Mock Off Monday {Shower Curtain Edition}

Before I begin, I just want to say that today's project is not 100 percent knock off. Now don't go gettin' your panties in a wad. I said it wasn't 100 percent knock off, but it is about 85 percent knock off. It's merely a simplified version. But if it makes you any happier, I'll explain to you how to create both versions. Sound okay?

Here is what inspired my project.

Isn't she gorgeous? I love the cascade of ruffles.

Now, here's my version.

I know, I know, not quite as luscious as the Anthro version. But I still love it.
I kept my color scheme simple...solid white {muslin}. I made my shower curtain for my {beachy chic} bathroom so I wanted it to feel really light and ethereal.

I also wanted a slightly tattered look, so I didn't even bother hemming the edges. I ripped all of my muslin rather than cutting it, that way I could have raw, frayed edges. Not only do I like the way it looks, but it cut off a lot of sewing time.

If you are not into the frayed look you will have to hem the the two side edges and bottom edge of all your strips. {note, you will need to hem all four edges on your first layer as the top hem will be visible. The rest of the layers will overlap so it isn't necessary to hem the top edges of them...unless you have OCD or just really, really want to.

Here are the supplies needed:

*An old shower curtain {preferably white, or a lighter color/fabric cut and sew together to form a 72in. x72 in. square. I used a pair of old curtain sheers {they were $3.99 at Ross, just in case you don't have anything on hand to use} that I cut to 36 1/4 in. and sewed together {36 1/4 plus 36 1/4 equals 72 1/2 in.}. I allowed for a 1/2 in. seam allowance. If you are new to sewing, that simply means that I stitched 1/2 in. in from the edge of the fabric.

*10 strips of fabric cut down to 9 in. x 72 in. {depending on the width of the fabric you use, you will need anywhere from 4-6 yards of fabric-possibly double or triple that if you decided to ruffle your layers. Whether you prefer the fullness of ruffles or the simplicity of layers you will need the same number of fabric strips. However, the ruffled version will require more fabric for each strip. You will have to gather each layer before stitching them on. I guesstimate that you will need double or triple the amount of fabric for the ruffled version, but that could vary depending on how thickly you gather the fabric. To gather fabric you simply cut your fabric strips to right width {9in} then run them through a sewing machine with a gathereing foot. You may have to sew 2 or 3 strips together for them to be the desired width {72 in.}. It's a bit of trial and error. The other option is to loosen the tension and lengthen the stitch on the sewing machine and then gather the fabric by hand. I actually prefer this method because I can control how thick the gather is. Gathering can be a pretty time consuming process. It isn't necessarily hard, it just takes a lot of patience...obviously I don't possess that quality which is why I opted for my lazy, err simplified, version instead.

*12 strips of fabric cut to 2 in. x 7 in. {These will be used to make the tabs at the top. You could also use ribbon}

Once you have all of your pieces prepped...the square piece is ready, all of the strips are hemmed and ruffled or ripped, and your tabs are cut, you can start assembling.

Lay your square piece out. Then fold your tabs in half and place 1/2 down from the top edge of the square piece, spacing them out about 6 inches. Then, match your first layer to the top of the square piece and pin the three layers together at each tab. Now you are ready to stitch along the top...about 1/4 in. in from the edge.

For the second {and remaining layers} measure up 2 inches from the bottom of the first layer and mark. This is where you will sew on the next layer. Continue measing up two inches from the previous layer and attach new layer. You will end up with overlapping layers.

You can see the 2 inch overlap here if you look closely.

Repeat this process until all ten layers are sewn on. As you get further into the project you will be managing a lot of fabric as you sew. Just take your time and stitch slowly. It took a good hour or two to sew on all of my strips. This process will be longer if you are sewing on ruffles simply due to the massive bulk you will be handling. But, it will be well worth all the effort in the end.

Eventually you will end up with a little something like this

Or like this if you went with the ruffles.

Anthro's Flamenco Shower Curtain retails for $118. I ended up spending about $15 to make my simplified version, which means that for $30-$45 {ish} you should be able to make a ruffled version. I always love it when I can save myself a couple of bucks...or in this case, over $100.

Saturday Shop Spotlight {2}

Anthropologie has this awesome chandelier. I know it's a bit of an acquired taste, but I still think it's pretty awesome.

I actually didn't make today's feature myself. This totally awesome knock-off version was the brain child of my good friend, Deni. She just also happens to be my partner in crime at the shop too.

This pretty little thing is currently available for adoption just in case any of you are in the market for one.

She drilled holes through a metal platter and then placed teaspoons through them.

She curved the ends of the spoons into a "U" and then hung a different teacup off of each one.

The body of the chandelier was achieved by stacking old platters, teacups and a teapot. {but you could also use a creamer and sugar bowl like the anthro version if you can find them.}

I love the teapot and cups my friend used. They look like they are metal, but they are actually ceramic {which is great, because it lessens the possibility of brain damage should it fall on your head when you try to install it}. Teapots, teacups and the like are often readily available at the thrift store, so you could make it easy on yourself and just paint some with silver spray paint to achieve the same look.

I don't know how much my friend actually spent on supplies to recreate Anthro's Tea Time Chandelier, but I can assure you it was well under Anthro's $1800 price tag. {Sheesh, do you know how many pairs of shoes a girls could by with that kinda money?}

P.S. Happy Mother's Day to all you mommy's out there. I'm off to go spend the rest of the weekend with Studly and the kiddos. See ya next week.

