Fabric Wallpaper

If I had my way, I would purchase rolls of temporary wallpaper from domesticate's shop on Spoonflower and go crazy with color and design.  Alas, those rolls are $60 each and . . . I really in no way have that kind of money.  There are, however, alternatives for renters in search of ways to put temporary color and pattern on the walls.  Sometimes those options can be pretty affordable.  

I decided to go with hanging fabric on the walls.  I was especially intrigued by the idea of using fabric starch to adhere fabric to the walls.  Starch is supposed to work as wallpaper paste, but release cleanly.  

That is totally not what I did in my test case-our hallway linen closet.

I have no idea whether liquid starch is easy to come by in Savannah or not.  I didn't even look for any.  As I may have mentioned before, our apartment is painted with flat paint.  I can't clean the walls without leaving marks so I was not willing to take any chances with liquid anything.  Plus, that was way too many steps.

I decided to go with tools and materials I had on hand--some batik from my fabric stash and my handy staple gun.  I can not remember why or when I bought this batik but I am 90% certain it came from JoAnn's.

It took maybe a yard and a half to do the closet interior.  I washed and pressed the fabric first, then measured my walls and cut pieces to fit.  Why yes that is Bushido Brown.

I removed each shelf and stapled as close to the edge of the fabric as possible.  I was worried that the staples would show at first, but the print does a great job distracting the eye.

On a side note, removing the shelves (they aren't attached to anything-they just rest on these supports) uncovered all kinds of gross goodies from previous tenants.  As you can see, this spray paint job they did in this apartment is . . . . not that thorough at all.

Measuring and trimming before stapling was by far the easiest way to do the whole project.  If you look up the process on the web, you'll probably see pictures of a straight edge and a box cutter or something to trim the excess edges.

That . . .  is utter bullshit.  The razor blade trim method worked-but not at all well.  Just measure, trim, and staple.  Then stand up and decide it looks good enough from your regular point of view.

Overall, I was pleased with how my fabric wallpaper test run turned out.  This was essentially a zero dollar upgrade since I used stuff I already had and did not purchase anything especially for the project.

So pleased, in fact, that I got really ambitious.  More on that later.

Me and My Adult (so-called) Apron

My diet has been working wonders for me health-wise, but all this cooking at home has been hard on my clothes.  I finally broke down and bought an apron because I was too lazy to make one.

Source

I got this Me & My Adult Apron from Hobby Lobby.  The site says 9.99 but I don't think I ended up paying that much so definitely check your stores.  Anyway-it's plain and serviceable . . . but I take issue with the "adult" sizing.  Sure it gets the job done-but that bib area . . . would barely cover one boob.  However much weight I end up losing, I'm still going to have a broad chest and back.  Also, the neck loop is way too long which is odd because if my torso was that long, this apron would barely cover to my waist.  The proportions seem weird is all.

So . . . I'll have to make an apron anyway.

Check these out, they are gorgeous

I don't know if I have written about these Polish cookie aprons before but I really want one.  I think I can make one that will be broad enough across the chest and provide enough coverage across the sides.  The silhouette is simple enough, but I am also considering some alternatives for fastening other than the ties.  I want it to fit snugly and I don't want to worry about the ties loosening.  

Ideas:

• Pull over style with a fabric covered wide elastic band in place of apron strings
• Heavyweight cotton in muslin color-I actually really like that plain canvas color
• Hanging loops so I can hang it on the pantry shelves like my current apron

Easy Bookcase Standing Desk

Most of our workhorse furniture is of the relatively cheap Target brand variety.  This is actually good because you get a lot less stressed trying out new things and it also tends to be pretty flexible.

This is my easy bookcase standing desk hack:

The clutter you see is real

As you can see, we have a media center configuration consisting of two cubical shelving units and two bookcases.  Creating this standing desk was a simple matter of re-homing some books in other rooms and adjusting shelving to the correct height.

Some notes:

• Working at a standing desk does take some getting used to.  Your legs and your feet have to get used to it.  Ultimately, I like standing up and working a lot more.  
• The television is less of a distraction because watching it would mean I have to stand at a really uncomfortable angle.  
• I spend less time cruising the internet because-hey, who wants to put up with aching feet just to watch some dumb stuff on youtube? 
• Another benefit is that standing makes you much more likely to move.  Even though I stand up to work, I am much less likely to sit down when I'm done working.  
• Sometimes I prop a foot up on a step stool or stand on my yoga mat-these can help with discomfort as well.

Stripes in Ya' Life

I'm probably behind the trend on this one but it's okay.  At least I know my love for chevron stripes is a lasting one.  I finally got around to making my very own chevron stripe rug ala this tutorial.

I followed High-Heeled Foot in the Door's instructions pretty much exactly.  I got my fabric from Fabric.com and it is a light/medium weight canvas duck.  If you don't want to order online most fabric and craft stores carry it in solids and prints.

One note I would add that those of you versed in homemaking probably won't need is that rug pads are smaller than the area of the rug that they serve.  I was expecting a 4 x 6 pad and it was considerably smaller than that.  I still tossed it under my rug and it does a good job keeping it in place.

It's awesome and I love it even if Wes did get dizzy while helping me layer and stitch it together.  The pattern kind of lures you in.  It's also surprisingly cushy since I decided to spring for the fifteen dollar rug pad instead of the eight dollar one.

It adds a certain something to the living room.  I'd post a better picture but to be perfectly honest, I only cleaned the necessary parts to take this one, lol.

DIY Life-How to Make Powder Laundry Detergent

Wes and I decided that we would save a little money and make our own laundry detergent.* 

Here's what you need:

All Images are my own

• Borax
• Washing Soda
• Soap-we used Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap (You could also use Fels Naptha or plain old Ivory)
• Air Tight Container
• Grater
• Bowl
• Measuring Scoop

Here's what you do:

• Grate bar of soap and measure out one cup.  (This usually works out to a little less than three quarters of the bar)**
• Add one cup of Borax
• Add one cup of Washing Soda
• Shake/Mix/Stir

We have high efficiency washers in our complex and this mix is perfect for them as it is low-sudsing.  It is also great for regular washers.  The best part, you only need about two tablespoons per load.

That works out to half of this little sauce cup thingy that we have re-purposed.

Give it a try-I'm sure you'll like it!

*It is important to note that DIY is not always cheaper.  Our laundry detergent is and if we used cheaper soap we could save even more.  What we like most, however, is that we know exactly what this detergent is made out of.


**We like to make small batches but you could adjust amounts as desired.