roman shades-diy

I am determined to make some roman shades. We are trying to brighten up our house. I'd like it to look like my home, and not just some place I am living. As we don't own, I can't knock out walls, sadly. So I am settling for paint, hardware, lighting, and new window treatments.

We are painting the appliances black so they all match. We have an ANCIENT Kenmore built in wall oven which Sears no longer sells parts for. It is a hideous avocado (what were they thinking back then, with the paneling and the avocado??) and we're on our third attempt at getting paint to stick to it. We gave up on the second attempt, and decided to just buy new oven...but guess what? The old one is not a standard size, and none of the home improvement mega centers have people certified to install gas wall ovens or do any cabinet cutting. I was disappointed to hear the salespeople say that they don't have people certified to do much gas stove work since electric is the new wow. I hate cooking with electric, and much prefer gas...I have heard the same from other women so I don't know if that information was accurate. Anyway, our budget cannot afford all that it would entail to get a new wall unit. Hopefully, the newest coat will look less cracked and ugly. If not...I'll hang big towels on the doors, haha.

Back to the roman shades. They are beautiful things. I want them, and I will make them. I stayed up far too late after wrangling the kids all into bed trying to figure it out and get started. I made a little progress. Here's the webpages I am using as guides:
http://jenduncan.typepad.com/whats_new/2008/11/roman-blind-tutorial-in-20-pictures-or-less.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Roman-Shade

Fun, fun. I hope I can get some rest and have steady hands to finish one shade at least tomorrow.