Ugly Fabric Challenge winner and Client love

I didn't publicize the end result of the Ugly Fabric Challenge a whole lot. Honestly, I've been overwhelmed training new people, keeping up with the work load and then my house caught on fire! So free window treatments all around. All of my finalists can have a free window treatment. And everyone else who participated still gets 10%  off their custom order.

Here are some window treatments we've made as of recent.

Standard Rod Pocket Valance. These valances are made out of a simple solid colored canvas fabric. They tie this kitchen together very well.

Coral Cats Cradel Roman Shades. I love anything in Coral. 'nuff said.

Flat Roman Shades in Chartreuse Gotcha.

This valance was a tad on the complicated side. Client, Lisa, wanted white on the front with pink polka dot accent fabric. The problem we ran into is that the white couldn't stay a true white as the sun would shine through the back side and you would see the pink polka dot fabric through the white. So to resolve this problem I placed a piece of blackout liner in the middle only as far as the drop length. I didn't make it go down as far as where we wanted the fabric on the bottom to be rolled up because all that fabric there would have made it very bulky at the folds. If the knots were untied the overall length would be 36". But the drop length we wanted was 24". So I cut the blackout to 24" and placed it inbetween the white and the pink polka dot and not we have a nice crisp white and don't have any bulk at the folds.

 

 

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The Ugly Fabric Challenge takes an Ugly turn.

FIRE!

 

Unbeknownst to me while in the shower this morning, there was a smoldering fire in the room above me. !!!!

 

After my shower my daughter requested grapes for a snack. Making this work of art on my floor really worked up an appetite.

 

 

Miriam, The artist.

 

I was putting grapes in a bowl in the kitchen when I started to smell a melting sort of a smell, like melting plastic. I picked up the toaster and looked inside. Nothing. Then made sure all the kitchen appliances were off. I noticed the smell got stronger when I walked into the living room. I stepped on the landing of the stairs and the entire stairwell was filled with smoke. I didn't even go up to look. I immediately got my phone and called 911. I said, "I don't know what is happening in the second floor of my house, but I know it's something I can't take care of myself. So send a fire truck!" The dispatcher said, "What is it? smoke? Is there anyone up there?" I said, "Smoke. And no I'm not going up there to see what it is so just send a fire truck!" Then he told me to get Miriam and my cats and get outside. And all I could think of was how messy my house was and Miriam had just painted the floor and surely they would walk in and say, "Well no wonder your house on fire! Look at this place!"

 

This is what my house looks like right now from the entry way. Directly to the right is the door to the stairway. Mess!

 

I couldn't find the cats so I just went outside. Then the fire truck came.

 

 

I said, "It's upstairs!" And up they ran. I was left outside with my Miriam and all the neighbors in their jammies looking at me.

 

A few minutes later a fireman came out with this:

 

 

I've never been so emberassed in all my life! Last week when I made this towel for our Ugly Fabric Challenge it was intended to be just a silly prop to accent the ugly bathroom window treatment we made out of the fabric.The fabric was a pink background with yellow stars and POOP! It's called. "Wacky Turds." Printed on linen, none the less. . .

 

 

This is what it used to look like:

 

My kids LOVED the towels and said, "We want to keep them in our bathroom!" They also said they wanted everything and anything made of the "poop" fabric.

 

In my kids bathroom I have a nightlight/lamp that sits on the back of the toilet. It's a glass butterfly lamp.

 

 

The towel had fallen on top of the lamp completely covering it. AND CAUGHT ON FIRE!!

 

The fireman said if I had left the house this morning I would have come home to nothing.

 

Sooooooo, I think I will have nightmares and anxiety everytime I do an Ugly Fabric Challenge from now on. . . .

 

For anyone with an outstaning order with Window Treatments by Melissa, this fire occured on the secnond level of our home and my work room is the basement of our home. So have no fear, your fabrics are safe and sound and production will resume this evening.

 

If you could have seen the look on my face trying to explain the Ugly Fabric Challenge to the fireman. . . . Ugh! I just remembered as I wrote that that the turd towel is still stretched out on my steps the way I layed it out for the picture. Now the mail man will think I'm a loon too. I think this Ugly Fabric Challenege has defined me for the entire neighborhood!

 

Here's to an eventful end to our First Annual Ugly Fabric Challenge!

The Ugly Fabric Challenge: THE VOTE!

THE VOTE!

Okay, guys. I REALLY had my work cut out for me here. THANKS A LOT! :) When I started this challenge a few weeks ago I thought I'd get some ugly cat fabric or that weird Premier Prints fabric with the dog silhouettes on it. I was not prepared for, well, POOP and RAW MEAT and APES! Holy cow! When they arrived in the mail all I could think was, "What did I get myself into?!" 

These window treatments are truly an abomination. An act against nature that never should have come into being. If anyone asked me in all seriousness to make them a window treatment out of this fabric I would call their mental state into question.

After creating these monstrosities I fully expect to be smitten by the gods of home decor today for creating such decorating sacrilege.

VOTING RULES:

Please vote by commenting in the comments section of THIS blog post. 

One vote per person per comment.

Voting begins Monday April 15th at Noon ET and ends Monday April 22nd at Noon ET.

THE UGLY FABRIC CHALLENGE WINNER
The winner of the ugly fabric challenge may choose ONE from the following:
1) A Roman Shade no wider than 38" and no longer than 48". WIll include drapery lining, hardware, and fabric choice from our own stock in our etsy shop or your own fabric choice for $9 per yard or less.
2) A set of curtains 84" long or less with a rod pocket top. Drapery lined. Made from a fabric from our etsy shop or your own fabric choice for up o $9 per yard.
3) A valance of any variety: rod pocket, hidden tab, corner pleat, ribbon tie up valance, etc. Made from a fabric from our etsy shop or your own fabric choice for up to $9/yard.

