Not just a curtain!

I have another post started with a bunch of fun details that are getting knocked off while I wait for cabinets to dry and such, but I thought this item was special enough that it deserved its own post.

Who'd u thunk that a shower curtain would evolve into a major project?   ME!  Raising my hand!!  Because I don't do ordinary well..... OBVS.  Hello, have you caught onto me yet?   Yes, I could have thrown up the old shower curtain track, (I can't believe I actually held onto that grungy piece of plastic this long just in case my idea didn't work! You want it?  It's yours for shipping....) and I also could have bought a ready made curtain and cut it down.  However,  I saw this curtain at Anthropologie a year ago and fell in love with it.  

I pinned it  ( Pinterest is soooooo evil, it makes me do things....)        Here's my version.   UGH I wish I had ironed it before I took this pic. Imagine it ironed folks!

Did I make all those tassels by hand?   YEP!  I used embroidery thread in the same colors as the pendleton blankets (cause matching counts, LOL). The fabric is just a duck type canvas. I added three rows of horizontal pleats so I'd have something sturdy to attach the tassels to and hide all the knots underneath.

The shower curtain rod I bent out of 1/2 inch copper pipe.  I made a jig like this that followed the curve of the tub.

 The first time I tried to bend the pipe,  I filled the it with sand that was a maybe little too coarse and there were some voids (or I got a little too aggressive) and the pipe kinked.  DANG!

The second time I filled it with salt (yes, I washed it out really well after) and it worked like a charm. The pipe actually bent pretty easily.   I used copper bell hangers to attach it to the wall .  Where it attaches to my copper covered wood bulkhead wall I bolted it through with a fender washer on the other side. Attaching to the fiberglass endcap was a little trickier because I was afraid it would pull out.  I ended up epoxying a circle of aluminum to the fiberglass, reinforcing it with a few rivets and then screwing the bell copper hanger through that.

 I thought I might have to extend a support from the ceiling but with the three hangers it seems secure enough.  No monkey bar swinging on it but ...

Rear mount with a 90 degree fitting and a small straight run of pipe

 Front mount bolted thru wall. with a 45 degree fitting and another small straight return

I tried E6000 glue for the fittings but it didn't work.  I then used some Gorilla Glue clear  5 minute epoxy  which did the trick!

The copper hooks were actually fun to make,  I built another jig.  Drew the basic shape I wanted with a sharpie on a scrap piece of wood, drilled two holes with a forstner bit, added a couple of pieces of a 1/2 inch wood dowel and voila! I bought 8 gauge copper grounding wire from a big box store for the actual hooks.  Bolt cutters to cut, and a dremel with a grinding bit to burnish up the ends . Pretty simple and about $5 in materials. 

I even figured out if a hang a few hooks backward they can be used as towel hangers! Sweeeet.

I liked this shower curtain so much I made a room divider just like it #totallysickofmakingtassels.  It's on a spring curtain rod so we can use it to cordon off the bath area or use it up front when I want to read and my husband wants to sleep.  I'm kinda a night owl! Yes, my tub is on the bed, its a work in progress, deal with it!

In other matters,  my kitchen cabinet/counter is coming along nicely. And we've started the fresh water plumbing which is beyond exciting.  A couple of fast questions for you all.  How do I secure the fresh water tank to the floor?  I have VERY limited space. 

And where do I put the fresh water campground intake faucet?   Point me to your pictures of such. I'm assuming in the back left belly pan area?

Lots more to come soon I promise!