Knock Off Decor Feature

Howdy Peeps!
My Anthropologie secret silhouette lamp shade

is going to be featured over at Knock Off Decor tonight. Happy Early Mother's Day to me!

And a Happy {Almost} Mother's Day to all you mommy's out there in bloggyland too.

I just wanted to send a little bloggy love over to Beckie at Knock Off Decor. I love, love, luh-huv her site. Anything solely devoted to knocking off uber expensive home decor is totally my cup of tea. So, If you love a good knock off as much as I do and are always on the look out for a fun knock off project you should head over and check it out. I assure you, your to-do will be significantly larger afterwards.
Oh, and check back later for my Saturday shop Spotlight. It's a totally awesome project you won't wanna miss.

Thrifty Throwdown Thursday-What the "shell" are you doing?

Ha, ha! I made the Thursday deadline...with fifteen, err fourteen minutes to spare.

I guess this post could almost qualify as a "mock off", because the inspiration for my thrifty project is this:

White Narcissus Mirror from Anthropologie. It retails for $328 just in case you were wondering {did you just throw up a little, cause I just did?}.

BUT, because it cost me under $20 to complete, I'm gonna go ahead and post it as part of my Thrifty Thursday Throwdown.

Wanna see what happens you take a {semi-pornographic picture I found at the thrift store for $7, that I actually think is kinda adorable, but was still a little embarrased to buy}.


and combine it with a couple bags of seashell's that I found at Ross for $5 a piece.


Voila!!! A chic looking message board.


It's pretty self explanatory, but here's a quick run down of the steps I followed:

I removed the picture from the frame, and hot-glued seashells to the top left hand and bottom right hand sides.




Then I spray painted it white.


Distressed it.




Then antiqued it further using a little paint I watered down.

I just brushed on the paint

then rubbed off what I didn't want.






I ended up reusing the nudey picture. I spray painted over it with chalkboard paint {I must admit, it was a little difficult watching those cute little baby buns get covered up with black paint} . The carboard the picture was mounted on was really stiff and smooth...and already cut to size so it was perfect for what I needed.

Here it is in it's new home.




Ya, ya, I know it seems a little unconventional to put a message board in a bathroom, but trust me I have plenty of things to say to the kiddies..."wash your hands-with soap this time", "get back there and flush the toilet", "I don't care, wipe again".
See, beautiful and functional all at the same time...and even better, I saved myself $308 off the origional.

Linking to:

Mock Off Monday- #1

Nothing tickles my fancy more than {successfully} reproducing something for a fraction of the cost.

I love {Anthropologie}. It is a DIY'ers visual playground. I always leave inspired; with a mental list of future projects a mile long. But I would never, ever purchase anything from there. It isn't that I don't love their stuff, cause I do. I really, really love their stuff. It's just that I'd have to sell my organs on the black market to fund that kind of an investment.

So, if I can't have the real deal, I guess I'll have to settle for the next best thing...a really good knock off.

I've been wanting to replicate these babies for awhile now.
Anthro's Secret Silhouette Shade.

These lovelies retail for $128...that'sjust the shade, no lamp base. See what I said about selling one's organs?

I loved this project because it was relatively easy. And even better, it only required two supplies...a lamp shade and a paint pen {$3.99 at Joanne's}.

I found my shade at Target for $15. Normally I would try to cut cost by grabbing a random shade from thrift store and recovering it. But today I was feeling lazy so I just bought one instead. Besides drum shades are rarely available at my thrift store and I really wanted a drum shade.

The one I bought is burlap. I really liked the color and texture, but you could also use a cotton/linen shade. Because the weave on the burlap is so loose, it's difficult to draw fine details with the paint pen, which means that when the lamp is turned on the frame slightly fades and becomes harder to make out. That said, burlap is pretty forgiving. Mistakes are less noticeable. Linen on the other hand, will show every mark the paint pen makes because it has a tighter weave. This is both good and a bad. It's good, because when the lamp is lit, the image of the frame will not loose any contrast . But that also means that any little mistake is more visible.

align="center">It's totally up to you which kind of shade to use, should you decide to try this. But I think next time I will try linen, just to see which I like better.

To begin, I traced out a template of the frame using Anthro's version as my reference.

There isn't any way to transfer the image to the shade but to just freehand it.

I traced a circle onto a piece of paper using a cup. Then I cut the circle out and traced around it on the shade.

I just freehanded the inner circle once I had the larger circle drawn.

I filled the circles in with some squiggles.

Then I used a ruler to make the square part of the frame. I just kept layering on the details til it was done.



For the silhouette, I just found an image online that I liked and traced it.


Then I cut it out.


I centered it in the frame {you can do this by holding the frame up to light. You should be able to see the image of the fram well enough to center the silhouette.}

then traced around it with the paint pen.



Then filled it in.

Finally, I placed the shade on a lamp.

Then I turned it on and prayed that it would work.

Phew!

Here's a closer look at the shade.

And here are side by sides of the origional and my knock off.

Anthro's version.

My version.

Whadaya think? Not too shabby for an amateur right.

And a way better deal. I saved myself a whopping $110+.