DIY Stenciled Shower Curtain

Need something stunning in your bathroom?  How about sprucing up the shower curtain for a striking, instant change? I'm going to share a 'fascinating'(?) question and answer exchange, featuring the stenciled shower curtain I just completed. Read on for the how to!!! Thanks 'readers' for your insightful questions!

Q: Cindy, you have such interesting articles on your Sunset Coast Blog. What fabulous treasure will you reveal today?
                        Signed, DIY Blogger Mom
A: Thanks for asking! Today I'm showing my wonderful readers how to stencil an astounding shower curtain to make your bathroom spectacular.

Q: Cindy, you always do things in a thrifty, yet awesomely creative way. How will you do this without spending a lot ?
                       Signed, Thrifty Blog Reader
A: Yes, my cheapness is legendary. I already had the shower curtain, a plain black one with some subtle pin striping. I made the wonderful stencils many years ago for another project. I just pulled things out of my craft stash. All I needed to buy was some white acrylic paint. I made my own stencil sponge by cutting an old sponge into a cube, then rounding off the edges with scissors.

Pathetic Stencilling Sponge

Q: Cindy, you really are clever in designing your  remarkable projects. How did you figure out how to lay out the design and use the superb stencils? It looks so professional!
                      Signed, The  Crafty Housewife
A: Yes, it took some figuring out. First I played with my stencils, trying them out on some old Trader Joe's Bags.

Cheap bag practice paper

 I decided to use 3 different stencils. Starting with the 'fleur de lis' stencil, I used one up, one down.

Fleur De Lis Stencils

The other stencil I used the same way, but with 2 stencils on the sides. I decided to change it up and use a 3rd stencil on the sides in alternating rows. I know this sounds incredible, but the pictures show what I ended up with.

Work in Progress. Note the white marks and center X's between stencils.

 

Used different stencil on side of this design, alternating rows

I took the measurement of the largest stencil design. It was 17.5 inches by 17.5 inches. I made a piece of paper template that size, with a hole in the middle to lay out my design.
I just used that one size paper for my 3 different designs, it made it easier to lay out on the shower curtain using the same size template for each stencil combination. Make sense?

Crappy Paper Big Enough for Template

Q: Cindy, was it hard to layout your design on the shower curtain? And what did you use to mark it? I'm sure you have a great answer! 
                   Signed, Obviously Staged Question Asker Reader

A: When making my designs, I figured out that I would have 16 squares using my 17.5 in by 17.5 inch template. So I just started in the top corner of the shower curtain and marked the corners and centers of the paper template. I just kept moving down and across, marking edges and centers.The pin stripes really helped out in keeping things straight. That was just a little unplanned luck! I used a dressmakers marking pencil to mark the corners and centers of the paper template. The marker was the most annoying piece of ... Every time I sharpened it, the lead just broke off. Use some chalk or other disappearing marker instead of this worthless little tool.

Q: Well, you certainly had quite a time with that marker thing. You're usually so patient! How did you use the stencil to paint on the breathtaking shower curtain?
                         Signed, Inquiring Minds Bloggerette
A: I know, patience is my middle name. First of all, protect your table surface. The paint did bleed through and I just used a white shower curtain liner to cover it from the back side when it was finished and I hung it up.

Masked off Part of Stencil

Well, about the stencilling. I used blue painters tape to hold down the stencil. I lined them up using the marking in the center of each square. The pin stripes were also handy to keep them straight. I put a blob of white paint on my aluminum foil palette.. I also had a square of paper towel handy for blotting.  Using my little sponge, I popped it into the paint, then took a little off on the paper towel or on my aluminum foil. I just use the foil, it's easy to throw away when I'm done. You don't want to have too much paint on the sponge. Next, use an up and down stippling motion to paint the spaces in the stencil. Be careful not to go off the edges. I used blue tape to mask off some parts of the stencil that I didn't want as part of the design. After I painted one stencil, I pulled it up and moved it to the other side to complete the design.  When a design was complete, I moved to the next square and used the other stencils. I tried not to move the shower curtain too much while the paint was wet, it would smudge the other side. If you pull up a stencil and there is some smudge or something you don't like, quickly use a damp rag to scrub off the paint. If it's a little dry, try some rubbing alcohol. If you get to it right away it comes off pretty readily.



3 Stencil Patterns Used

The paint dries quickly and you can move to another section. When you're all done and the paint is dry, wipe off the marker or chalk and  you can put it in the dryer to heat set the paint. If you used a disappearing marker, wait for it to disappear before heat setting!

