The Lady Beekeeper

Merry Christmas!  Happy (belated) Hanukkah!  Happy Noam Chomsky Day!  Or may whatever winter holiday you celebrate be jolly!  Well I had a great blog post idea for today.  I was going to write all about my breastfeeding experiences (don’t worry it wasn’t going to be graphic).  The plan was to call it, “Breastmilk and cookies”.  Get it?  You’re supposed to leave milk and cookies out for Santa?  But not breastmilk.  Definitely don’t leave him breastmilk.  Well (luckily?) I ran out of time, and didn’t get to write it yet.

So we are starting to get into more of a routine with little Julius. It is starting to feel less like, “oh my God what have we gotten ourselves into” and more like, “okay we may be able to handle this”.  I think the turning point was when I completed a shopping trip with the little guy.  My friend Maren told me she schedules a reason for her and her little one to leave the house every day – whether a visit to the library, a breastfeeding group, or a shopping trip.  I thought this was a genius idea, and though I haven’t done it every day, I’m trying to get out of the house with Julius several times a week.

For each outing it takes me an eternity to pack his diaper bag since I’m concerned I’ll forget something.  By the time I’m done packing, my bag weighs about 50 pounds.  This makes carrying a pocketbook out of the question!  Instead I throw my keys and purse into the bag.  The problem is, I’m never able to find my keys in that giant bag!  There are so many pockets they could be hiding in!  I decided to make a tether to attach my keys to the bag.  All I have to do now is grab the end of the tether and pull and I’ve got my keys!  Though I made it for a diaper bag, it would work great on a pocketbook.  In fact, I got the idea from a bag I got from Will’s grandmother – and it has even made my pocketbook searching so much easier!

Key Tether

What you need:

• 1″ lobster clasp
• 1″ key ring
• 16″ of 1″ ribbon or trim

1. Fold 1″ of ribbon over key ring.  (Right side out.)  Pin and stitch.
   

   Fold 1″ of ribbon over key ring. Pin and Stitch.

2. Insert ribbon through lobster clasp ring.
   

   Insert ribbon through lobster clasp.

3. Turn under unfinished edge 1/2″.  Place folded edge 1/4″ below the key ring.  Pin & stitch.
4. Slide lobster clasp so it is opposite the key ring and the rest of the ribbon sits flush.
   

   Fold under 1/2″ of unfinished edge and pin 1/4″ below the key ring.

5. Stitch the ribbon together as close as possible to both of the unfinished edges.
   

   Stitch along unfinished edges of ribbon to secure.

To use either attach key ring to zipper pull or loop ribbon around bag handle and through key ring.  Attach keys to lobster clasp.

You can either loop tether around handle and through key ring, then attach keys.

Outside view of key tether attached to diaper bag handle.

Inside view of key tether attached to diaper bag handle.

Or you can attach key ring to a zipper, and attach keys to clasp.

Merry Christmas!

When I was pregnant I saw these adorable tiny crowns on Etsy and decided I wanted to make one.  It was very easy to make, but our uses for it were rather silly.  We took multiple pictures of him with the crown.  First, our friend Joe photographed us holding the crown while I was pregnant and waiting for our little prince.  The second time was the day after he was born when he had hospital photos taken.  This picture was incredibly silly (you can see below).  Finally I took a third picture 2 weeks after his hospital photos.  You can tell the crown is already way too small by this point!  And looking back… he has gotten SO MUCH BIGGER in only 4 more weeks!

Our friend Joe Kerekes took this cute picture of us awaiting our tiny prince.

Julius’ silly hospital photo. He wasn’t awake enough to put it on top of his head… but this is just plain silly.

This is just two weeks after his hospital photos were taken, but his head is already way too big!

And just for perspective, this was Julius yesterday at 5 weeks, 5 days! Look at that noggin, definitely won’t fit a 3″ diameter crown now!  But what a cutie, right?

3″ Diameter Tiny Crown

What you’ll need:

• fabric stiffener – I used Aleene’s Stiffen Quik
• gold fabric paint – I used Tulip Colorshot
• 11″ of lace ribbon – mine was 3″ high
• aluminum foil

1. Overlap the edges of your lace ribbon so the seam will not be noticeable.  For instance, if you have arches on your ribbon, make sure those arches overlap.  Make sure the diameter is close to 3″.  Pin and stitch the edges together.
   

   Pin lace so it discretely overlaps.

