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Dangly Doorway Decor

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Total Time Needed:: 2-3 Hours

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.

Materials

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

Instructions

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.