2. Purchase the fabric and one large roll of stitch witchery. Head to the nearest fabric store and take your pick. Ask a store clerk for help calculating how much yardage you'll need.
3. Cut the fabric. Using your window's measurements, cut the fabric into two equal-sized panels. Note: You'll be "hemming" both the top and the bottom part of the panel, so account for one inch on both ends.
4. Iron the Stitch Witchery. Prepare the iron and place a thin, damp cloth between the iron and the curtain panel, to ensure the fabric does not burn. Insert the Stitch Witchery inside the seam and press down with the iron for 10 seconds in one spot. Slowly move around the entire panel until the Stitch Witchery holds the seams together.
5. Hang the curtain. Hang the panel on the curtain rod using drapery clip rings (spaced about four inches apart).
Paint a Room
Breathe new life into a room by giving it a fresh paint job. This requires paint, spackling paste, plastic, painter's tape, paint brushes, and a paint roller. Jackie Jordan, director of color marketing for Sherwin-Williams, lays out the steps:
1. Pick a paint color. The simplest way to find inspiration is to pull from something that already exists in the room. Consider a hue that complements the carpet color or the shade of the wood floor. You can also match the walls to the furniture's upholstery.
2. Buy the paint. Paints range from economical to high-end. If the room gets a lot of traffic or you have kids that could get fingerprints or food on the walls, opt for a high-end paint so that the walls can be easily cleaned.
3. Assemble the tools. The paint store's clerks can advise you on exactly what brushes and roller covers you'll need.
4. Prep the surface. The surface you're painting has to be clean, dull, and dry. If there are fingerprints or cooking oils on the walls, they must be cleaned. Use spackling paste to patch up any holes or cracks in the wall. If your wall was previously painted with a semi-gloss and you're going for a flat finish, make sure the surface is dull so that the new paint adheres to the existing paint. Wait for the wall to dry before applying the new paint. Also, cover any furniture in the room with plastic.
5. Trim the room. Use painter's tape to line the ceiling, base boards, windows, and light fixtures.
6. Apply the paint. Roll and brush the paint onto the walls. Let the paint dry before removing the trim.
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