Newlywed DIY Project: Marimekko Wall Hanging

I love Marrimekko! I have ever since I first laid eyes on this textile 'Kaiku, Maija Louekari'. I think, I have always wanted this textile as a wall hanging for my house. Up until the now, I have had this image as my desktop wallpaper for the last 3 years. I am happy to let readers know that I have fulfilled one of my interior design dreams! I have this hanging in my house! Yippy!

I had purchased a DIY kit from this place. And of course, the indecisive person that I am, I decided to change the location of my wall hanging, which means I had to change the size from being 54 in x 60 in to 44 in x 56 in. ; if I would have had the fore thought  to order my custom sizing from the beginning this project would have been a lot easier than I made it. silly me!

First, I had my dad help me cut the frame to size using a simple 45˚ angled frame. To do this, we used an inexpensive band-saw from Harbor Freight. And when I say inexpensive, I mean cheap! Only $60!
(Make sure to measure twice, cut once and to use a square leveler if you are going to so a similar project at home.)

Next, I used a frame clamp and wood glue to adhere the ends together. The frame clamp ensures that I get a perfect 90˚ corner. After the frame dried, I stapled the seams and used a flier to smooth  out the edge.

After the frame was completed, I began to attach the Marimekko textile to it. I made sure to staple the fabric every 2 inches to the frame while holding the fabric taunt. I folded the corners like a Christmas present, making for that folds matched up perfectly with corner of the frame.

 
Finally, I hung the Marimekko wall hanging! Hurray! Its all mine! (sorry, for the low resolution photo of it hanging on my living room wall - it was taken on my iPhone).

Newlywed DIY Project: Making Curtains

I've been dying to get drapes/curtains for the living room. However, much like many newlyweds we did not have the funds to get the Anthro. designer Thomas Paul curtains I really wanted. So I decided to make them, instead of over paying. The best part of this project, is that I didn't even have to do any sewing! Instead, I took the time efficient route and used hemming tape. It was the easiest project ever! All you have to do it to cut fabric panels to size and fold the frayed edges over the hemming tape. Iron over using the 'steam' setting and voila! Curtains are ready to hang!

The fabric we picked for our curtains is by Designer: Robert Allen

We got it 50% percent off! (what a deal!)

The trick to making your own curtains is measuring the windows, and then doing it again. 

(Not Kidding!) The last thing you want to do is buying the incorrect amount of fabric or cutting your fabric panels too short. ~ Trust me. Measure Twice.

Make sure you cut straight lines when cutting your panels. 

You don't want crooked panels hanging in your house :)

I used hemming tape instead of a sewing machine. This process was pretty fast, but it still took some time. I think 5+ hours for myself to finish the curtains. But I did make 2 sets of curtains 

(4 panels, 96 inches in length).

You can see how nice the seams look once, ironed.

The finished product! I am loving these curtains, I chose a semi-lighter fabric because I still wanted the light to come in. In reality, these are 'dumby' curtains. Meaning, they don't actually close. I wanted to have curtains to add atmosphere, but knowing me I would never use them to block out light. My living room windows are 72in x 72in each, so to save money, I purchased a fabric with the standard width of 54in and cut it in half (to have 25in panels).Instead of paying over $300 on fabric, I ended up spending only $145.

What do you think? Is it something all newlyweds can do?

Newlywed DIY Project

This weekend, It was spring cleaning for me and my husband, we cleaned our garage, living room, dining room, and did a little laundry. We also hung some long awaited Photographs in the hallway. These frames and photographs have been laying on our dinning room table for a couple of weeks, and this weekend we finally had the time to hang them up.

I think this project is a lovely DIY project for newlyweds everywhere. When moving in together, many couples have bare walls to decorate and run out of funds to buy art to hung on their walls. Instead of buying expensive art, think about hanging family photos, after all you're starting a new home and family together, it only makes sense to hang your favorite family photos to create a nice memory wall that couples and share together.

When hanging photographs, pick a selected few photos which you would want to showcase. For my selected photos, i decided to use Photoshop to create ultra yellow filter, to make all my photos appear aged. Next I selected the same style white and sand colored wooden frames, mixed with khaki and white mat boards, to create a modern feel, rather then hanging mis-matched frames. I waited until Arron Brothers had a penny sale to save all the money I could (frames are so expensive!). When hanging photos, group your photos close together and try to keep them on one wall, this will make a larger impact, which will draw guests to view all your photos. On my monthly flea market trips, I found a few antique frames of which I hung along with my family photos. This brought in a vintage feel, I think, to the photo collage, of which I'm pretty proud of. We hope you like it!

Low-Res Photos brought to you by my iPhone.
(I just discovered that I can take HD photos??? A little too late. Dang.)