Easy Balloon Shade

When I was pregnant with my first child I didn't want to find out the sex of the baby.  It was my first child and I knew I would be excited whether it was a boy or a girl.  My mother, who is a great seamstress, made custom bedding and a window treatment that was beautifully gender neutral.  My son slept on that bedding until he moved out of his crib.  I loved that bedding and all of the memories it held.

When I became pregnant with my second child, for some reason I decided we should find out the sex and we discovered we were having a girl.  I planned on using the bedding that my mother had made because of the sentimental value but then a friend of mine gave me the bedding that she had used for her twin girls.

It was pink.  It was wide gingham check.  It was gorgeous.  My mother ended up making a quilt that went perfectly with it which meant I then had the best of both worlds - beautiful pink bedding and something handmade by Nana.

The only problem was that I had two windows and the set had only come with two tie-top panels.  I thought about hanging them straight down on either side of each window, pulled to each side with a tie back but then I got a crazy idea to fashion balloon shades out of them.  I thought this would give more of the shabby chic look I was going for in Sidekick's room.

I hung them over the curtain rod like you would drape a bath towel over a towel bar with the ties in front.  I then used ribbon to pull up each side creating the balloon shade look.  I tied the tab ties into bows and adjusted it all until I got the look I wanted.

This meant I was able to outfit 2 windows with half the needed panels which made this Cheap Mama very happy!  I love the look and love the pink for my baby girl.