Ribbon Valances

I've been wanting valances for the kids' playroom. Problem was, I couldn't find something pre-made that I liked, and I don't know how to sew. What's the next best thing, you ask...pre-made valances, ribbon, and ribbon tape.
I bought some white valances from Target, ribbon and double-sided fabric/ribbon tape from JoAnn's, and thought - "Let's give it the good ole college try".

It seriously took about 45 minutes to do all three. I used a level and pencil to mark several places 3 inches from the bottom of each valance. I then cut the ribbon the same length of the valance. Next, I laid out the riboon tape in two spots on the ribbon, un-taped the other side and carefully laid it down on the material...and wha-la a curtain is done.

All about us

Hey y'all...so glad you stopped by. I'm new to the blogging world but so excited to be here. 

I'm Shana, also known as Mommy around this house. I'm just a small town southern girl who fell in love with a northern boy (imagine that). I am a stay at home mommy who's starting to get her feet back into work as a developmental therapist. My wonderful husband, Eric, and I have been married for 7 1/2 years (and there's no such thing at the 7 year ich, people - in case you're wondering). We live in Raleigh and I love being in the south - We made a 4 year detour through Tampa, Florida before returning back to the south.

We have two kiddos - a girl and boy. I would not change them for the world even though they can drive me a bit batty some days. The things they say and do sometimes just crack me up...let's just say, 'kids will say the darnest things'.

I mentioned my wonderful husband, and yes yankee boy, Eric. We met when I was just a measly student at the University of Georgia. It took a little convincing on his part, but I soon came around and had the 'ah-ha' moment one night that he is the one...and the rest as they say is history. He is my rock, my best friend, and my encourager. He believes in me and that means more to me than anything. Have I said he's wonderful???
Enough about all of them, this is my blog afterall...let's talk about me! I am a wife, mommy, sister, daughter, aunt, friend, believer, and most of all a Christian. I love my life, and have been very fortunate in all aspects. I have an awesome family and a wonderful network of friends who span from Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, even up to Delaware. I am a semi-retired teacher, if you will. I taught for three years and took a 'break' to raise our children. I have recently started back to work part-time as a Developmental Therapist. I love it...it's flexible, good pay, and I get to do what I love - work with kids.
I love projects...crafts, painting and decorating rooms, and hosting parties. I'm not very good at drawing but I can come up with some cute ideas.
I also LOVE to cook. This goes back to being a child sitting on the counter asking my mom if I can help. I have been taught by the best and hope I make her proud. I love cooking everything from breakfast to desserts and everything in between. In the south meals are "occassions" and my favorite thing to do is cook for people who love to eat!
Well, that's a snipit of us. Just a small town southern girl, who fell in love with a northern boy. Hope you enjoy your time here and stop by sometime to see what I've been up to; you never know what kind of project I have going or some new recipe I'll post. Y'all take care now!

{Ruffled} Fabric Ribbon

Well, sort of…

This is one of those projects that I was bound and determined it wasn’t going to get the best of me…well, guess what? It got the best of me, so it’s a little revamped if you will.
I needed a new ribbon for my coffee filter wreath above my mantel. I didn’t really see any ribbon that I liked at the store, and seeing that I got my new sewing machine for Christmas I thought, well, why not just make one….and a ruffled one at that.
I made the ruffles for Dallas’ throw pillows so how hard could this be, right?
Well, the idea in my head was a lot easier than it actually turned out to be.
I measured and cut my fabric.

After doing that I sewed the edges so they’d me nice and pretty and there would be a front and back to my “ribbon”. I then went to flip the material.

This is where it all went wrong and I got completely frustrated. I sewed it oh so wrong and couldn’t figure out how to fix it, so I decided to start all over. I cut more fabric and made a really long tube.

Ok, so now all I needed to do was sew a stich down the center and then use that to make the ruffle, so that’s what I did.
All was going well and the fabric was ruffling quite nicely, then the thread broke about 1/3 of the way in it! DANG IT!!!
At this point, I’ve lost numerous hours and wasted lots of pretty fabric and the thread is not going to hold. I’m guessing the fabric was too thick. So, I did what any good person who threw up the white flag would do…I used one of the original pieces and made just a regular fabric ribbon and hung my coffee filter wreath with that. I mean no sanity is worth some fabric and a ruffle, right? It looks cute and I do like it a lot.

Thanks for stopping by and just know that some projects we picture in our head don’t always turn out the way we think….and that’s OK.