DIY Project- No-Sew Window Valance

Now that we're back in our house (and I've joined Pinterest), I've been scheming some projects for Keith and I to work on. The first one that I recently finished and want to share with you is a no-sew window valance. I made it for our basement window. I used to have a valance on it when we lived here before but to be honest, it was kind of ugly. I knew I wanted something different so I started looking online. I found a cute one on etsy, but becasuse our window is wider than a standard one, it would've cost me $80. I wasn't willing to shell out that kind of money for a valance, so I decided to look at turorials online to get ideas for how to make my own. I found a few helpful blogs here and here. I then shopped online and ordered some really cute fabric for only $5.99 a yard! Here's a pic of my fabric:

 

Since it has the decorative stripes, I decided I wanted to make a smooth box-style valance instead of a ruffly one. This was a little more challenging, since I had to make sure I make it a precise width and had to piece two sections together. But I think it turned out pretty well.  Here's the finished product:



Not bad, right? And the total cost was less than $25! To recap, here's the supplies I used:

• 2 yds fabric (a duck cloth or outdoor fabric works best since it's heavier)
• 1 roll Heat n Bond adhesive (I used the ultrahold variety)
• Scissors
• Iron/ironing board

Once I had a plan and all my measurements, it really was pretty easy to make. If you're sewing-challenged like I am, give it a try. You just might surprise yourself! Be sure to stay tuned for some more DIY projects to come...

Love,
Ashley

A Happy(?) Thanksgiving

I'm a little late on this post, but as you might infer from the title, we didn't exactly have the best Thanksgiving holiday. It started on Wednesday afternoon. I went to get Wyatt up from his nap only to discover that he had puked. Everywhere. There was vomit all over the crib, in his hair, on his sleepsack. It was like nothing I've ever seen (and also made me question whether the boy chews his food...but that's another issue). I'll attach a picture of it at the bottom of this post (kidding!).  We have been lucky that Wyatt had never had anything more than a boogy nose this past year, so I guess it was time for us to face our first real illness. The poor guy got sick a few more times Wednesday evening before bed. Thankfully he did not vomit overnight, but he had a pretty fitful sleep (as did Keith and I). He seemed to be in better spirits Thursday morning, and we debated whether or not to take him anywhere. However, he had one small vomiting episode later that morning which confirmed our decision to keep him home. Originally we had planned to go to my parents' house and then Keith's aunt and uncle's. We ended up taking turns and going by ourselves. Not exactly the holiday we had in mind. But by the end of the day Wyatt was much better. I was paranoid that Keith and I were going to come down with it, seeing as we both had gotten directly puked on. But by Friday evening with Wyatt back to normal and both of us feeling fine, I started to think maybe we'd dodge it. Wrong. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning Saturday and instantly knew I felt off. I'll spare you the details, but I can say that I haven't been sick like that in a long time (thank you, child, for licking shopping carts and passing that crazy bug to me). I was bedridden most of the day, but luckily it was a 24 hour bug and I was feeling almost completely back to normal on Sunday. Keith felt yucky by Saturday night, but his symptoms were much milder than Wyatt's or mine.

So that's our Thanksving weekend in a nutshell. It may have been a bit of a bust, but we still have so much to be thankful for this year. And we now look forward to celebrating Christmas in a few weeks (and hope to be healthy!).

Love,
Ashley