DIY No-Sew Paper Dot Curtain

In a rare departure from food, I was inspired to share a DIY project with you all today. I made this for my wedding in September 2012, and this lovely curtain has been hanging on my living room wall ever since mostly because I really just don’t know what to do with it! Until I figure that out, it’s bringing a nice splash of color to our home.

The first thing I fell in love with when researching wedding decor was this sewn paper dot garland. I could make it fit perfectly with my shades-of-purple dots theme, and I decided that I would have to have it, no matter how long it took to make one myself.

I bought heavy two-sided scrapbook paper in a few different shades of purple and a metallic gold.

I went to town with my circle punches. I punched SO MANY circles. Then my wonderful Aunt Darlene took over. Amazing — between work and wedding planning, I was running short on time! She’s a life saver.

Aunt Dar thought the curtain needed a little more sparkle, so she added in a strand of metallic gold and purple pailette sequins for every two paper circle strands.

The curtain turned out amazing! We hung it behind the dessert table for a super awesome backdrop. In a venue with almost all white walls, it created a great focal point. Aunt Darlene also created a few extra strands NOT attached to the curtain, to hang from the ceiling over the dance floor.

Here’s a shot of our wedding cake and dessert table, where you can see the dots hanging in the background:

And a neat black-and-white shot from our clever photographer:

I won’t lie, this project took FOREVER. But I thought it turned out so well, and it was my favorite part of the decor. If you’d like to try this project on your own, go for it! Depending on your mood, you could spend some time on your own working on this mindlessly while watching TV and enjoying a glass of wine, you could invite your wedding attendants over and make a party of it, or you could delegate to someone wonderful in your life.

A few notes on the numbers I used, and then instructions to make your own!

• I picked out coordinating colors of scrapbook paper (make sure it’s not white on one side). About 50% of the paper I purchased was a dark plum purple, which would be my main color. The other 50% was divided evenly between another dark purple color, a light lavender purple, and gold. I recommend buying extra paper and returning what you don’t use — I found it difficult to purchase additional paper in the same shade from our local stores.
• The curtain rod is adjustable and ended up just over 7 feet wide. We wanted the length to be just under the length of the 8-foot table we were using it behind so that no strands would escape and risk being tugged on by people coming up to the dessert table.
• There are 39 strands total, tied to the curtain rod about 2 inches apart. 26 strands use paper circles and 13 strands use metallic sequins.
• For each paper circle strand, there are about 20 random circles, spaced 2-3 inches apart. For each metallic sequin strand, there are 28-30 circles, alternating purple and gold, spaced 2 inches apart.
  • If I was very careful about lining up my circle punches, I could get about 11 3″ circles and 14 1.5″ circles out of each 12×12 scrapbook page. I needed about 520 circles total, which would mean about 20 sheets of scrapbook paper. I bought 30 or more to accommodate error and to have extra strands to hang over the dance floor.
  • We needed about 400 sequins. We found packs of 250 at Hobby Lobby, so we needed just one of each color.
• The overall length of the curtain is only about 5 1/2 feet. Since we were using it behind a table, it didn’t need to be long at all as it didn’t need to reach the floor. From where we hung it, the strands dropped a few inches below/behind the table.

Supplies:

Scrapbook paper in chosen colors
Fishing line
3” circle punch
1.5” circle punch
1/16″ pinpoint hole punch
Adjustable curtain rod
Tulle (optional)
Posterboard or construction paper
Tape

Instructions:

Punch out circles in varying sizes (3″ and 1.5″ circle punch suggested) from thick paper of varying colors. Punch the edge of each circle with the 1/16″ hole punch.

String the circles in random order along the fishing line, tying a knot through the pinpoint hole of each circle. Space the circles 2-3 inches apart. Continue on the same strand until you have about 6 feet in total (or whatever desired length). Leave an extra 12-18 inches of fishing line on the strand.

With the extra length of fishing line, tie the strand to the curtain rod. (I recommend leaving extra space between the rod and the beginning of the paper dots. It’s easy to roll all the strands up the curtain rod if it’s too long, and the extra length may come in handy depending on where/how you hang it.)

If you are planning on MOVING the curtain to another location at any point, DO NOT skip this step: Cut 4” or so wide strips of posterboard or construction paper. Tape them in a row to the fishing line, backing the paper dots. This will keep the dots from tangling with each other during transport. (I guarantee that if you don’t do this step and instead try to roll the dots around the curtain rod, it will take you about 40 hours to disentangle them. BTDT.)

Continue tying circles and creating strands until the length of the curtain rod is filled.

Optional: When the curtain is finished, wrap the length of the curtain rod in tulle, tying knots on each end. Roll the curtain rod so that all the strands wrap around the rod for a few inches, using the empty fishing line to secure the tulle more closely to the rod.

Linking Up With:

Funday Monday from Still Being Molly
Block Party from Hungry Happenings
Made by you Monday from Skip to my Lou
Inspiration Monday from Twelve O Eight
Time to Sparkle from Love Grows Wild
Wonderfully Creative Wednesday from All She Cooks
Create It Thursday from Lamberts Lately
Life of the Party from The Grant Life
All Things Pretty from Sparkles and a Stove
City of Links Party from City of Creative Dreams