2. Make an aluminum foil form to hold the crown, then spray with fabric stiffener.   Let dry following manufacturer’s instructions.
   

   Spray crown with fabric stiffener on aluminum form.

3. Spray the crown with gold fabric paint.  Let dry following manufacturer’s instructions.  You may need to do multiple coats for full coverage.
   

   Spray crown with gold fabric paint.

   

We’ve been calling Julius “little squish” since he left the hospital.  He gets all cuddly and kind of squishes himself up against you when he is sleepy.  And he’s basically a ball of goo when he’s tired.  You could squish the little guy into any position and he’d live with it.  Hence “little squish”.  Well my little squish is now a whopping 9.2 lbs and 22 inches long as of last Thursday!  22 inches is in the 95th percentile for his age!  I told Will we’re going to have to start calling him “big squish”!

I thought the baby blues were supposed to be over by now, but I started sobbing today thinking about putting the little squish in daycare.  What if I miss his first word?  I know millions of people put their kids in daycare, but for some reason this is a serious concern for me right now!

At this point though, his daily milestones are mostly eating, sleeping and pooping.  This means I’ve (understandably) gotten lots of questions about how cloth diapering is going.  I can honestly tell you, it is going pretty well!  We started him in cloth diapers as soon as we got back to our house (this was a week after he was born since we stayed with my parents after leaving the hospital).  For now, we have decided to continue using disposables when we’re out on the town, just to make things easier.  (But we don’t go out very often so we haven’t used many disposables.)  From what we’ve observed, he doesn’t mind the cloth diapers any more or less than disposables.  He seems indifferent to either type and cries when he is wet regardless of the diaper.   As for me, I think the cloth diapers make his fanny look big which is kind of adorable.

When I decided to go the cloth diapering route, I also decided to use cloth wipes as well.  In the hospital they teach you to use a disposable wipe that you wet with water, and that’s just what we do at home with the cloth wipe.  Originally I purchased a package of OsoCozy wipes off amazon.  Their wipes cost $.66 a piece, which isn’t big money, but I knew I could make them for a fraction of that price.  While I was pregnant I bought a yard of flannel fabric from Joann fabrics (on sale for $2.50 a yard).  From this I produced 20 wipes – for a total of twelve cents a wipe!  Now that’s more like it!  You can make your own wipes very quickly if you have a serger.  I made all twenty in less than an hour!

Little squish striking a pose in his cloth diapers.

What you’ll need:

• 1 yard of 42″ wide flannel fabric (I purchased natural cozy flannel)
• Serger

1. First machine wash and dry your flannel.  There will be some shrinkage, so its easier to account for that initially.
2. Divide up your fabric into 20 8″x8″ squares (or whatever size your shrinkage allows – it may be a bit smaller or bigger depending how much shrinkage occurred.)
   

   Divide fabric into 8″x8″squares

3. Cut squares.
   

   Cut squares

4. Serge your fabric squares, rounding the corners slightly.
   

   Serge squares, rounding corners slightly.

The wipes are easy to put into a wipe container.  My co-worker gave us a munchkin wipe warmer, and while I’m still debating if I want to store the wipes wet or dry it works perfectly for holding fabric wipes this size!  To store your wipes in a container – assemble as follows:

1. Place wipe on table.
   

   Place wipe on table.

2. Place second wipe overlapping with first wipe by 50%.
   

   Place second wipe overlapping with first wipe by 50%.

3. Fold first wipe in half over second wipe.
   

   Fold first wipe in half over second wipe.

4. Place third wipe overlapping with exposed portion of second wipe.
   

   Place third wipe overlapping with exposed portion of second wipe.

5. Fold second wipe in half over first wipe.
   

   Fold second wipe in half over first wipe (left side of second wipe over right side).

6. Place fourth wipe over exposed portion of third wipe.
   

   Place fourth wipe over exposed portion of third wipe.

7. Continue stacking wipes until finished, then push the top wipe half through the storage container opening.
   

   Place wipes in box.

   

   Feed top layer of fabric through hole in wipe box.

   Or just watch this GIF!

   

   How to fold wipes

Well parenting is hard.  More difficult than I imagined really, and I thought it seemed pretty difficult.  I have newfound appreciation or maybe even reverence for my parents.  I think that instead of flowers and ties every Mother and Father’s day I should have been buying my parents cruises to the Bahamas or Lamborghinis.  At this point in time, it is really difficult for me to fathom how it is possible to raise more than one child.  I can’t even imagine having twins.

