Distressed Wood Coat Hanger

I have a weakness. It shows itself in the form of rustic home decor. I just simply love it! So when my husband said we needed a coat hanger by one of the doors I saw it as an opportunity to distress wood and do something crafty.

I went to the craft store in search of some decorative hooks. I had a particular kind in mind...


But apparently they don't sell these any more. As I was wiping the tears away I noticed this little guy poking its pointy head out of a basket.

I quickly snatched three before they went extinct as well.



When I got home I found a scrap 1x6 in the shed. I clamped it down and took a reciprocating saw to it. I sawed out little notches along all the edges and sanded it nice and smooth.


Then I took it out to the woodshed--figuratively speaking now, since the woodshed is literally where it was. Well, we were on the lawn in front of the woodshed.


Please don't think I'm crazy for referring to myself and a board as "we."

With a chain in hand I beat the daylights out of that board. Twenty lashes later I called it sufficient. Actually, I would have kept going but my neighbors were looking at me whip a 1x6 with a chain like I was some psycho lady. Since we're new in town I'm still a little worried about first impressions and all. So I smiled, picked it up, and brushed it off.


I spread a little stain on it. It filled all of its wounds with warm beautiful color and it no longer hurt from it's beating.


Then it met these decorative hooks and they lived happily ever after on my wall.

Freezer Paper Stencils and a Homemade Shower Curtain

We just moved into a new home. Well, it's not a new home, it's actually rather old. But it's new to us and it's been remodeled, so it looks new. I couldn't find a shower curtain to match the guest bathroom (and the rest of our western decor). Actually I found a few, but they were all over $100 and I'm too cheap to pay that kind of money for a shower curtain. So, what does a girl like me do in this situation?

Make one. And that's exactly what I did.

I made it exactly how I wanted and I only paid $8 for all of the material.

I bought 2 yards of white muslin that was 84 inches wide. A standard shower curtain measures 70 inches wide by 72 inches long, so I finished my piece of muslin to match those measurements.

I first folded over the raw edges half an inch, then half an inch again so that the raw edge was hidden inside. Then I sewed down the length. Since I had cut two yards (72") it now measured 70 inches with the finished edges. Then for the top and bottom of the curtain I folded the selvage three inches down and then over itself and sewed down that length as well.

Are you lost yet? Sorry there aren't any pictures to follow along.

Then I took a regular vinyl shower liner and laid it on top of my shower curtain. I marked where the holes needed to be. Then I proceeded to stitch buttonholes along the top edge of the curtain.

And then it was done.

Hold on!

Done?

I couldn't leave it just plain white could I? Of course not!

Now for the fun part :)

First I sewed a few decorative eyelets in a random pattern all over the top 2/3 of the curtain. Then I found a design I liked of a cowboy and traced it onto freezer paper. Then I cut it out and ironed the shiny side of the freezer paper down onto the curtain. The plastic on the freezer paper melts to the fabric to create a perfect stencil. Paint will only penetrate the open areas, but will not soak into anywhere that there is freezer paper. When the paint dries, the freezer paper simple peels right off with no damage to the material. It leaves an image that almost looks silk screened. So that's exactly what I did with my cowboy and his noble horse. And the decorative eyelets look like stars don't you think?