Borden: Learn to make Roman shades on show

Information on furniture refinishing and “Nuno” felting will be the featured topics on “Creative Living” on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. and on Thursday at noon. (All times are Mountain.)

Creative Living

Bruce Johnson is the spokesperson for Minwax in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, and he’s going to show how to combine fresh ideas with old materials to add both charm and practicality to any room in your house or apartment.

Designer and crafter, Barbara Crawford will demonstrate “Nuno” felting, which is a Japanese fiber art technique. She’ll show how to create fabric from silk and wool roving by using soap, water, bubble wrap and some “muscle.” Her company is Crawford Designs and Sunset Galleries in Katy, Texas.

Information on making a four-diamond Roman shade, caring for flowers and learning how to cope will be the featured topics on “Creative Living” on Tuesday at noon and on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Terrell Sundermann is going to demonstrate making a "Four Diamond Roman Shade," which she says is the most requested design she gets. Her business is Terrell Designs and she’s from Englewood, Colorado.

Michelle Robertson, who is a floral designer, will share some tips on making sure your beautiful arrangement stays that way for as long as possible. She was formerly the Manager of Hestand's Floral and Gifts in Portales.

We know that lots of people are facing tough times, but according to Kirk Wilkinson, we shouldn't under-estimate our ability to cope. He will talk about this and other ways to stay positive in tough times. His book is called "The Happiness Factor" and he’s from Mesa, Arizona.

Step-by-step nuno felting

Nuno is a Japanese word that means fabric. Laminated felting is another name for Nuno Felting. The key to successful Nuno felting is: HMPA - Heat, Moisture, Pressure and Agitation. All these things are required to produce Felt and to Nuno Felt. Traditionally, nuno felting is done with bamboo mats and a lot of rolling with the arms. However, we have added our own twist to this art form and that involves bubble wrap, noodles, panty hose, music and our feet. Not only does the pressure from using our feet outweigh the arms, it’s a great way to combine making fabric and exercising. The best fabrics to use are silk gauze, chiffon and even some organza. The point being, it needs to be a loose or open weave. So, if you have an open weave boucle or wool, try it.

Pressure and agitation are the keys to working your wools into your silks. Along with rolling and moisture, the wools are worked into the silk to create a drapey and lightweight fabric that is easy to sew, and makes beautiful clothing items such as scarves. Working to music is a more pleasurable way to keep count on the rolling. It’s upbeat and you know when the song is done, it’s time to check your roll to see if the fibers are going through. It needs to be something that is fast paced and enjoyable. Butt rolling is probably the fastest way to nuno a silk piece. Not everyone can do this because it is tougher on the back. If you can’t, then hold on to the sides of the chair, and you might as well hold in your abdominal muscles and wait and get the benefits of rolling and sitting on the roll and begin rolling it to the music.

Try adding in other objects. For instance, if you find paper such as the sandwich papers from McDonalds that are coated, they can be used in your work and they add significant interest. You might also like to try using paper money. This is one technique that you can go minimally or go crazy and add in a ton of stuff as long as you have the glue and the glue is the wool.

“Creative Living" is produced and hosted by Sheryl Borden. The show is carried by more than 118 PBS stations in the United States, Canada, Guam and Puerto Rico and is distributed by Westlink, Albuquerque.