And it’s not just the lack of sleep either – I know that was the main thing I’d imagined caused difficulty.  But its so much more than that.  On top of the fact that you’re already drained from pregnancy and the birth process, there are so many things that come with caring for a newborn.

My normal day is now mostly taken up by breastfeeding in some form.  Breastfeeding infants eat 8 to 12 times a day.  My little guy is a slow eater (probably because of the nipple shield I have to use) so breastfeeding sessions take somewhere between 15 minutes and an hour.  If he’s cluster feeding, there are more sessions than usual.  I also have to pump in between sessions which is time consuming.  Aside from breastfeeding, diaper changes take up the next chunk of my time.  Yesterday we changed his diaper 12 times (that we remembered to record).  After diaper changes I spend my time cleaning & sanitizing breast pump parts and nipple shields and doing laundry (he can soil many outfits a day, plus any towels or covers I get dirty while feeding or bathing him.  After that I finally spend time playing with him or determining why he’s upset.  Then if I’m lucky I’ll have some time left to tidy up the house, and maybe shower.  And finally if there is anything left it is time to sleep.

The biggest problem with all this infant time is that breastfeeding doesn’t take much thinking after you get him latched, and right now for me it usually involves both hands.  This means it is a fairly boring task and as adorable as the little guy is, sitting around watching him feed is not overly stimulating.  Martha Stewart has solved this problem for me!  I have started watching clips and reruns of old Martha episodes on YouTube while I feed Julius.  I think he’s started to get used to it to the point where if he were ever to meet Martha in person, he would take an instant liking to her.

Well here’s a craft project Martha could put on her show!  A simple zippered pillow case!  I made this for the rocker in Julius’ nursery and I have been using it while I breastfeed.

Simple Zippered Pillow

What you’ll need:

• 1/2 yard of material of your choice
• 16″x16″ pillow form
• 9″ zipper (or use any size up to 14″ zipper)

1. Cut your 1/2 yard of material into two 17″x17″ squares.
2. Place fabric squares right sides together and pin.  Stitch two sides of the pillow.
   

   Pin pillow together.

3. Baste 3rd side of the pillow.
4. Lay out your zipper on top of the basted side.   Mark 1/2″ out from the where the teeth end and begin.  Stitch from edge of pillow to this mark on either side along your basting line, leaving the stitching inside these markings as just basting.
   

   Place zipper on basted side of pillow., right side down. Mark 1/2″ above and below the start and end of the zipper teeth and reinforce by stitching to this marking from either end of the pillow over your basting.

5. Pin your zipper in between the markings you made in above step, face down.  With a zipper foot baste around the zipper.
6. Remove the basting in between your markings.  Unzip the zipper and stitch around the zipper to secure fully.
   

   Remove basting in between zipper opening. Stitch with zipper foot all around zipper.

7. Stitch 4th side.
8. Turn right side out through the zipper.
   

   Turn right side out through zipper.

9. Insert pillow form through the zipper opening.
   

   Finished zippered pillow sitting on our glider!

    

Well, no baby yet.  They actually asked me if I wanted to be induced at my last visit, but I felt that I could let him stay in there a little longer.  If he doesn’t want to come out and he’s still doing okay, I won’t evict him yet.  They won’t let him stay in there much longer anyway.  But last time I promised you an entry about something non-baby related!  So here is something I made this week that has nothing to do with babies!

Several years ago I bought this awesome giant old desk off Craigslist.  I stripped it and refinished it in a chestnut color and put it in the office.  I really am happy with how it came out.  Its super neat too because we can fit a printer inside it hidden in its side cabinet with a super study pull out shelf.  I’m not exactly sure what the side cabinet was for – I’m guessing it was for a typewriter, but we are unable to get the shelf to lift up to desk height anymore, even though I’m positive the massive mechanical contraption holding it up should be capable of that.  But it still makes a great printer drawer!

Anyway, while cleaning out the closet in the baby’s room to make room for baby stuff, one of the closets I had to clean out was the closet in the study.  This lead me to move around a bunch of reams of paper that we kept in the closet.  Unfortunately I moved some of the reams under the printer in the cabinet I described above, which caused the very thin shelf underneath the printer (clearly not meant to be a shelf) to collapse.  We added a new shelf earlier this week that is much sturdier but probably still cannot hold 8 reams of paper.  So instead I decided to find one of those paper organizers to fit under the printer.  I plan to store a few types of paper in the cabinet, and return the majority of the paper to the closet again.