Q: Wow! Thanks for the great instructions! The bathroom looks absolutely delightful! Did you paint that mind blowing chair? And tell us about the ' to-die-for tile'!
                       Signed, Overly Enthusiastic Makeover Mama




Whimsical Painted Chair and Stencilled Shower Curtain

A: I know, I know... The shower curtain really  makes the bathroom sing! Of course I painted the chair, isn't it delightful? I had the tile done a few years ago. It's a gray striae, large rectangle tile.  The tile design has a soft, natural striped texture. I used the same tile on the floor. The shower is lined with carrera marble trim and charcoal gray porcelain tile was used in the wall insert. The charcoal gray was also used  as a baseboard around the floor and on the sink counter in the other half of the bathroom.. ( too messy to show!). I've really enjoyed the tile design in this bathroom that was formerly used by my daughters. The stenciled shower curtain is just adds a little flair. Next project, a window treatment?

Thanks for visiting the Sunset Coast today! I hope you liked the tongue in cheek Q and A. If you have questions about making a stenciled shower curtain, please ask! I'd love you to follow my blog and sign up for emails too...

 Have a Clean Day!

Cindy

 

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Ten Tempting Luscious Lemon Recipes

Crazy for Lemons!!! ---It's spring and the lemons are plump and plentiful. Here in southern California I see trees with ripe, bright yellow lemons, ready for the picking, all over the place. I was lucky to get some nice juicy ones from a friend. They haven't made it into a baked good yet. But I've seen a lot of recipes I'd love to try.

Everyday I post my  home projects on sites in these things called 'Linky Parties'. Well, the consequence of doing that, I'm seeing lots of great crafts, furniture, decorating ideas, blog tips and .... TEMPTING RECIPES.. Nevermind that I'm going to Weight Watchers, these recipes make me drool. So to satisfy my sweet tooth, I'm going to share, not eat, some of the recipes I've been finding . And what better to make you salivate, than wonderful Lemon desserts??? 
( I  want to give full credit to the bloggers that posted these recipes and took the great photos I'm sharing here.)

Recipe Number 1
Lemonies  (Lemon Brownies)

                                                    Sweetpeas Kitchen Lemonies Recipe
    These lemony treats feature a chewy 'brownie' like base, glazed with a lemon, powdered sugar topping. I like the simple ingredients for a quick family treat!
 (Recipe update! I made these delicious bars. Looking at the original recipe, it calls for the juice of 1/2 a lemon and zest from 1/2 lemon in the batter and also juice of 1/2 a lemon and zest from 1/2 lemon in the glaze as well.  I tried it that way because I really like a lot of lemon flavor. Very tasty, by the way!)

Recipe Number 2
Mason Jar Lemon Meringue Pies

                                        Lemon Meringue Pie in a Jar Recipe

These look so tasty!  Jell-o lemon pie mix, graham cracker crumb crust and meringue topping in an individual sized mason jar is a simple, but clever way to serve a lemony dessert.

Recipe Number 3
Lemon Raspberry Phyllo Tarts

                          Lemon Raspberry Phyllo Tarts Recipe

Lemon curd, raspberry jam and almond tinged whipped cream are combined and served in teeny, store bought phyllo tarts.. YUM!!!

Recipe Number 4
Lemon Drop Cake

                             Lemon Drop Cake Recipe
This recipe takes the cake for sheer beauty and creativity. Check out the recipe link just for the great photos and cake decoration ideas. Lemon drop cake features a basic lemon cake mix to which you poke holes in it after baking and drizzle with lemon glaze. Then it is frosted with lemon cream cheese icing. Finally, it's surrounded with meringue cookies... WOW!!!Sounds delicious!

Recipe Number 5
Lemon Meringue Shake

                               Lemon Meringue Shake Recipe
 Oh my goodness.. this is a frozen treat made with lemon juice, lemon curd, greek frozen  yogurt goodness! Everything's good with lemon curd in it! And love that blog name.. 'Just dip it in Chocolate'!!!

Recipe Number 6
Blueberry Lemon Muffins

                        Streusal Blueberry Lemon Muffins

  Basic blueberry muffins are made even more tasty with the addition of lemon juice and zest. Even the streusal has some lemon zest scrumptiousness! Heck, these are almost health food after some of the other recipes--fruit, berries, juice, vitamin C. I'm stretching for a reason to make these up real fast.

Recipe Number 7
Mini Lemon Cheesecakes

                                            Mini Lemon Cheesecakes Recipe
 Creamy lemon cheesecake, made with simple ingredients, is baked on a vanilla wafer as a crust. Then these delectible dainties in a cupcake liner are garnished with fresh berries. Sounds rich!

Recipe Number 8
Lemon Angel Pie

                                                        Lemon Angel Pie Recipe
 This heavenly concoction starts with a meringue crust. Lemony ingredients are easily cooked in the microwave and combined with whipped cream for the filling. Then, it's all topped off with  MORE whipped cream. Yes, you've died and gone to heaven!

