Thrifty Find- YELLOW Kitchen Curtains!

I have been envisioning YELLOW curtains for the kitchen since I've embarked on this project.
I found the most perfect length, shade of yellow, and exact style at Goodwill. There wasn't a tag on them, but the woman said $3.99-- then I used my trusty Goodwill Discount card and saved 10% off of that!

Below I have a post titled: Inexpensive No Sew Kitchen Curtains, where I tried my crafty skills for the first time in a loooong time, and it turned out alright. I am happy to report that I took those curtains down, put my black panels back up from WalMart [on the large window] and popped these babies onto the rod! I LOVE THEM, LOVE THEM, LOVE THEM! The kitchen is so bright and sunny!
(PS I suck at taking pictures, so I'll have better ones up soon)

AFTER:

The faucet will be getting changed out very soon.

Before pictures are in the other curtain blog.

It's the Little Things that Make a Big Difference- Longer/ Higher Curtains:

I've learned that you should hang your curtains higher to make your room appear taller. And let's face it, this tiny trailer needs all the help it can get.
Sadly I don't have a "before" picture of the short curtains attached right above the window sill, but I do have a picture of how silly they look with the rod placed at the more appropriate level.
[Nevermind the blank walls as they are a work in progress].

AFTER: These are actually 4 long scarves with the bandana "do-rag" type pattern, They are from Goodwill, brand new - Target rejects. Goodwill gets a lot of the Target merchandise that doesn't sell. These were $2.00 a piece, and I put them on curtain clips from Ikea. I love how flowy they are, they let the light in and it's a lot more clean and crisp looking. I do want to get more- hopefully there are still some left. I got this idea from someone I was following who made "Bohemian" style curtains with fabric that she cut into strips and then knotted around the rod. I thought it was so simple, so bold, unique and very pretty. If you ever see her blog- please feel free to tell me who she was so I can give credit where credit is due.

BEFORE: Yuck! WalMart Curtains.

Inexpensive No Sew Kitchen Curtains:

My kitchen is black, white, gray and yellow. I personally would love yellow curtains, and will get them later on, but for now I purchased 3 3/4 yards of this gray and black scroll material for $6.00 at Mardens.

This was EXACTLY enough to do my kitchen sink window and my large kitchen window.

I love that I can see out of the windows without having to move my curtain over (which is surprisingly what I HAD to do with my WHITE and blue curtains from WalMart). I also love that they allow for the light to come into the kitchen without having a glare.

(Here is a sneak peak of some of the BIG changes we are doing. This is the BEFORE with the OLD hardware on the cabinets.......

this is the AFTER with the NEW hardware on the cabinets! This is the OLD curtain...... )

the AFTER of the curtain that I made (daylight shot) [it's not that crooked- LOL) ....

the after shot (evening). Please excuse the mess.

the close up of the fabric.

MINI SPOTLIGHT!!

It's the little things that make a big difference!

BEFORE: The actual dish soap bottle is sitting on the countertop.

AFTER: Black, white and silver scroll pump bottle now houses the liquid. It's not only more functional, but a lot more appealing. I got it on clearance at Kohl's for $4.00!

~ I also changed out the papertowel holder from a white one to a more sleek brushed stainless steel one (that matches the new hardware). UPDATE: 2/7/10 I not only removed the new papertowel holder- but I've changed it's location entirely. Photos to follow soon.

~~ I also pulled the metal light cover around and faced it out to hide the bulb, where as before the bulb was exposed and not cute looking. By doing this, the papertowel holder matches even more and the light is more inviting and not in your eyes.

My kitchen is going through a major transformation with blogs and pictures to come. A lot has to do with updating it and making it a lot less dated and more cleanly. Other redecorating includes: much cuter outlet covers (I'm just waiting to finish scrubbing up the walls then I am putting them up), decorative shelf and artwork in the kitchen, a new faucet with sprayer to be purchased soon, and we have changed from buying decorative papertowels to purchasing plain white papertowels to match the kitchen better.

