How to make Burlap Curtains

So I am obsessed with vintage, shabby chic home decor, but for some reason everything I fall in love with costs an arm and a leg! Take these burlap curtains from Ballard Designs for example:



Curtains by Ballard Design

Love them, but they're $50-70 per panel! Yikes! The crafty part of me knew I could make these myself for a fraction of the cost. Burlap runs about $2/yard. When you measure the length from the curtain rod to the floor add about 10' so you have a little extra to play with. The burlap does have a barnyard kind of smell, so air it out on your porch for a few hours if it bothers you. I wanted to make these as simply as possible, so instead of sewing the hole for the curtain rod, I used Heat n Bond's iron on adhesive tape. For the bottom of the curtain panels you can do one of two things: 1) Hem them using the adhesive tape or 2) fringe them! Fringing them definitely takes some time, so sit down with a glass (or bottle) of wine when you do it. All you have to do is pull on the ends, and they will easily come out, leaving gorgeous fringe! About 6" or more looks good- you need enough that it's easy to see from far away. Once you finish the fringe use Fray Check's liquid seam sealant to prevent it from fringing further. Here are my finished curtains:



All done! I chose to hang mine with curtain hooks for that farmhouse feel

I added fun tassels to hold them back. In total, I made four panels. Total cost to make my burlap curtains...drum roll please..... $25! Money saved: $175!
Plus, what's better than being able to say "I made those!" when someone comments on them ;)

Plaza Midwood

My husband and I recently took the plunge and moved from Raleigh to Charlotte, NC.  Have you ever moved to a new city?  I swear, I don't think I've ever been more scared of something in my whole life!  We said goodbye to our wonderful friends, the house we had purchased just 15 months prior (why yes, I did almost kill my husband, thank you for asking!), and the security that came with living somewhere for a few years.  Raleigh really was a big security blanket for me, and there were a lot of tears before I was ready to say goodbye.

I have to admit though, I am loving Charlotte!  One of our first weeks here I saw this guy, and I knew I was going to love this place:

 We settled in Plaza Midwood, an eclectic neighborhood with lots of art galleries, restaurants, and shops.  It's only two miles from uptown Charlotte, which makes it easy to explore what Charlotte has to offer!  I still need to explore, but here are some photos of the neighborhood:

More on each place to come, I can't wait to get out there and explore this city!  As I do, I'll write about the places we go to, and what we thought of them!