Recipe Number 9
Oatmeal Lemon Creme Bars

   Oatmeal Lemon Creme Bars Recipe

Oatmeal cookie dough combines with a sweetened condensed milk and lemon, creme filling.  Sounds incredibly delicious and  divine. I put Sallys Baking Addiction on my favorites bar.. so many great recipes on this site!  (She got me with Peppermint Patty Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars.. whoa!)

 And now, for the final treat, I'm sharing a recipe for lemon coffee cake that I've been making for many years. I got it from a Pillsbury 'The Million Dollar Bake-Off'  cookbook. I can't believe I got this little booklet in 1996! I usually make this for Christmas morning brunch and other special occasions. Everyone seems to love this delicious recipe. Sometimes instead of coconut, I use chopped walnuts in the streusal. I also like to go heavy on the lemon curd--MMMMM, LEMONNNNNNNNNNN!!! (insert Homer Drool here).

Recipe Number 10
Lemon Surprise Coffee Cake
 Recipe by Elaine A Janas, Columbia Minnesota

                                                   Lemon Surprise Coffee Cake Recipe
                                               

A moist coffee cake with a streusal topping and a lemon curd surprise filling. I like to make it in a bundt or tube pan.  Scrumptiously lemony and coconutty, too!

 Hope you enjoyed all these luscious lemon recipes! Which one would you like to try?

 Have a sweet day!

Cindy

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QUILT-TASTIC SEWING CLASS DAY

Hi folks! Had another great day at quilting class. Great because I finished my quilt. The Scrappy Trip Around the World quilt is done, finished, fin, complete, exhausted, executed, wrapped up , ended and accomplished. If you missed the first post, I fixed the square I put in wrong, sewed on borders, added a backing, stitched the top and sewed on the binding.  Seems like a quilter's project is never done! But  here it is at last...

 

You can find the instructions for making this fun and scrappy quilt here.    Quiltville Tutorial

 

I showed you the quilt below  while in progress. Bobbie completed her binding and pinned it up on the 'wall of fame' for the class to view. It's gorgeous. It's a very big quilt, big enough for an extra long twin bedspread.

 I have to apologize for the bad picture quality. It doesn't do this quilt justice.


Susan is making these darling aprons. The pattern is sized for an American Girl Doll, a child and an adult. What a great pattern. I love the cupcakes on the this one, perfect for a doll and her girl-mommy. Check out the details on the bodice and pockets.. so cute!

Louise finished the charity quilt I previewed before. I think it came out nice with it's colorful scraps and bright yellow trim. Someone will give this lap quilt a lot of love.

 

I think that's all for today. I'm going to be sharing finished projects every week so bring them to class gals! Next week I'm starting on something I've never tried. Here's a preview of the pattern I'm working on next. I'm going to make a runner using a circular block technique like this one below...

 McCalls Quilting Color Pools Runner.

 

Circular Block Contruction VIDEO

 

Thanks for visiting the Sunset Coast! Join this site, sign up for emails.. show me the love!!!

 

Have a ScrapTastic Day!!!

 

Cindy

 

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Painting a Vintage Jewelry Box with Faux Marble DIY

Good day! After a horrible week in the news.. Boston bombs, West, Texas explosions, floods in Illinois, etc, I needed some paint therapy! Wishing everyone who had a tragedy this week some healing and peace.  I just finished up painting this pretty vintage jewelry box. If you're out scrounging at thrift stores or flea markets, you've probably seen those old, kinda ugly, wood jewelry boxes. Well, they're easy to paint and make them better than new. They were really well made and worth saving. This one even has a working music box that plays 'The Theme from Love Story'! 

I've been seeing those great painted dressers lately in many different colors all over the bloggyland.A few have been in a mustard shade that I have been wanting to try out on something. I can't possibly lug one of those big bureaus home by myself, but I can get the look with this miniature version, a  musical jewelry box. So let's see how I did it! Shall we??? (Don't answer that, just keep reading...)

Sand it! Just a light sanding to rough up the wood using medium sandpaper.

Clean off the sanding dust with a damp cloth.

 

Prime it! I like this stuff. Zinser Bulls Eye 1-2-3  is a good water based primer. I used some blue painter's tape to mask off parts I didn't want paint on.

Marbelize the top! It's easy and I'm going to walk you through it so you can use this technique on bigger pieces.

I used those little 2 oz. bottles of acrylic craft paint. I put out 3 colors--gray, white and black. You could skip the gray, but I had it. You could use other shades like browns or greens, depending on the color of marble you're going after.

Grab a scruffy looking brush and dab it into a couple of the colors. Now start dabbing it on the box top in a diagonal pattern. Keep picking up more white,  or black or gray on the brush. Wipe off the brush occasionally on a rag so the colors don't just come out gray. Keep moving across the box until it's all covered.

