DIY Friday – draw the curtains

Our bathroom has received an unfair amount of design neglect this past while. I wanted to add a bit of pizzazz to it and thought what better way than via our shower curtain. With a marker in hand and three hours later, I added this Sharpie shower curtain to our bathroom, and I finally have those antlers I’ve wanted. Kind of …

What you’ll need – a shower curtain {preferably 100% vinyl. I couldn’t find one and used a fine weave 100% polyester curtain and it worked out fine}, paper large enough to sketch on {tip – use the reverse side of a roll of wrapping paper if you don’t have large pieces of paper}, masking tape, a Sharpie permanent marker, eraser, pencil and an imagination. 
Step 1 – decide on what to draw on your shower curtain. This can be the hardest step. I magiked up this little number on Photoshop. This isn’t necessary, but Photoshop helped me quickly draw, erase, and rearrange my idea without wasting paper. I prefer the unfinished look of this sketch, so I kept the raw lines in my finished piece. This rough style of drawing also shows you don’t have to be 100% accurate to tackle a piece on this scale. You can choose to copy an existing image onto your shower curtain – you don’t have to create something from scratch. No judgement here. 

Step 2 – secure your paper to the floor with tape and draw your design in pencil. When you are happy with it, go over your design in marker. You will use this as a template. You can also choose to use this as your step 1 and skip the Photoshop malarkey if you like. Step 3 – lay your shower curtain over your template and draw your design using the permanent marker. You can tape down your shower curtain if you like to stop it moving around. I didn’t. I like living on the edge. 

Step 4 – I ironed my shower curtain at this stage because I have OCD. This step is not necessary, but it was a step I took to make it nice and smooth. Please use caution when ironing a shower curtain. Don’t use the highest setting as we are dealing with plastic here, folks. Step 5 – c’est fini! Hang up your shower curtain, and enjoy!
You can make your design as simple or as complicated as you like. I think I may add more to ours at a later stage. I more so think this would be a fab weekend project for kids. A cheap and cheerful way to add some  young people’s artwork into your home. And for those of you wondering, yes the Sharpie marker is permanent and no the water from the shower doesn’t effect it. 

I hope you have an awesome weekend lined up. If the weather holds up here, I foresee lots of walks outdoors and who knows – maybe flip flops.  
Happy Friday folks 🙂 xx A

Winner – hydrangea painting by Hilda Oomen

I am excited to announce the winner of my first giveaway. Without causing any more unnecessary suspense, the winner of Hilda Oomen’s to-die-for hydrangea painting is …  

Massive congratulations Barb!!! Mad jealous of your new piece of artwork. I know you’re just as crazy for hydrangeas as I am. Send an e-mail over to moi at alex@hydrangeagirl.com with your address details so I can pack this baby up and sent ‘er off in the post 🙂 
I’d like to thank Hilda for her breathtaking artwork and I would encourage you to creep her incredible Etsy shop. Her work is a constant source of inspiration and has induced many daydreams on my end of the screen. I’d also like to thank all of you who entered the giveaway. I can assure you there will be more drool-worthy giveaways to come that you’ll want to get your filthy mitts on!

xx A

Giveaway – hydrangea painting by Hilda Oomen

PLEASE NOTE THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED, but you are more than welcome to continue to creep. 

I am over-the-moon excited today to announce my very first … 

If you like hydrangeas half as much as I do, you’ll be tore up from the floor up with this little number. I was worried I’d jinx myself if I announced it any earlier as it was still in transit, but luckily this baby arrived this morning. Take it all in / drink it up …

Valued at $130, this 8×8 inch piece of heaven on canvas board is full of what I adore – hydrangea perfection in neutral tones of white, grey, beige and black in oil paint done by the painfully talented Hilda Oomen. Absolute eye candy for fellow hydrangea afficianados. Or, a perfect Mothers Day gift should you celebrate the day in May this year. Unframed and unmatted so you can style however you please. Just a little something to say thank you for supporting me and my ideas these past years. I know. Mucho lame and sappy. 

Here are the giveaway guidelines …
– You can enter if you are a current follower via Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. Yep, my first giveaway it is limited to existing followers only. Next time it’s a free-for-all, but this time around it’s a thank you to my followers, so you have to be part of the club {p.s. I’m happy to ship internationally, so it don’t matter where you live}
– Leave a comment below on this blog post; please leave your name or pseudonym {annonymous comments won’t make the cut}. You can link to your website / include a Twitter username etc. if you like – something I can use to get in contact with you 
– It’s that easy
I will be picking a winner at random on Monday the 15th of April, so you have from now until then to  submit your comment before I rig it so I can keep this beaut all for myself. If I can’t get in contact with the winner after 7 days, I will choose a new winner. 

And of course, more from the crazy-talented Hilda, feast your eyes on these pretties …

Just awesome. You can see all of Hilda’s incredible paintings over on her Etsy shop. Best of luck, homies 🙂
xx A

Image cred 567.