Summer Palace Fret in smoke, part 2

(Some of you may remember this post from a few weeks ago. We still have this item)!

Hello readers! I have a client that has some Schumacher Summer Palace Fret in Smoke wall paper that she would like to sell to my readers for A STEAL!!! It is gorgeous and absiluely stunning!

It lists at $65/yard before shipping and taxes, etc. My client has five rolls to sell for $40 and will cover ship cost!!!

Please leave a comment here if you are interested.

I am not noramlly a fan of wallpaper, but I have been imagining all the places I would like to use this in my house. I thought just on one wall in my bathroom would be perfect! I may have to jump on this deal and get a roll!

What are your thoughts on wallpaper? I've never even considered it in my own home until I saw this. Then I looked up other popular patterns like Imperial Trellis. There are som many great wall papers out there! I'm still not sure how I feel about it though. Thoughts? I also just don't know enough about it. Are the better places than others to use it in your home? Would it peel in a bathroom with the humidity? Or the kitchen? I'd love to hear your thoughts. I am not savvy with this sort of thing. Just fabric and textiles :)

Window Treatment Style Education: Valances

Valances

Every valance we make is either my own design or has been inspired by a picture someone sent to us. We love a challenge here at Window Treatments by Melissa and invite you to send us your inspiration photos and we will see if we can recreate it for you!

Our Standard Valance

This is our standard valance and is my own pattern. This requires on one type of fabric. Home Decor fabric is always best. Not ideal for long windows unless you do two or three of the swoops with jabbots inbetween each swoop. It is mounted with brackets on a 2x3 or 2x4.

Ruffled Rod Pocket Valance, or Rod Pocket Valance

This is a standard ruffled rod pocket valance. It can be made with or without the ruffle at the top. This valance only rquires one type of fabric. It can be made lined or unlined. Home Decor Fabric is always best, but technically we can make this valance from a light weight quilters cotton. I made my son's "book nook" curtain from some "Cars" quilters fabric (below):

Ideal for any size window. It requires a curtain rod for hanging.

Penant Valance

The above is called a penant valance.. I recreated this for someone from a photo. It requires TWO fabrics: a main fabric and a coordinating fabric. Home Decor fabric is the only appropriate fabric for this style of valance. Ideal for any size window. It requires a curtain rod for hanging, however there is not pole pocket. It is simply draped over the curtain rod. Where it is hanging from the rod in the picture is actually the center of the treatment. It is all one piece. Very simple! Easy to remove for cleaning!

Ring Clip Valance

Above is a ring clip valance. This can made with or without the jabbots on the sides. It rquires TWO fabrics: a main fabric and a coordinating fabric. Home Decor fabric is best for this style, however, a light weight quilters cotton can be used. Ideal for any size window. Requires both a curtain rod and ring clips

Tapered Valance

I recreated the above valance from a photo for the Southern Virginia University allumni house. It is a tapered valance and is not ideal for wide windows. The ideal windows size would be 40" or narrower. It requires TWO fabrics: a main fabric and a coordinating fabric to line it. Home Decor fabrics are ideal, as always. Mounted on wall with brackets on a 2x3 or 2x4, or can be mounted inside window frame on 2x1.

Ribbon Valance

Above is a ribbon valance. This was recreated from a photo. It requires TWO fabrics: a main fabric and a coordinating fabric for lining and making the ribbon out of it. It is fized and is not meant for window covering, but decoration only. Ideal for anyh window size.

Below is the ribbon valance and how it looks in the window frame for an inside mount. Mounted on a 2x3 or 2x4 and requires brackets. Can be mounted inside frame with screws instead of brackets.

 I have several different photos of the ribbon valance to show you how much a difference fabric choice can make. They all look so different even though they are all teh same style.

We have been able to recreate almost everything that our clients have provided us a picture for. When the shop opened in 2010 we only had the first valance in our shop. Everhything else we have available now is because someone sent us a photo and asked if we could recreate it.

We love a challenge! Don't hesitate to send us a picture of something you have seen or like and ask us if we can recreate it for you.

Which valance do you like best? I am partial to the penant valance, myself.

Winner of the BIG Giveaway!

ABKROSTUE!!! Please contact me within 24 hours to claim your winnings!!

I had so much fun doing this giveaway and so much fun hearing from all of you that I would like to do this every month!! So here is a clue for the next one!

Report on April's Sponsor Family and introduction to May's Sponsor Family

Report on April's Sponsor Family: Avery

During the month of April we sponsored Avery, a six year old girl born with hydracephalus and cerebral palsey.

You can read more about Avery's story here.

Avery is doing an experimental therapy to help her be able to walk independently. As it is experimental, it is not covered by insurance. We sponsored Avery last month by donating $5 of every order placed to her therapy! We still have one ore day left, but so far we have raised $225!! Thank you all for your help! There is still one day left! You can use coupon code "Avery" to receive free shipping on your order until the end of April. There's still time!!

May's Sponsor: Brenna Helen Marie

I was so touched by the story and life of this baby girl, and I know you all will be too.

This is the Westlake family:

and this is baby Brenna:

Brenna was born with a very rare skin condition.