Well of course, none of the paper organizers I could find would fit in the space under the printer.  So I was “forced” to make my own.  On the bright side it cost me practically nothing because I used cardboard boxes I had lying around, hot glue, and some stick on wallpaper I had bought for another project.  I made the entire organizer 4 shelves, but in the end there was a metal structure way in the back under the printer shelf that I didn’t account for when measuring, so I had to rip the fourth shelf off.  Now it fits perfectly and still allows the printer to slide out.

DIY Paper Organizer

• 2 yards of sturdy scrap corrugated cardboard
• ~ 2 yards of peel and stick wallpaper (optional for aesthetic purposes only)
• hot glue

1. Using a right angle and the diagram above as a guide, draw 4 copies on your cardboard.
   

   Draw four copies of diagram using a right angle ruler. Note the diagram is not to scale.

2. Cut out 4 copies using an X-acto knife.
3. Cut out a 11.5″x9″ rectangle of cardboard for the top of the assembly.
   

   Cut out an 11.5″x9″ cardboard rectangle for top.

4. Score the cardboard with a blunt object at the dotted fold lines in the diagram.  Fold up cardboard along those lines.
   

   Fold the cardboard up at dotted lines in picture.

5. Cut a 14.5″x10″ piece of wallpaper and stick it to the top of the cardboard in the spaces marked on the diagram.  1″ should overhang the front edge of the cardboard lip – fold this under to hide the unfinished cardboard edge.
   

   Place wallpaper over designated area in picture and fold excess under front lip.

6. Fold the left tab marked A under the flap marked A on the right.  Apply glue and press together.
7. Repeat for tabs marked B.
   

   Glue flap marked B under tab marked B.

8. Fold the side tab marked C over the back tab marked C and glue in place.
9. Repeat for tabs marked D. At this point you should have one level of the box completed.
   

   Fold back flap marked D over side flap marked D. Glue in place.

10. Repeat construction for other 3 levels (steps 4-10).
11. When all 4 boxes have been built, glue them together by placing glue along the top lip of the box and placing another box on top.
    

    Glue boxes together by placing glue along the upper lip and stacking. I found it easier to line them up by lining up their side edges.

12. Cut an 11.5″x2″ piece of wallpaper and stick it over the front of the top cardboard assembly.
13. When you reach the top level, place glue along the top lip and glue the top cardboard assembly (wallpaper side out) to the top.
    

    Glue the top cardboard flap to the last layer.

14. Cut a rectangle of wallpaper large enough to cover the back of the box.  Affix to back of box.
15. Cut a rectangle of wallpaper large enough to cover the top and sides of the box, that will slightly overhang the depth of the back of the box.  Wrap around the box and fold the excess wallpaper over the back edge of the box.
    

    Finished paper holder!

    

    Paper holder under my printer – note it is down to only 3 levels now!

Well, the baby’s due date was Saturday and that day came and went.  Will and I went for long hikes in the woods with Dany all weekend, but to no avail so far!  Dany seemed to enjoy them at least.  I’ve been on leave for two weeks now (and good thing too, because I’m getting those more obscure end of pregnancy symptoms now such as carpal tunnel).  I was very productive the first week and I think everything I can do pre-baby to set up the baby’s room (ie. no painting) has officially been done.  What I’m trying to say is, we’re ready for you baby, let’s go!

My co-workers have started texting me regularly to ask if I’ve had the baby yet.  So I guess its not just Will & I who are getting anxious to meet this baby.  I know our family is also anxious because we’ve been getting periodic texts and calls from them as well.  Today I got a call from a number I didn’t recognize (which I usually don’t pick up) and it was my mom calling from the hospital.  For perspective, I don’t think my mom has EVER called anyone from the hospital.  She was calling to jokingly let me know that it was a good day to have a baby since there were a lot of beds available.  Hopefully the little guy heard that and gets a move on!

Since I’ve found myself with some free time on my hands I’ve started tackling some non-baby related projects around the house.  You’ll be able to read about those in future posts.   But for now, here’s another baby related project I completed!  The baby’s crib skirt now matches his curtains (but I’m sure if he’s anything like his father he will not even notice).