Wipe off the brush again and blend the colors together until you like how it looks. Don't overwork it or it will just all be one color. You can still add more white or tiny bits of black and blend those in too.

 Next, you're going to add the marble veins. You can look at some real marble or just use this method.

Using a small liner brush, dip into some white paint. Work while the top is still wet and drag the brush. The brush is almost lying down sideways. You're getting white paint on, but also dragging a line into the wet paint.

 Paint the lines in a diagonal, squiggly-criss cross, X pattern. If you hold the brush lightly it works best. Then  add some little branches off the white lines. I hope this makes sense when you see the picture. If you mess up, just stipple over the whole thing again. I like the lines to continue off the edge and not stop in the middle. Don't want it to look like lightening bolts .

 

Next, you add some black lines. My lines sort of shadow the white lines. Use the black sparingly. (You might notice in the picture below that it is different than the one above. I didn't like the darkness of the painting so I just started all over, adding more white.)

 

Use your dry scruffy brush and mottle the lines a little, here and there if you want.

I used the same marble technique for the bottom molding on the jewelry box.

YAY! You made it through the marbelizing! Now onto the easy gold painting.

 

I started again with 3 shades of gold  and mustard paint and some white. I used a flat paint brush and applied paint to the sides and drawers. It needed 2 coats, so the first was just getting some color on there as a base.

For the second coat, dip your paint into a couple of the gold colors, slather it on, add white paint, slather more.. Mess around until you like it! ( Don't you love my detailed instructions?)

Distress the gold painted sides and drawer by lightly sanding the edges. See what I mean in the picture below?

I decided that the little drawer pulls needed some color.. something to highlight them. I used some teal  paint, then lightly brushed them with robin's egg blue to bring out the details.

One final step, I rubbed on some Fiddes and Sons Wax. When it was dry, I buffed it with a soft cloth, to a nice sheen. I found the wax on Ebay and it's my favorite furniture finish lately.

And here it is! All waxed and pretty and ready for some jewelry!

If you got all the way here, thanks for visiting the Sunset Coast! I would love to have you follow this site and sign up for emails too!

Have a Marble-ous Day!

Cindy

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Beach Style Decor and Wreaths

I just love walking around interesting neighborhoods and looking at people's homes. Last week I was walking around Newport Beach, California. This is a beautiful city  with great beaches, a harbor and upscale homes and lifestyles. I like to walk around the more funky areas near the beach and this day I was walking around the Lido Isle area. Well, there is the cutest, and I mean cutest little community called 'Lido Peninsula Resort'. It's actually a neighborhood of tiny homes.. prefab homes and mobile homes. But it is so quaint. Almost every home has done some beachy decorating in their front yard and made the most of their itty bitty lot.  Seeing all the darling decorations inspired me to do some looking around pinterest for more beachy design and especially ocean and sea inspired wreaths.
   Here are some views on my walk...Love these!

  This porch was especially comfy looking with it's red Adirondack chairs and the great signal flag pillows.

A great hippie surfboard bus. I've seen this artist's work in Laguna Beach.

 

 

 I kind of like the reflections in this picture even though I was trying to photograph the seashell wreath. Do you see my head?

A sweet, classic white picket fence and some lighthouse painted chairs look inviting. How about those starfish in the windows?

 I liked this wreath, a combination of shells, fishnet and a mermaid.

 

 

 A nice hue of purple on this door and an inviting flower painting welcomes visitors.

Here's a view of one of the streets. These are the nicer homes. Many of the homes were mobile homes that were added onto like the one below.

 

This tiny home made the most of it's 'yard' using pots full of cactus and succulents. There's my orange door! I'm in an orange phase lately.

 

Now don't get ideas that you want to move to these little homes. As cute as they were, it is Newport Beach and the prices are high. The bad thing is, they're on leased land and when I went into an open house a couple years ago, the lease alone was $2400 a month! I think most of the people there use them as vacation cottages. It was certainly a perfect spot, right on the harbor with it's own beach.

Homebytheseashore.com

Okay, so I won't get a teeny, vacation cottage.. But, I could add some beach decor to my home! I found some beautiful wreaths on Pinterest.

Windandweather.com

 

Etsy.com/thechicadeeshop

 

Pinterest

 

http://blog.driftsc.com/

 

nicoleblissfullyblessed.com

 

anniescraftideas.blogspot.com

 

craftsdecorpins.com

 

I really like the wreaths with driftwood and seashells. Maybe I'll start collecting some driftwood and make one of these babies. Or maybe I'll just make this boat and sail off into dreamland!

thefancy.com

 

Which wreath do you like best?

Have a beachy day!

Cindy

 

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