Friday, January 22, 2010

Pelmet Box/Valance DONE!

(Edit to add before links: July 6, 2009 & January 19, 2010)





2 - cloth napkins - $3
1 - pillow sham - FREE w/duvet cover
1 - 20" x 30" foam core board - $2
4 1/2 yards ribbon - $3.75
tons of duct tape - on hand
12 thumb tacks - on hand
4 or 6 push pins - on hand
wee bit of hot glue - on hand

(Note: $40 retail curtain panel found @ Tuesday Morning for $10 and $3 Target double curtain rod for a project total of $21.75 not including taxes. It still needs some tweaks but not bad at all.)

I did not use any quilt batting and the ribbon (horizontal ribbon) on the outside is only held on with thumb tacks. It was pretty easy but seeing as I am Anal Annie, it takes me a long time so as not to mess it up. I did kind of mess up on one of the vertical ribbons as that's where I used the hot glue. Unless you knew it was there and where it is, it's not all that noticable.

With the horizontal ribbons, I was hesitant to glue them on as I wasn't sure I was liking it when I placed them there so I tacked them on with flat thumb tacks that I colored black with a large Sharpie. There are four in the center where the ribbons intersect, four on the outside at the end of the return and four on the inside to secure them.

I used a ton of duct tape to tape and stretch the fabric around. Next time I do a three panel like that, I hope to have a sewing machine and I would like to have had a better way to attach the fabric than duct tape.

Used one of the leftovers from the board as a brace on the back to make it more sturdy. I don't know how large these were done here but mine is 42" wide x 9" high and making it like she did it was a bit flimsy for me.

Attached (until I find something else) several push pins on the back but they aren't pushed through because the pin part is longer than the thickness of the foam board (1/8') so I could rest it on the curtain rod. I had to use a couple of rubber bands on the rod to steady them on the returns so they would stay flush with the wall. If I had the ability, I would have just put a horizontal brace (another 42" wide and 4" deep strip of the board) along the top and down about 1/4" to set it more securely on the rod. But the way I have it for the moment it will work. I will go through my misc crap (that junk box and the junk cabinet) and see if anything looks like it will work better.

All told it took me about 3 1/2 hours from the time I started to take apart the pillow sham to when I finally finished taking pics of it. There was a lot of tweaking during various stages because I am just that way.

I would definitely do this project again. Now if only I had the materials and the know-how to make one long enough for the 7' patio door here in the living room. A nice long (darker tan though) canvas backed pelmet box with outlined panels of orange and green. ;-) That would be a fun but very difficult (given the length) project.

A nice accomplishment and boy it feels good! I may link up to a few blog link-o-ramas now that I am completely done but I may take some more pictures if we have some sun.

EDIT: Because I am one of those impatient people that can't wait till morning to take more pics. I brought in the arsenal that is lighting around here to attempt to get better indoor shots and it's doable enough so here are three pics up close:







If you notice, those cloth napkins are really not bedroom "print" but that's okay. You really don't notice unless you know and are up close. From most points around the room, it's not a big deal.

The colors are off just slightly in the gold tones. The lighting really makes a huge difference in how it shows up between the satin-like parts and the more metallic threads. It's slight enough that it really takes a minute to see the difference. But somehow it works for me.

Links:

Link-O-Rama #1 - Funky Junk Interiors presents her "Saturday Nite Special"
Link-O-Rama #2 - Between Naps on the Porch takes the mundane out of Mondays with "Metamorphosis Monday"
Link-O-Rama #3 - A Soft Place to Land features her weekly "Do It Yourself Day" every Tuesday.
Link-O-Rama #4 - Totally travel to Shabby Chic's terrific Transformation Thursday too!
Link-O-Rama #5 - Finally Friday for Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous!

27 comments:

  1. They are gorgeous. I love them. You have done a wonderful job. What do you mean not bedroom material? They are perfect.

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  2. Hi Treasia, thanks for stopping by!

    Hard to see in the photos but there are three round things in the fabric that look like olives. They do have roses (which are both in the curtain panel ((rose buds)) and on the duvet cover) though so they have a common theme. The olive looking things kind of crack me up but nobody would know unless I pointed it out.

    I had a blast doing this project and I will definitely do it again once I find a home to call my own again. I really like that's it's structured and uncomplicated yet adds a bit of something to complete the basic curtain panel. Thank you for the compliment.

    Thanks again for stopping by!

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  3. Simply lovely. Dresses up the window without being overly fussy.

