Thursday, March 04, 2010

Project shmoject

(Alternate title: Look, Ma, I'm crafty!)

I was talking with my dear sister a few weeks ago about blogging. She was showing me one of her favorite blogs she reads, thefrugalgirl.com. It's chock-full of useful information on baking, budgeting, repurposing furniture, household chores, and general thrifty living. Incredibly practical stuff for my sister, a newly married woman who is currently learning to build routines into her home life.

Well those thoughts got me thinking about this here blog space, and I wondered what I offer. In the end I figured I offer a little inspiration...perhaps. Practical tips? Rarely. I guess it's not really my thing right now.

That is...until today. Get ready for this:

I crafted today. (I know, I know!)

I found two packages of kitchen towels, each containing 3 different towels, by DwellStudio at Target on clearance for $2.48 each. I loved the designs, though I wasn't sure how the color scheme of brown and aqua would go with my current kitchen colors of red and white. But they were so cute and such a good deal that I figured if I didn't use them I could, at the very least, give them away.

True enough, they didn't go with my curtains and the color scheme I'd already established in the kitchen. So they sat on my counter for a few days, and I mostly ignored them, pouting because they wouldn't work. And then it hit me. They would make great curtains to replace my current ones. Sure, the current curtains were great, but these were looking fantastic, and I would always have my former curtains to return to if I wanted to change back.

A little ironing of the fabric to remove the creases...

A few packs of ring clips I purchased at Wal-mart...

And Voila!...new curtains!

And get this...the curtains were the perfect size! I turned the striped pair on their side to make them into cafe curtains for the window. And with the polka-dotted pair, I totally got lucky because they were just the right length to cover the random hole in my cabinet. They are nicely sewed on three sides with a cute strip of aqua ribbon on the fourth side, giving them a finished look. Long story short, people: Not a single stitch sewed! (contented sigh)

Ok, so maybe this project doesn't exactly qualify as crafty, in the sense of skilled sewing and general making of things with your hands. But I'll settle for the other kind of crafty, meaning cunning and tricky. Because I think getting two pairs of curtains, sans sewing, for the low price of $5 is both cunning and tricky.

Oh, and look who also got her a new pair of kitchen towels after all?!

16 comments:

Megan said...

Hey! Very smart - sort of makes me think of doing a puzzle. Cool how you found a perfect place for all of them to fit!

Anonymous said...

I do think this is a most incredible website for proclaiming great wonders of Our God!

kelly said...

I LOVED those towels! I saw them at Target, but they weren't $2 yet and we all know I am too cheap to buy $6 towels. :)
It looks great!

abigail said...

I love it! great idea!

Lindsay said...

Being creative is good for the spirit, no? I didn't know you're not crafty, but this is quite impressive. Can't wait to see what you'll do next. ;)

Anonymous said...

Love it! The colors are good but kind of trendy, you know, so if you do get tired of them you can move on. As you said. What a fantastic deal! and they look so GOOD!

Alina said...

Megan-It felt like doing a puzzle as I thought through it!

Kelly-Too funny! I actually thought of giving you the towels if they didn't work for me. They seemed like they would go perfectly in your home. Should I be telling you this? :-)

Lindsay-Yes, crafting is good for my spirit...though I don't get a high while I'm doing a project. I get satisfaction when it's complete. I'm not sure if that's how other crafters are. They seem to love the process. Not me.

Anonymous-Oh my! This comment cracks me up! If you are a real commenter, I must say thank you and I giggled a little because this particular post doesn't bring obvious glory to God, even though I do believe crafting can be a form of worship. But if this is spam...HILARIOUS!! I've never read 'spam for Jesus' before. Thanks for giving me the biggest laugh of my day, spammer!

Jenny said...

My frugal friend was interviewed the other day on TV for her inspirational blog...check out her post last week to see the interview...I like her blog, but I'm also getting into many other blogs about home decorating and cooking...so much great advice and crafty ideas on this blog world...crazy!

Alina said...

Sarah-I agree. They are trendy, especially the print on the ones I left as kitchen towels. But I do feel like the polka dots and stripes are quite classic so hopefully they will stay for a while. And who knows...if I do get tired of the prints, I don't mind paying full price for new towels turned into curtains.

Brian & Mary Hand said...

I love it Alina! Very fun! It's the little things (and cool craftiness) that make things exciting :). Thanks for the ideas!

joc said...

Sweet!

kate o. said...

loving this and loving the colors. now i'm feeling the itch to make curtains for our kitchen window. and i love that you perhaps got "jesus spam."

RT said...

Oh Alina, we think alike. Love the repurposed curtains! I used some magical tape stuff to create a curtain from an old fabric scrap. It didn't match anything in my basement but was a grand improvement over the old dusty drape from the 70's. I felt darn crafty myself. : )

Rideout Time said...

So talented and so amazing!!! I wish we lived closer so we could do this type of thing together with other cousins.

Anonymous said...

I think those colors suit you more. Save the red ones for the holidays. That secretary is screaming for a medium to dark shade, you'll think of something, guided by the artwork maybe...
love,
mom

Julianne said...

Hey Alina. I just love it when I find steals like that at Target too! It makes me feel like I just won the lottery...then again, if I won the lottery...I might just be shopping at Anthropology! :) Anyways, great idea and use of very cute fabric. Inspired.