DIY Crib Skirt

What you’ll need:

• 2 yards of 44″ fabric for the ruffle
• 2 yards of fabric for under crib mattress

1. Cut your under crib fabric to a width of XxY.  Cut out 4 right triangles that are 4″ long on the legs from the same material.
   

   Cut out right triangles for crib skirt reinforcement.

2. Fold under the hypotenuse of each triangle by 1/2″ and stitch.  These triangles will reinforce the crib corners.
3. Cut out 2 44″x12″ strips of fabric, 2 34″x12″ strips of fabric and 2 40″x12″ strips of fabric for the ruffle.
4. Take one 44″ and one 34″ strips and stitch together with 1/2″ seam allowance to form one 77″x12″ piece.  Repeat for other two strips.
   

   Stitch 44″ piece and 34″ piece together.

5. Press each rectangle along the sides and bottom to form a 1/4″ rolled hem.  Pin.  At the corners, form a mitered corner (this post describes how to do that).
   

   Press 1/4″ rolled seam around sides and bottom of each panel.

6. Stitch.
   

   Stitch 1/4″ seam

7. Stitch a long basting stitch 1/2″ from the unfinished top of each rectangle to use for gathering the skirt.
   

   Stitch long basting stitch for gathering skirt in top of each panel.

8. At each corner of your crib fabric rectangle place a triangle from step 2 right side up.
   

   Pin triangle right side up to crib lining. Note I am showing one of the panels pinned here as well.

9. Pin a 77″ rectangle along one of the long ends of the crib fabric, by matching up side seams with the sides of the crib rectangle.  Make sure they are right sides together.
10. Pull up the gathers to fit.  Pin and stitch.
    

    Pin long side of crib cover to 77″ swag on each end. Pull up basting to fit. Pin & stitch.

11. Pin a 44″ rectangle along the short end of the crib fabric, overlapping the 77″ rectangle.
12. Pull up the gathers to fit.  Pin and stitch.  Repeat for other two sides.
    

    Final crib skirt after hanging up to dry.

    

    Place crib skirt below mattress.

    

    Final crib skirt shown with our new crib!

Will and I cleaned the entire house this weekend!!  I know that a bunch of people are going to comment that cleaning your house is a sign of nesting… but that just isn’t true for me.  I really don’t believe nesting exists or if it does exist I don’t believe I have gotten it.  I have a perfectly logical reason for cleaning our house – it was REALLY messy.  All the lovely gifts that everyone shipped to us took up a lot of space so they’ve been occupying our living room, the babies room and the upstairs landing.  Really creating quite a trip hazard.  Last week, when my leave from work started, I washed everything – diapers, baby clothes, blankets, etc.  (And that was also not because of nesting, just because at some point I needed to wash everything, and since the baby could arrive at any moment sooner was better than later.  Plus without any washed baby clothes I couldn’t fully pack my maternity bag and at 38 weeks everyone tells you you are crazy if your bag isn’t packed yet.)

After I did all the washing I was left with piles of packaging and boxes that needed to be sorted appropriately into recycling and trash.  I also quickly realized I had no where to put the baby’s clothes except the closet which at the time was holding all our spare linens.  In order to create space for the baby’s clothes in the closet I had to move the billion comforters and sheets and sleeping bags into other locations around the house, which meant slightly reorganizing two other closets.  (There is perfect logic to this – I didn’t just decide – ‘this random closet is messy, let me clean it’!  I was forced to reorganize to make room for all this new gear we got for the baby!)  Anyway.  After that was done I was left with more piles of things – things to donate.  All these piles of recycling and donations and gifts means poor Roomba hasn’t been able to properly run for weeks.  And have I ever mentioned that corgis are notorious shedders?   Hence in the last few weeks our house became dirty and filled with piles of crap!  Are you starting to believe I just needed to clean?  I hope so.

Anyway – Will helped me break down all the boxes, and then took a ton of the boxes to our recycling center because we literally ran out of room in our garage.  Then we moved all the donation stuff to the back of my car (I’ll need to make a trip to Savers at some point soon).  And I somehow managed to get all the gifts put away after reorganizing the closets.  Finally we dusted and vacuumed and now the house looks glorious!  See?  Perfectly logical, non-hormonal reasons for cleaning the house.

On top of cleaning and decluttering the house, I was able to actually finish the curtains for the nursery!  I finally found some fabric I liked!  I ordered way too much so I have been working on several projects that will use the print.    The curtains I made are basic relaxed roman shades.  They have a single swag, so they were pretty simple to make.  Since cords are not child-friendly I decided to make them faux-roman shades.  They are simply tied permanently in their current position (well semi-permanently, I could eventually convert to real shades if I wanted).  All total they took me about 2 days to make and one of those days was 90% measuring and cutting!

