Winter Window Shade

We are so fortunate here in The Art Studio to not only have a full wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that let in a lot of  light, but we also have a beautiful view of the apple orchard on The Carle’s grounds.  Starting in late November and early December, on particularly sunny days, Studio staff and guests start “feelin’ the burn” from the hot sun pouring through our southern-facing windows.  To help shade the light but not sacrifice the view, we’ve created various shades to hang in the windows including our popular rainbow window shade. This winter, we decided to create a snow-inspired window shade. See below how we made our display.

First, using scissors, an x-acto knife and hole punches, create designs by folding up pieces of 8.5″ x 11″ copy paper or drawing paper.

Next, pair your finished design with a sheet of tracing paper the same size. The frosty finish of the tracing paper will help diffuse the sunlight. You can buy tracing paper in sheets or on a roll at an art supply store.

Sandwich the tracing paper and your cut paper design in a simple 3-hole binder sleeve from the office supply store.

With either a 3-hole or single hole punch, make 3 holes along the bottom of the sleeve to line up with the 3 lines at the top of the sleeve.  You don’t need to punch holes if it will be at the bottom of the shade.

Connect your sleeves together to make vertical panels using 1″ or 3/4″ book binder rings, also available at office supply stores.

String the sheets onto a standard tension curtain rod that fits the width of your window.  We make our shades 4 sheets long, but feel free to make yours as long as you wish.

I hope this gives you a little winter inspiration for your sunny space!