Drop Cloth Shower Curtain

I so love drop cloth fabric..........  not when you first open the package, but when you pull it out of the dryer!!  It's all cotton-y and soft and cozy and smells so good!!  And it goes through my sewing machine like a knife through butter!!

I made this shower curtain for a couple of reasons........ #1 I couldn't find one in a store or online that I liked or for a reasonable price (It's just a SHOWER curtain - for goodness sake!!)   #2  I wanted something in my bathroom that no one else would have.  #3  I love the color of the cloth!   (I KNOW - - I'm a goober!!)

I used drop cloth material that I had left over from a couple of other projects.  And because of that, I had to 'piece' it together. 

I didn't take 'tutorial' pictures....  so here she is.......

It' nothing super-duper fancy, but I love it.  I've got a clear liner behind it.  And in the second picture you can almost get a glimpse and see that I still have my blue bathtub.  (I only painted the outside part of the tub and shower because I just wasn't sure how the spray paint would hold up IN the shower and tub with getting wet everyday and getting cleaned!!   - - I promise - pictures of the whole bathroom very soon!!

I love all the different shades of brown in the fabric I used for the trim.  I forget where I got this fabric or who made it (if you know, please tell me!!). 

I love how versitile drop cloth fabric is.  And how soft it is after you wash and dry it!!

Thanks for checking it out!!  I'm planning on finishing the window treatment this weekend and getting it hung up!!  (I HATE plastic mini blinds - - so come back and check out what I'm going to put on the window instead!!)

Have a great Friday!!

Hugs ~~ Suz


I'm linking up to these parties!!

Drop Cloth Gardening Apron

Happy Mother's Day!!!

My mother-in-law got a greenhouse earlier this year.  She loves flowers and growing things and she's really excited about her greenhouse.  Tomorrow is Mother's Day and Monday is her birthday.  Mr. Inspiring got her some supplies for her 'Mother's Birthday'.  He got her a watering can, a spray nozzle for the hose, some gloves, seeds, some gardening tools and some starter trays.  Really personal, eh??  :-)   This morning, I decided to make her a Gardening Apron - nothing like waiting til the last minute!!  And - - I had NO pattern!!  (And did I mention that I have never taken a sewing class??)

I started out by sketching my idea out on paper.  I knew I wanted to use drop cloth (that has got to be the handiest fabric ever!).  I also knew that I wanted to double the fabric to give it some weight and durability.  I also wanted it to have deep pockets that held a lot.

First of all, I cut my drop cloth and trim according to my sketch.

I cut my main piece of drop cloth 22" x 31".  This will be folded in half to make the apron approximately
 22" x 15 1/2".

I cut the pocket piece at 29" x 21".  This will also be folded in half to make the pockets approximately 10" tall and will give me room to make it so that the pockets kind of pleat out.  (You'll get what I mean in a little bit).

I cut a piece of the trim fabric 60" long by 4" wide.  This will be the apron tie.  I also cut some yardage for the trim at 3" thick.  One piece needs to be at least 29" for the pocket tops, and then 2 pieces need to be at least 15 1/2" for the sides and the last piece needs to be at least 23" for the bottom.

I ironed the drop cloth and then folded it in half and pressed it to make sure it squared up ok.  I did that for the main part and for the pocket part. 

The first part I sewed was the trim to the pocket top.   I sewed the trim on the folded side, and then matched my cut edge of the pocket to the cut edges of the apron.   First I sewed the trim to the back by lining it up and pinning it.  I stitched it using approximately a 1/2" seam allowance.

I pressed it back and then folded the unsewn edge over, and then folded it over the pocket.  I don't think that the way I did it is in any learn how to sew book.  I just kind of eyeballed it and pinned it.  The finished trim ended up being approximately 3/4" on each side.  I did the trim similarly to how I've seen the binding done on quilts.  (I think.....)

I pinned the pocket to the apron on the sides only and stitched the sides.  Don't do the bottom yet, cuz they still need to have that pleated thing going.........



Now to make the pockets.  My plan was for the pockets to ......   well, crap.... how do I describe this one???

Ok - - Imagine the pockets as a box.  The back and the front will be approximately 7" each, and the sides will be approximately 1 " each.  The 'back' of the box is my apron, and the material that I just sewed the trim on and sewed the sides to the apron is what I will use to make the 2 sides and the front of the 3 'boxes'.  Therefore, each pocket needs 9" but the back just needs 7".  With the apron laying on the table, starting at the left side, I smoothed the pocket over.  I laid my ruler on the apron, with the edge of the ruler lined up with the edge of the apron.  I measured 9" of the pocket material.  I wanted an exact 'line' for the 9" mark from the top of the pocket to the bottom.  Since this is the front of the apron, I didn't want to use a pen or pencil to mark it and then have to figure out how to make it go away.  (I don't have any disappearing pencil things I've read about......)  So... I took my trusty blue painter's tape and taped it off.  Then I picked up the pocket piece, and moved the blue line to the 7" mark and pinned it.  I did the same thing from the right side.