And, GO!

In third place we had "Macarena Monkeys." These stylish curtain panels are made in our newest design, the inverted pinch pleat curtain, the latest in drapery fashion. Surely Charles Darwin had a set in the room where his inspired book "The Origin Of Species" came to fruition. Think of the inspiration this will spark adorning the windows of your home.

Bring The Planet of the Apes to your living room with these inverted pinch pleat curtains. 

Not that there is any hope for these window treatments, but the header pleats in the back and the ring clips are placed at each pleat. The pleats are four inches long and then open creating fullness and a "lovely" draping effect in the curtains. :)

The runner up in our challenge was "Wacky Turds." This valance window topper looks great in a fabric choice suitable for any bathroom where a little encouragement is needed. A little reminder, perhaps? This fabric will help you to relax and harness your chi ensuring a positive start to your day. After all, what good day doesn't start with. . . ?

This stylish valance is accented ins a coordinating piping. Lovely, isn't it?

And finally, the fabric in first place for our first round of voting: Raw Meat. These window treatments inspired by a H.H. Holmes documentary I saw on Netflix are the latest in our hidden tab collection: Hidden Tab Cafe Curtains! The moisture droplets visible on this large scale print are sure to make your last meal dance as it makes a violent return.

Available in tea towels,

. . . tablecloths, 

And cafe curtains!!!

With raw meat fabric, the possibilities are endless.

After you are over the retching, please leave a vote in the comments below. I was wondering if after a vote if you wouldn't mind including your thoughts as to who my "target audience" would be should I list these for sale? ;)

 Umm. . .  Enjoy?

Scalamandre Zebras

The first contribution to our Ugly Fabric Challenge was the Scalamandre Zebra. Being the first entry it subsequently ended up being the cover on our Pinterest page. It stirred a bit of controversy amongst a few people who thought it's contribution to such a contest was a travesty. So I decided I need to learn more about it. Here's what I found.

Though this fabric was submitted to the Ugly Fabric Challenge it in fact has only been available for purchase as a fabric as of recently.  It was originally made as wall paper by Flora Scalamandre. It was created in the late 1930s for Gino's Restaurant in New York City.

The artwork is Flora's own and is a representation of a safari hunt. Such images were popular in this era. It is a representation of grace and elegance as the frolicking zebras are seen as "eluding the arrows with grace." The contrast of the black and white zebra against the red background became immensely popular and the pattern was soon available in a variety of colors.

It's popularity led to a variety of products such as

glassware,

decanters,

umbrellas, and now

Fabric

This iconic pattern has survived the decades and remains enormously popular even today. Here is an image from the 2001 movie The Royal Tenenbaums where the wall paper is used in the Tenenbaum home.

There are groups of socialites to this day that use the Scalamandre Zebra as their symbol. These groups are unified by such things as each member owning a purse or umbrella or other object with the Scalamandre Zebra.

Lynn Chalk is currently carrying the Scalamandre Zebra fabric in a variety of colorways. 

Which item do you like best? I'm partial to the shoes, myself. :)

Enjoy! Happy Monday!

Happiness On Paper

Anyone in Virginia get blasted with snow again yesterday? This is getting ridiculous! Hey west coast, leave me some warm comments below. We're snowed in on Spring Break!!

We're working very hard right now to get our turnaround time down. Our current plan is to reopen our shop in three weeks with ZERO orders in the queue! We are revamping and rededicating ourselves to our customers interests. We will be accepting only a certain number of orders a month that we have deemed sufficient to continue operating the business while also being able to provide our clients with the dedication and satisfaction they deserve.

It has been a very busy time for us here and I don't have the opportunity to "surf" various designer blogs where I normally draw inspiration for new projects from. But last night I decided to take a short break from work and I found a real gem!!!

Some of you may recognize these carefully crafted bedrooms. The designs are so fun and no detail was overlooked.

Noah's Nautical Nest

Click here to see the room in more detail

Paige's Big Girl Rom 

Click here to see the room in more detail

Megan Carty from Me and Wee blog designed these rooms. With this creativity it's no wonder she creates such beautiful art on stationary.

As I was looking around various blogs last night searching for Spring Inspiration I came across Megan's stationary and fine art etsy shop. This particular one is what led me to her shop.

I'm just loving the detail!

Gorgeous.

This one is a print and it reminds me of my babies :)

I'm quite partial to the letter press stationary.

For Mother's Day Megan is offering this print as a greeting card!

Mother and Baby Fox

And this one is my favorite. This is a print, but she will also be offering it as a greeting card!

Be Proud Cloud!

I'm always looking for things to help my kids be confident in who they are and feel secure about just being them. I love this print and I think I will be ordering it as a card for my children. I just love it!!!

Personal messages to family and friends are so important! Nothing warms my heart more than to receive a card form a friend or family member. And I love to give them! I'm glad I stumbled across Megan's shop. It was funny because I actually didn't link the fact that we had done work for her in the past. I just came across the store and looked at her blog and realized it then after looking around her blog a bit. Funny coincidence. 

Check out her etsy store! I bet she'll do custom work too! I'm redoing my kids' bedroom this summer in Song of the South theme and will probably be looking her way for some custom art pieces.

Enjoy! Happy Friday!