DIY Indoor Awning

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I love DIY projects. I have not done any major projects yet, but many small ones. I love home decor projects like the DIY wall art in my guest bedroom. One such project which was inspired from an image I saw in some website ( which I am not able to trace now) was to make an indoor awning.

I loved the indoor awning idea and knew right away that I wanted one for my kitchen window.

I searched online for indoor awning projects and figured how I would do it. I measured the width between the cabinets on both sides of the window as I wanted the awning across those cabinets. I measured the rough length of the awning from top of the cabinets. I bought 2 yards of fabric and two tension shower curtain rod. The advantage of using tension rod is that there is no need of any nails or drills. The rod will come with instructions on how to fit it between two spots.

I cut the fabric to the desired width + 4" and length + 8". I also did a scallop design at the end to give it a cafe look. I finished the seams at both sides of the fabric by folding fabric twice by 1". On top I made a pocket for the rod to go through. The extra 8" was for that. I slid the rod through this pocket and fit it on top between cabinets at the far end of cabinets. I set the next rod below towards the near end of cabinets. The fabric was then taken over this rod. I haven't attached fabric to this second rod, but since I used heavy fabric the fabric doesn't slide down.

As they say, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, not everyone would probably like the idea of an indoor awning. But I personally love it. I think it adds a personal touch to my windows. Its modern yet very homey. 

If you would like to make one and have any questions, please use the comment section below. I would be happy to answer your questions.

I am linking this project here:

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3 Rs: Reduce, Recycle, Reuse - project 1

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So I have this issue with hoarding pretty things that normal people would probably toss. Like cute gift boxes, gift wrappers, pretty bottles. My excuse would be that I would find some use later on. But this time it was a bit different. When I bought this bottle of hot sauce, I knew exactly what I would do when its empty. In fact I was waiting eagerly for the sauce to get over.

So with an empty hot sauce bottle, few varieties of colorful lentils and a cute little helper, this is what I ended up with. A decor piece for my kitchen island. :)

PS: I will probably do a series on projects done by reusing old stuff and hence the 3 Rs title for this post. 

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No Sew Tutu Skirt - a tutorial

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The first Tutu skirt I made was for my daughter's first birthday. She wore it for her cake smash and looked very cute in her Tutu.

Wikipedia definition of a tutu skirt is 'A tutu is a skirt worn as a costume in a ballet performance, often with attached bodice. It consists of a Basque (or waistband, as it can either be part of the bodice or a separate band) and the skirt itself might be single layer, hanging down, or multiple layers starched and jutting out.'

Tutu skirts are really pretty, but it is difficult to get one with super lush in the normal stores. I prefer one with multiple layers of fabric. Etsy do have many shops that sell good quality Tutu skirts.

Tutu is usually made using tulle fabric. Tulle is a light weight very fine netting fabric. It is mostly stiff and gives Tutu skirt a puffed out look.

Supplies needed

1. Scissors
2. Tulle fabric in colors of choice - I used bright pink and light pink tulle( comes in 6" wide spool or bolt which can be cut to strips) I used tulle from bolt and 1 yard each of both colors.
3. Net headband (Normal elastic can also be used)

How To

1. Cut tulle to strips. Length of each strip = Length of the finished skirt  * 2 + 1.5". I wanted mine to be 7" long, so I cut strips 7*2+1.5 = 15.5 " long. I eyeballed the width of the strips, but a 3" would be perfect.
2. Stretch the headband such that the holes in it are visible. I put the headband over my daughter's toy stroller. The width was perfect to keep the headband stretched so that I could work comfortably.

3. Count the tulle strips and the holes in the headband and find out how many strips should go in each hole. I had around 90 tulle strips and my headband had 30 holes. So 3 strips went in each hole. Take the tulle strips and fold in half.

4. Take the center portion and insert it through the hole in the headband from behind.

5. Pull out the ends through the loop created.

6. Pull the end slowly and tighten it so that it will not unwind. You will have to be careful as the headband elastic is very delicate and can break if you pull on the ends too strong.(Speaking from experience)

7. Do the same with the next hole. I followed a sequence of 2 dark pink & 1 light pink and 2 light pink & 1 dark pink strips alternately.

8. Repeat this until the all the holes in the headband are done.

Here is my daughter's doll modelling the completed Tutu skirt.

Two of my friends had a baby shower this past weekend and both of them are expecting girls. So I made one each for both of them.

By choosing different colors and length of the skirt, this can be used for different occasions. Using shades of blue and green can make this a peacock costume for Halloween. Red and black tulle can be used for a Mickey/Minnie mouse costume. The possibilities are endless and I would definitely be making some more in near future.

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DIY paper wallart

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I am smitten by these 3 letters DIY (Do It Yourself), especially when it comes to decorations. First time I tried this wall art was for our daughter's first b'day. I made few of these pinwheels in different shades of yellow (party theme color was yellow) and different sizes. It was the backdrop for photos and many people complimented. I loved it too and knew right away that I want to make a set of these as home decor for our home. 

My original plan was to make a huge arrangement for our living room with many pinwheels using paper with different designs in navy blue. But when I went to buy the patterned paper, I couldn't find any in navy blue. So I bought few papers in different shades of blue and few in grey. Since the curtains in our living room is navy blue, I didn't want these in that room. Still I made the pinwheels and while making it struck me that the bedding set we bought for guest bedroom has the same color scheme. All I had to do to make it perfectly match was to dig through daughter's b'day party decor items and pull out two small yellow pinwheels to add to the set. 

These pinwheels are really easy to make. All you need is patience. Pinwheel is made by folding paper to either sides to make a fan and then by gluing the ends together to form a circle. The method of folding a paper to make a fan is called accordion style of folding. You can find many tutorials on how to make these pinwheels. I found this tutorial explanatory. I used a paper punch to make a lace pattern over the edges before folding the paper. This can make the pinwheels more beautiful especially if you are using solid color paper like the yellow one in my set.

The advantage with this wall art is that you can change it anytime you want and it is eye catchy. You can customize the colors to suit your decor. With a little effort and a lot of patience you will have a statement wall all done by yourself. :) 

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