I sewed right beside the tape, and I sewed from the top of the apron to the bottom.  I figured this would help the apron keep it's shape if my MIL ever wanted to wash it.

I removed the tape and laid the apron on the table again.  I made a pleat at each corner of each pocket.  However, for the end corner on each edge, I made the pleat about a 1/2 inch away from the edge to leave room for the trim.  I pinned it all in place and stitched it up.

The next step was adding the trim.  I put the trim on each side, just as I had done for the pocket top.  I did the same for the bottom, except I folded each end to give it more of a finished look.

I added the tie at the top the same way I did the rest of the trim.  (I guess I didn't take a close up of that.....)

I painted her initial on the middle pocket (it's SUPPOSED to be a "J" but Mr. Inspiring said it looks like a "T"........... dangit............   But do I get extra brownie points for painting it freehand?????)

The next picture shows what I mean about the 'box'. 

Here it is all finished!!  She's a quilter (does beautiful work!!) and I just hope she isn't too picky and examines my sewing (in)capabilities too closely.  But, if she doesn't like it, I'll have to take up gardening and change my name  "Ms. Jinspiring Creativeness"??   "Juz"???     Mr. Inspiring says she will love it!!

Please let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer them for you!

Did you have a good Mother's Day???

Hugs ~~ Suz

I'm linking up to these parties!!

Wonderful (BUSY) Weekend!!

Hey, Everybody!!!  I hope you had a spectacular weekend.  Mother Nature was VERY kind to us yesterday and gave us a nice long sip of spring.  Mr. Inspiring and I spent the day de-junking cleaning out the garage.  We took some unwanted items to the curb, and a guy came along and salvaged almost everything.  We talked to him for a while and realized that he was a handicapped person that was making it on his own.  It felt good to know that we helped him out.  He was very appreciative and kept thanking us.  It was GOOD.

Today I crafted and created and worked on projects. 

First off - I have all the paint applied to my door that I'm turning into my headboard.  I'm so excited, and can't wait to start on the next step!!!

Then, while I was waiting for my coats of paint to dry, I played around with the cricut.  A couple of Christmas's ago, I made all of our family members tiles with their last names on them.  I cut out vinyl and then mod podged them.  They turned our super duper cute!!  And ever since, I've been wanting one.  But, 11 letters was NOT going to look right on the 12" x 12" tiles like I made for everyone else.  So after cruising blogland, I found Denise's wonderful tutorial for these tiles, using SCAL.  You can find her tute on her wibsite, http://paperpastime.com/ and the tutorial is called "Split a Letter With SCAL2 Video".  It's dated February 23, 2011.  Denise is AWESOME and has done some wonderful projects.  I've been watching her for over a year.  Well, I did mine today, and while I think it looks very cool, it's also hard to read in certain light...........  Mr. Inspiring suggested making the name in a different color and leaving the big W in the gold sparkle........... He just may be on to something..... 

Here's my tile:

Here's what the vinyl looked like before I applied it to the tile:

Total cost for this tile project?  Just the cost of the tile, less that $5.  The vinyl is part of the huge bag of bits and pieces our local graphics shop gave me!!  Told you I got some great vinyl!!

I posted pictures of my candles last Monday, and the soda box that I put them in and set them on my dining table.  Well, just in one week, my table has gotten a bunch of new scratches.  Not good.  I'm not horribly upset, as I want to redo the table (it's that orangey golden oak stain), but I'm not really happy about it, either.  So I made a table runner to put underneath the soda box.

I figured out what size I wanted it to be, then I cut my piece of drop cloth and inch wider and an inch longer than the finished size of 16" x 38".  I used blue painters tape to make my stripes.

(I promise, they really aren't as crooked as this picture shows...)

Using a sponge 'brush' I painted and dabbed on my brown acrylic craft paint.

I cut a 'W' out with my cricut using SCAL2.  It's my favorite font 'Fontleroy' - The same one I used for my 'W' on my lamps!!  I cut it out in vinyl and kept the negative to make my stencil.

I didn't take anymore pictures for the next couple of steps.  (My batteries kind of died...)

But I did both ends with the same W.  I took some old (and I mean OLD) muslin, and cut 3" strips.  I folded the sides over and stitched it, then kind of gathered/pleated it and stitched it to the runner.  It is NOT the most beautifully sewn, technically correct project ever done.  And it came out just like I wanted.  NOT perfect.  And that's perfect for me!!!

Total cost for this project?  The 4' x 15' drop cloth was less than $20 and I've got a TON left for more projects!!  I had the paint and the sponge brush and the tape.  And again, the vinyl I used to make the W was part of the sack of bits and pieces.  The OLD muslin - I'm tellin' ya -- It's old!  I got it when my ex husbands grandma passed away in 1989.  It was with a bunch of fabric she had tucked away for quilting, and looking at it, you don't see this kind of material in stores anymore.  I knew it was OLD in '89!!

I'm just loving that drop cloth!!!

Have a great week!!!

Hugs ~~ Suz

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