Relaxed roman shades

DIY Relaxed Roman Shades

What you’ll need:

• Fabric and lining fabric – this will depend on your total measurements from step 1 and 2 and the width of your fabric.  I required 5 yards of 44″ fabric.
• 1/4″ dowel – mine needed to be 36 5/8″ wide
• 10-12 1/2″ plastic rings
• string or ribbon
• scrap wood in your window width
• 3 “L” mounting brackets
• staple gun

1. Using a fabric measuring tape measure the droop of the swag.  For me my window width was 36 5/8″ and my swag with droop looked best at 39″.  Next measure the total drop of your shade – if you want a functional shade this should be the entire length of the window from where you are going to hang it to the sill.  Non-functional shades can be less.  Also choose what size wood you will use for mounting.  I used scrap wood from my friend that was 2″x2″.
2. To find the width of your shade add the depth of the mount (2″ for me), the droop of the swag, and 3″ for seam allowance.  Add 3″ seam allowance to the total drop of your shade for the length.
3. Cut out a length of fabric for your shade that is the width and length you found in step 2.  Note: if your fabric width is less than the width you need for your shade, you will need to attach two pieces of fabric together.  Make the seamline on the corners of the fabric (where the corner of the mount will hit) and add 1/2″ to each piece of fabric so you can stitch it together.
4. Cut out a length of fabric for your lining that is the width – 3″  x length – 3″ in step 2.  (This should be the width and length minus seam allowance).
   

   Cut out lining fabric for curtains – omit seam allowance.

5. Fold and press the length of the fabric under 1/2″ on either end.  Fold and press under another inch.
   

   Press under 1/2″ and 1″ along length. (Shown here pressing the final 1″)

6. Slip the lining inside your fabric so the edges of the lining touch the folds you made in step 5.  Make sure the place the lining so it sits 1.5″ from the top and bottom of the main fabric.
7. Pin the main fabric to the lining along the 1/2″ fold line, right sides together.  (The edge of the fabric should be 1/2″ from the edge of the lining.)  Stitch along the fold line, stopping 1″ from the lining on top and bottom, then repeat for the second edge.
   

   Pin lining along first foldline.

8. For the bottom and top hem, fold under 1/2″ and press, then 1″ and press.  Form a mitered corner.  I explain mitered corners in this post.  (Note the picture shows a thinner top hem, but it is easier if you keep all the same hems the same width like I specify in the instructions here. )
   

   Hem top and bottom of curtain as in step above, and add a mitered corner.

9. Hand stitch the top and bottom hem using the flat catch stitch.  At this point you should insert a dowel into the center of the bottom hem.  Width should be the width of your window.
   

   Flat catch stitch the top and bottom hems.

10. Next press your excess drop length into a pleat down from the the corner of the mount.  For me I had about 1 1/8″ of excess on each end, and I have a 2″ deep mount.  So I marked the 2″ line and folded under slightly more than 1/2″ of fabric to meet this line and pressed.
    

    Press excess drop width

11. Repeat on the other side.
12. Starting at the bottom hem, mark in 1 foot increments up the shade, along the mount depth line (for me this was 2″ in).  This is the positioning for your rings.
    

    Mark down the fabric in1 foot increments from the mount corner . This will be your ring positioning.

13. Hand sew rings up the shade at the positions you marked.
    

    Hand stitch rings along the markings you made.

14. Prepare your shade mount by cutting it to the width of the window.
    

    Cut your shade mount to the width of the window.

15. Cover the mount in cheap scrap fabric using a staple gun.
    

    Cover the mount in scrap fabric.

16. Staple the top of the shade to the top of your mount, lining up the edges of the shade with where the mount will hit the wall, and the pleats with the front corner of the mount.
    

    Staple top of shade to top of mount, use care to keep pleats intact.

17. Mount your shade to the wall by screwing “L” brackets to the bottom of your mounting board.  Screw the “L” brackets into your wall above the window.
    

    Screw “L” brackets to bottom side of mounting board.

18. Finally thread some string or ribbon through the rings on each side of the fabric and tie together at your desired height.
    

    Finished curtains tied at highest height.

    

    Curtain and crib.