patchwork shower curtain

My kids were enchanted by their cousins' bathroom last time we visited their house. My sister-in-law has transformed the small utilitarian space into an underwater paradise complete with a swirly, turquoise faux finish on the walls, ceramic tropical fish hanging from the ceiling and every fish-themed bathroom accessory known to retaildom. Very nice and very kid-centric. And while I greatly admire her generosity, both with her time and an entire room of her house, I'm not quite there. This was our compromise. 

(Excuse the poor photo quality. This bathroom is dark with a capital D. I did my best for ya.)

Funny thing - I actually found a shower curtain that I LOVED from Target after I'd already raided my stash for the fabrics for this one (inspired by AMH's Seams to Me curtain). The Target curtain was right there, so affordable, so cute, the perfect colors (more on that later) and (drum roll, please) ready to hang. I snapped a shot and sent it to Larry then and there to share my good fortune, snatched the thing up and bought it lickety split. It was only after I left the store that I got her response which basically ran along these lines: "Love it. So much I bought it myself a few weeks back." 

And now you know at least 40% of the story of our friendship. Is every BFF relationship so simpatico? It's a good thing we lives several states apart and have to do most of our communication via email or we'd basically be the same person. 

In the end, because I am the Queen of Indecisiveness, I went back to my original plan, which was to make my own customized, patchwork shower curtain. I've been drawn to this color combo for some reason lately - pumpkin, turquoise, and spring green with bits of brown. Since I have one girl and 2 boys, I tried to give a nod to all three in my fabric selection, since it is, after all, their bathroom. Theoretically speaking. 

Bits of  floral Liberty print for Aud, fun little cars and vans for Ash, and simple plaids for Gage, my big kid, plus a few more of my favorites. 

Construction details: The strips are ripped and top stitched down. So simple. I made the entire project even simpler by purchasing a super soft, creamy twin sheet from Target to use as the background fabric. (It was one of these, but my flat sheet was packaged separately, so I didn't have to buy an entire set. Cha-ching!) I didn't want to piece lengths of fabric together for the wide curtain and I really didn't want to buy major yardage, so a sheet was the perfect solution at about $10. 

I flipped the sheet upside down so that I could use the nice wide top hem as the bottom of the curtain, cut off the narrow hem (formerly the foot of the sheet), adjusted the length and added a simple rod pocket. I wanted it longer than a traditional shower curtain, so I hung an extra pressure-mounted rod and raised it up about ten inches over my existing rod and liner. The width of the sheet was perfect - when it's completely closed, it's very slightly gathered. 

I'm in love with John Golden. His "By Order of the Management" prints suit my benevolent dictatorship style of parenting perfectly. It was so hard to decide. They're genius, I tell you. Brush Your Teeth, Wash Your Hands, Mind Your Manners and Go Ask Your Father went across from the sinks.

Wash Behind Your Ears and Wipe the Seat went beside the shower and over the toilet. (Two boys, remember? John, how about a Lift the Seat sign next?) 

By the way, if you like these prints, I just saw that JG has a store wide 25% off sale going on over at his Etsy shop. I think that started the week after I ordered my prints. Nice, huh? Still love him though.