napkin rings. So...these are a few of my classic ideas. Do you have any to share?
haze DIY: Groove Tropicale: Creative Shoes Challenge May 25, 2008 4:12 AM A hand-painted pair of foam wedges, created as part of the VAFF Creative shoes Challenge. Get the details on the start of the project here: http://teamsugar.com/group/1585733/blog/1634103. Details on how I created this fun pair of flip-flops can be found in my blog: http://teamsugar.com/group/1585733/blog/1660551
haze DIY: The Fab-Inspired Artful Shoe Project May 13, 2008 2:54 AM On April 29th Fab posted a very sweet pair of painted shoes in a Guess Who post and I was so moved by the artfulness of them that I couldn't help myself and I instantly wanted to create a pair for my very own. I armed myself with a small sheet of 120 grit sandpaper, a bottle of textile paint, a short selection of Prisma Color permanent markers, and a basic pair of wedges that I purchased from Payless Shoes Source. You'll find the original idea in my blog at http://teamsugar.com/group/1585733/blog/1589544. More details of the entire project can be found here: http://teamsugar.com/group/1585733/blog/1625264
haze DIY: Create your own Fab-Inspired full and flirty tee-shirt skirt without sewing a stitch Apr 22, 2008 11:12 AM Yesterday Fab posted a link to a photo of Drew Barrymore rocking a gorgeously graphic printed skirt by Gucci . Ah! But what inspiration! I thought it would be fun to show you how you can take an ordinary tee shirt [men's XXL or bigger] and, in 45 minutes or less, take it from the thrift store bargain bin to the virtual catwalk. This is a no-sew project - easy for adults and suitable for children with adult supervision. All you need to start this project are a few simple household tools Gather your tools. You will need 1 XXL tee, an iron, measuring tape, straight edge, pencil, scissors. Press your shirt to remove any wrinkles. Measure and mark 16" from the bottom of the hem. Use tailor's chalk or a pencil. Draw a line with a straight edge at the 16 inch marks you just made. Cut along the line you just drew using scissors or a rotary tool. Turn the skirt that you just cut from the body or the shirt hem-side up and snip the hem. Measure, mark and cut a 1 inch strip from the remainder of the tee shirt. Snip the 1 inch tube open to create a strip. Stretch it and knot it at the ends. Thread the drawstring into the casing. Pull on your skirt and cinch it tight on your waist. Arrange the gathers to compliment your figure Have fun painting and embellishing your skirt as you wish. You can use diluted bleach, diluted acrylics, fabric paints, or permanent markers. The best thing is that you are only limited by your imagination and can draw inspiration from almost anywhere. Check out these online tutorials for some original ideas: The Transformer Jeans Skirt Image Transfer Techniques My idea for the design, as shown in this tutorial, was originally inspired by CasaSugar and her MidDay Muse . Now that you're done, layer your skirt with a tank or a tee shirt or have even more fun getting very funky and creative. Here are the looks that I've created from this project: Look 1: The finished project all hooked up. This skirt was cut at 16 inches in length from a man's tee shirt, size large. Details on the rest of the outfit can be found in this Look Book . Here's a more night time look that I created by changing the top, the shoes, the belt and the necklace. Look 2: A more night time look from the no sew project Details on the rest of the outfit can be found in this Look Book . Not Quite Neon full & flirty skirt created from a men's XXL tee shirt Details on the rest of the outfit can be found in this Look Book .
petitcecile Plain Dress into a Work of Art Apr 3, 2008 9:14 AM Designer Jason Wu shows how to turn a plain dress into a work of art. What You'll Need - cotton dress (from edressme.com) - scissors, needle, and white thread - two yards of horsehair trim - hot glue gun - flat paintbrush and black fabric paint - one yard of black grosgrain ribbon Step 1: short cut Using scissors, snip the bubble hem from the bottom of the dress to make it shorter; then discard. Step 2: full story With the needle and thread, sew the horsehair trim around the inside of the hem to add flounce. fade to black Paint the bottom half of the skirt with horizontal strokes, using less paint as you go up so the fabric peeks through. cinch the deal Cut the straps off the dress and tie the grosgrain ribbon around the waistband, with the bow in back. the results Now you're ready to step out in style in your one-of-a-kind creation!