    I also saw your "apartment tour" post below - I think that you've done a FABULOUS job! It's so hard to put forth any effort when you know you won't be somewhere forever, but you've used what you had and made it look fantastic!

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  4. Your new window treatment is wonderful.

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  5. I like the window box valance. I think you did a fantastic job.

    I've also checked some of your other posts (I found you through Donna's Funky Junk SNS)

    I love your craig's list posts... those are funny; not to mention true!

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  6. Rebecca - Thank you for stopping by! Thanks for looking at my tour. I put your blog in my home decor favs so I can see more of your fun stuff and fun writing. I'm lovin' the soffit treatment! Whoohoo!

    Hi Laura - thank you, it was a great project, especially for this frugal chick who is wanting to be in a house again. Under $25 always makes it a project I don't feel guilty about.

    Hiya Corn -- haha, what a great blog name and thank you too for dropping by. Oh, I love Donna's site, her style and she's a great inspiration for us all.

    CraigsList never ceases to give me giggle fits. I find some really funky stuff that can turn a blue day into a bright one just because humanity is truly filled with goofs.

    Thanks again everyone. Hope you can make a stab at this project too. I can see (and have seen) it done in a variety of styles to suit all kinds of decor. With the right fabrics, heck, even some walks in nature might find some people with some interesting ways to expand upon a pelmet box.

    Keep on decorating! I love to see everyone's creations.

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  7. So very elegant! Everything just shimmers and catches the light in such a neat way.

    Thanks for linking up to SNS!
    FJ Donna

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  8. Terrific job! I love that you used napkins...very creative and they look perfect there.

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  9. Donna - Good morning and thank you (and others too) for giving us all a place to strut our stuff! So many creative ideas out there and those that let us link on their sites help us show off our work.

    Lisa - Thank you. Yeah, napkins. How fun eh? They were originally going to cover pillows but I wasn't liking the look so they ended up in the pelmet box instead. Fun project for sure.

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  10. I don't see why food can't be in the bedroom! Nice job, I'm extremely impressed that this was done with foam core.

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  11. Hi Jaybird & Me - Thanks for stopping by!

    I guess food can be anywhere at any time. ;-)

    Oh man, when I saw the quick tutorial on the site I linked above (and linked within the second before above) I was pretty shocked it could be done with foam core board too.

    And wouldn't you know, it goes on sale this week at Hobby Lobby so I could have knocked another dollar off the total. Ah, no worries, I love it and am thinking I might do something similar with my horrible kitchen window.

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  12. This is so beautiful! What a wonderful job you've done!
    be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  13. Hiya Shelia - Thanks much! I really like it and for the price, you can't beat it.

    Take care and thanks for stoppin' by!

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  14. These are elegant and classic. They will never go out of style and look like you spent 3X as much as you actually did. Hugs, Lana

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  15. These are great...did you attach the corner/sides with duct tape? Looks lovely

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  16. Good morning Lana - thank you for your comment...It's always nice to know that one's work looks a bit luxurious even when in reality it's pretty much "there I fixed" type of work behind the scenes. ;-)

    Hello and welcome Patti - right now I have it resting on the first rod of super cheap curtain rods from Target and put the panel on the back rod until I find some type of small L brackets.

    Push pins are placed about 1/4" done from the top on the back. Placed in the middle, out from there a bit on center of the two front panels and one on each of the returns at the back. It's pretty strange how it's done but hopefully the dollar store will net me something a bit more suitable.

    Thanks again and hope you have a great Monday!

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  17. I like it! The duct tape tip is wonderful.

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  18. Hi Nancy - Duct tape is a gooood thing. Next time I plan to do things a bit differently but the duct tape came in handy, that's for sure.

    Thanks for stopping by. :-)

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  19. It's so professional looking! Great job!

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  21. Good morning and thank you Jennifer. I am thinking of doing a similar project for the horrible little window in my kitchen but it will be much more casual.

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  22. This looks really good! You did a very nice job.:)

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  23. Thank you, Sherry. It's a fun, quick and easy project that really finishes off a room. I can't wait to make another one!

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  24. That is just lovely, can't see the olives at all. That was a clever use of napkins.

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  25. Just beautiful. Would love some over my windows. Maybe this spring.
    Thanks for stopping by the other day!

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  26. Sandy - Thanks for stopping by. Glad to see you don't notice the olives. Hehe, I sure notice them when I think about them but otherwise I don't.

    Hello Colleen - Those silk panels you made are absolutely devine! Thank you for coming on over to see my project, on a tight budget. This is fun stuff. If you do something like this project, I would love to see your results if you do make one or some.

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