 Her mom tells us about it:

"Our daughter, Brenna Helen Marie, was born on December 19 with a rare skin condition called Harlequin Ichthyosis. Brenna's skin lacks a certain protein which helps it form correctly, and instead it was formed as thick, white scales with deep ridges. She spent almost 6 weeks in the NICU at St. John's Hospital in Springfield, the majority of which was in a warm and moist environment as she "shed" the thick, tight scales of skin she was born with. She has beat one very aggressive blood infection, staph infection, undergone eye surgery at three weeks, and has battled many of the odds against her. Brenna is now home with her family, where she adheres to a strict skin care regimen that includes a long daily bath - sometimes with bleach to ward off infection - and treatments with Aquaphor every 3-4 hours to help her skin stay moist and hydrated. You can read more about Brenna's story at blessedbybrenna.blogspot.com"

We hope to be of some help to this courageous family. If you have any words of comfort or inspiration please feel free to leave them in the comments section of this post.

Please use coupon code "Brenna" in our etsy shop to receive free shipping on your next order and to help Brenna! We will be donating $5 from each order placed in the month of May to the Westlake family.

And please, if you know of anyone that could benefit from our modest contribution, please contact us at windowsbymelissa@gmail.com. We would love to help!

Please leave a comment of encouragement for this family in our comments section. Baby Brenna is just 4 months old and has a long journey ahead of her.

Around the house: The Kitchen

My Chili Pepper Kitchen

(Note the cereal dispensor. Anyone with little children NEEDS one of these. NEEDS).

Small kitchen=no pantries or cupboards. We made one in the corner where the trash can spot used to be and then in front of it had to add a little cupboard :/

Hot pad, oven mit and apron. I made these. I used to sell them on etsy before window treatments.

Chili pepper ruffled rod pocket curtains

As I said above we have very limited cupboard and drawar space. I didn't have any place for oven mits and pot holders (the ones above are just decoration :)). So my husband bought these decorative hooks at a hardware store and anchored them to the wall. They work quite well and help me to remember to wash my oven mits and potholders regularly since they are always in view.

I LOVE to decorate with colored glass. The red green and orange glass containers as well as the clear grape glass and round glass container each hold things we cook and bake with often: vanilla, vinegar, worcestershire sauce, olive oil, vegetable oil. Then of course the chili pepper salt and pepper shakers. The glass is so much more decorative and fun to look at than the original containers the items came in. It also helps to keep things neat and organized. The orginal containers were different sizes, colors, etc. But this keeps things nice, uniform and attractive. 

Chili pepper flour and sugar containers.

 

The paint is. . . . . Bear brand Chili Pepper Red. Surprise! ;)

I love to cook and being in this bright fun kitchen makes me love it even more!

Around the house: The Kids Bathroom

The Kids Bathroom

We live in an old house in Virginia. Old house=small bathrooms! In the kids bathroom you can sit on the toilet, soak your feetg in the tub and brish your teeth at the sink simultaneously! This is the kids bathroom. We did an "underwater" theme.

(The thing that makes me laugh about the picture above is that none of those toothbrushes belong to my children even though this is the kids bathroom).

Underwater shower curtain with fish curtain clips, and a shower curtain for a window curtain in the background. In Virginia there used to be a law that you had to have a window that a person could crawl through in the bathroom. So ours is right there in the shower! Good morning neighbors!!

Crab tissue holder and underwater themed wallpaper

And my own personal creative touch, the ducks rear end. :) We used to have three of these swimming around on our ceiling, but I had some elctric work done in the bathroom recently and the electricion knocked some down. These ducks are hanging from our ceiling with putty. It is supposed to be the view looking up from underwater :) The floor tile I chose looks like sand, but I don't have a picture of it at the moment.

This duck is very simple to make. I bought a styra-foam ball at the craft store and cut it in half. I got several different colors of feathers: yellow, brown, white, etc. I stuck the feathers into the foam in such a way to make it look like a duck. Then with brown felt I cut out duck feet and glued them to either the feathers or the foam. You can also glue the feet to popsicle sticks and insert the popsicle sticks into the foam ball. Then with sticky putty I stuck it to the bathroom ceiling. Voila! Swimming ducks in your bathroom. I've also seen Barbie and Ken legs in swim suits and trunks attached to the ceiling, but human legs hanging from my ceiling was a bit much for me, But, it is cute!!

Giveaway Tuesday! The BIG one!

Okay, everyone. Here's the deal. I have been absent from my blog as I have been dealing with both grief and personal health issues. But, I am ready to re-enter the blogging world. With 32 minutes left in TUESDAY, what better way than to return with my BIG giveaway tuesday!!

Here we goooooooooooo!

The Big giveaway is to choose one of whatever you see! The giveaway is to pick your own giveaway!!

1) ONE set of TWO 84" Lined Rod Pocket curtains. Pick from the following fabrics:

Yellow Zig Zag

Lipstick Red Damask

Barbar with Lipstick Red bird

Village blue zig zag

2) 50% off coupon on ONE Greek Key Design Roman Shade measuring less than 44" width and 62" length.

3) Free labor price on ONE custom roman shade measuring less thatn 44" width and 62" length.

OR 4) a 14" x 26" lumbar zipper closure pillow cover in GENUINE Kelly Whistler Imperial Trellis in Treillage

This giveaway will go on for one week. I will select and announce a winner next Tuesday, May 1st.

You may enter three ways. Please make a separate comment for each entry.

1) Share this one social media: Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.

2) Tell a friend to follow us

3) Leave a comment here telling us what you would choose.

GIVEAWAY IS STRICTLY OFFERED TO BLOG FOLLOWERS ONLY!

Good Luck!