Material and Costs:

Mardens fabric- $6.00

Ikea DIGNITET curtain clips- $4.00 ( 24 quantity)

hem tape- had on hand

iron

Instructions for no sew curtains:

cut the fabric to desired length leaving about an inch around the entire side (I left them longer on the left and right sides to that I didn't have to cut them and risk cutting off more than I wanted). Place viewing side down (backside facing up) Crease about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch over and iron it. Rip hem tape to length of hem. Place the hem tape rough side down against the crease line and fold hem over to cover the tape. Press the iron for 3 seconds working all the way down. It is very important to make sure that you make sure your iron is free of hem tape glue as you are about to turn the curtain over to the good side. If there is any glue residue, be careful, grab a wet rag and wipe it down. Press the good side for about a second or two, working your way down.

These curtains (big window not shown due to placement of rod being moved soon)... were different than my first one, as I used the Ikea curtain clips this time.

When all of your sides are hemmed, Grab your curtain in the top middle and fold it evenly, and attach your first hook directly in the middle and work your way out placing hooks where you so much desire. I used 5 clips on the little window and 11 on the big window.

The total cost was about $8.69 for two windows!

My 1st NO SEW Curtain Ever!

I had been looking for inexpensive ways to decorate, and found results on "no sew curtains".
Sounds easy enough... in fact, there's even easier ways than I have done it! (which I'll blog about later)

I purchased some beautiful black and white heart fat quarters for .75 a piece, with my heart set on them being kitchen window curtains. My boyfriend didn't like that the back of them was white while the front was black. WHATEVER, LOL.
So, I went out and found some fabric that would match my Jacobean. Again, another fat quarter for .75 cents.

I was targeting just the front door window.
Here is the before- hunter green, too long, too short curtain with a questionable stain on it from it's previous life as a tablecloth. NOTHING in our home is hunter green anymore.

And here's the after- cream and black trial curtain.

Here I've made the slot that the curtain rod goes through, so that it has that decorative lip at the top like a curtain.
As you can clearly see, I really didn't do much measuring, but have learned to measure better since.

Materials and Cost:
* 1 fat quarter- .75
* roll of hem tape- $2.20 (I barely used any of the roll)
* iron [had on hand]
* scizzors [had on hand but totally need fabric cutting ones]

So I basically made that panel for 83 cents!

Instructions:
Select the fabric of your choice and measure your window. My window is a unique shape and size. Make sure the fabric selected has atleast 1 inch extra on each side.
I put the fabric front side down and folded the right side in first. I folded it about 1/2 an inch, pretty much the width of the hem tape. I ironed a crease all the way down. This provides for an easy line up and crisp edge.
I placed the hem tape rough side down and placed the iron over it for 3 seconds- moving my way down.
You want to be careful here because you may get hem glue on the iron and if it accidentally gets on the visible side of the fabric, you may as well call your project history (as I am CURRENTLY trying to fix that exact situation with a new curtain).
At this point if you have glue on your iron, wipe it off with a moist rag, then turn the curtain over (when there is NO glue present on your iron) and press for 1 or 2 seconds all the way down the curtain.
Repeat this with the other side.
Next I did the bottom, where I did a double hem. I am sure there is a more technical term for it than that, but I am a "newbee" and that's what I am calling it.
I did the hem at the bottom as I did with the sides, but then I folded it once more, and repeated the process.
I double hemmed it to give it more stability and to make it more pleasing to the eye, should someone lift up the curtain.
The result was a nice and not too thick bottom part of the curtain.
For the top part of the curtain, I folded it down in the length of THREE hems. I ironed it to give it a good line to follow, and placed my hem tape at the very part of the crease, all along the top. I adhered the tape as I did before. * The top of the fabric was the factory cut, so I didn't do any extra hemming.
I then left a gap the size of the hem tape width (or curtain rod) and adhered the hem tape along the bottom of the folded hem to the spot of which it matched up. This gave it the pocket for the rod to slide through, and sealed the bottom.