Framed Embroidered Florals From Shower Curtain Fabric

                            

We've all had that sudden urge one time or another to do something about a piece of decor in our home that bothers us! That's me every time I go into our spare bathroom! The shower curtain there really bugged me since I hung it over ten years ago. The top of the curtain has a poofy valance that has to go! I don't think it gives off a modern feel or is in style anymore. I just need to make the valance go away since it makes the shower curtain look dated and doesn't compliment my home decor style.

 Luckily, I do love the fabric that has lots of embroidered floral designs on it! 

So, I'm going to repurpose or 'do over' some of the embroidered florals by cutting them out from the shower curtain valance fabric and using them as appliques on a cardboard design in a picture frame I got from Goodwill! 

Welcome to this months' "Do It Over Designers" Blog Hop! The "Do It Over Designers" is a group of creative bloggers who love to recycle/upcycle/ DIY, hosted by Anne @The Apple Street Cottage. It happens the 4th Saturday of every other month and it's all about taking something old and/or unused and 'doing it over' into something new. Normally we don't have a theme, but every now and then Anne wants us to 'do over' a certain item. This month's theme is Fabric!  Thanks Anne for hosting this wonderful blog hop!

So let's get started with the materials I used to frame the embroidered florals design from the shower curtain fabric!

Materials Used:

• Embroidered shower curtain fabric
• Decorative picture frame
• Mod Podge
• Paint brush
• Scissors
• Fabri-Tac glue

Steps:

First, I removed the shower curtain valance from the shower curtain with a few snips, snips, snips on each side. Now the shower curtain looks so much better, don't you think!

Next, I got out an old frame that I purchased a few years ago from Goodwill for two dollars and took the backing off.

I discovered that a design was on the backside of the cardboard and whoever had the frame before covered it with paper and enclosed it in the frame. It was a lovely design so I decided to use it as a base design to place the cut out embroidered florals on.

My next step was to determine which embroidery florals I would use. I chose a few that were outline in a sort of reddish purple and deep lavender threads.

Once I decided on the florals, it was time to paint on a layer of Mod Podge since the shower curtain fabric and threads would probably fray when cutting them out.

        It took a few hours for the Mod Podge to dry clear and fray free!

Then it was time to cut out the embroidered florals - starting with a long stem! 

 Adding Fabri-Tac fabric glue to the backside and .  .  .

smoothing the cutout embroidered stem down along the painted flower stem.

I was really getting excited about the dimensional look of the embroidered stem! Imagine how cool the embroidered florals would look, too!

Next I started cutting out individual embroidered flowers and .  .  .

adding fabric glue to the back .  .  .

smoothing it down on the cardboard design.

 Then cutting out another embroidered piece, adding glue to the wrong side and .  .  . 

 

laying it down next to the first to complete the look of the main embroidered flower. Look how the appliques blends in beautifully with the painting.

Cutting out and gluing on a few more embroidered florals .  .  .

along the stem .  .  .

to complete the look!

Then framing it all!

How cool does this look!

I love how the framed embroidered florals turned out. There are so many ways to recycle/upcycle embroidery pieces. Especially when there are lots of them in a piece like the shower curtain valance. They can be added to pillows, clothing, sachet bags, and linens, etc.  Or used as appliques on just about anything to enhance the item or to add a "wow" factor to the design! My work is cutout for me using this fabric!

Be sure to visit all of this month's creative Fabric Projects by the 

"Do It Over Designers" listed below:

Sum of Their Stories

Pandora’s Box

Color Me Thrifty

The Apple Street Cottage

Birdz of a Feather

Exquisitely Unremarkable

Little Vintage Cottage

Modern on Monticello

Purple Hues & Me

Southern Sunflowers