Dangly Doorway Decor
save
For a kid, there's something inherently fun about adorning the entrance to her room with a dangly curtain she can part and step through. But before you head out to purchase the classic beaded version, consider the creative possibilities. With a little help, your child can string a variety of interesting items -- such as medallions cut from colorfully printed scrapbook paper, craft foam flowers, and pom-poms -- into decorative doorway strands of her own. Here are five fashionable designs for inspiration.
What you'll need
- Tension rod
- DANGLING DISKS:
- String or yarn
- Craft punch
- Scrapbooking card stock
- Embroidery needle
- Small metal washer
- NIFTY POOL NOODLES
- Foam noodles
- Serrated bread knife
- Embroidery needle
- String
- PRETTY PETALS
- Craft foam flower shapes
- Embroidery needle
- Colored straws
- String or thin ribbon
How to make it
Design 1: Dangling Disks For this decorative curtain, you'll need about 20 strands of string or yarn to fill a standard 30-inch-wide door opening. The length of the strands should measure 1 1/2 times the height of the opening. For example, an 80-inch-high opening calls for strands 120 inches long.
Use a craft punch to cut your disks from scrapbooking card stock (our design uses sheets with a circular pattern and has 14 disks per strand). Use an embroidery needle to thread on the disks, spacing them about 7 inches apart and tying a knot below each one to hold it in place. Leave some extra space at the top for tying the string around the tension rod. Attach a small metal washer to the bottom of the strand -- the weight will help keep it taut and make it less likely to tangle.
Design 2: Nifty Pool Noodles Simply cut 3 or 4 foam noodles into 5/8-inch-thick slices with a serrated bread knife (adults only). Then thread them together with an embroidery needle and string (about 30 or so slices per 80-inch strand).
Design 3: Pretty Petals With an embroidery needle, alternately thread craft foam flower shapes (sold at craft stores) and 2 1/2-inch lengths of colored straws onto string or thin ribbon.
Design 4: Plush Pom-poms Use craft or fabric glue to adorn a ribbon strand with colorful pom-poms.
Design 5: Medallion Medley Glue a row of 2-inch-wide scrapbooking card stock circles to one side of a ribbon strand so that they are spaced 2 inches apart. Then fill in the spaces with a second row of circles glued to the opposite side of the ribbon.
Tips: Attaching the strings to a tension rod ensures that the curtain will safely pull down if anything becomes tangled in it.
A craft punch, sold in craft stores, makes it a cinch to cut circles up to 2 inches wide from paper or card stock.
