DIY Curtain Rod with Clay Finials

Happy Monday!

We are excited to share our DIY curtain rod & clay finials with you today:

This was not a quick project but it turned out pretty well!Let's start from the beginning, though, shall we? :)
After removing shabby blinds from every.single.window in the home we recently moved into and now having zilch for window treatments, I decided to make my own curtain rods to save a buck or two.  I found an awesome tutorial by House of Hepworths, {thanks Allison!} and got to work.  Since I had purged most of my "clutter" from the move and didn't have extra brackets, I picked some up at Home Depot for $5/set, {which was cheaper than Lowe's, which were $5/bracket.}  Score!  After snagging some eclipse panels at Walmart for just $9/each, I was set:

{Note: The picture on the left was taken before my hubby sawed the ends of the rods to window size.}  
Yes, they're up but bare!  {And please ignore my plain boring walls -rental! boo!- and the solid curtains are actually a print now but I can't reveal everything in one day, can I? *wink*}Aaah!  What am I missing?Finials! Kelli was making clay jewelry when I called her to ask where to get inexpensive finials and all I heard was "clay" so I headed right to Joann's to pick up a box of clay.  Random? Yes.  
And you read that right: clay.I figured this would be a major blogging hit or miss but what the heck?  At 10# of modeling clay for $5, {I had a 50% coupon,} I had to try!
I don't have much experience in working with clay but just shaped each piece as best I could:

I decided a ball was the easiest shape to create and played around with another few shapes.

1. I eventually decided on a simple design: circle, square and a ring-ish shape in between to join them.  All sizes were completely random and I matched them by set as best I could, eyeballing and comparing along the way.

2. While the clay is wet, press your square shape into the end of the curtain rod. Important: Use a slight rocking motion to create an indentation*; the clay will shrink once dry and you won't want the finial to fit too snugly onto the rod.  Scoop out the middle of the clay using a utility or butter knife.

3. Use a shish-kabob stick to hold the clay pieces together when drying. 

4. Once completely dry, glue pieces together.  I used Loctite Epoxy... this stuff STINKS like a perm and is uber sticky but, it worked wonders.  

5. Turn upside down to dry. Note: It says 20 minutes dry time but for clay-on-clay I discovered it was best to wait another full 6-12 hours.  Also, a light coat goes a long way ;)

6. All done drying, stuck together nice 'n snug, and ready for a makeover! 

 I then gave the whole set a fresh coat of bronze metallic spray paint:

 Once it was completely dry, I reassembled the curtain rod, added the new finials*...

*I made my finials so they fit snugly onto the curtain rod by simply "screwing" it on.  However, you can add a dab of hot glue to the inner edge of the finial to the rod for extra durability.  I may do this since I have a busy little one that likes to play with the curtains ;) 

....then hung my drapes:

I think I will add some curtain rings to finish it off but right now I am pretty happy with it as the finials really look like a professional bronzed metal- gotta ♥ that metallic spray paint!   

PS: The panels are now a print....  stay tuned later this week for the final curtain reveal! ;)
[We'll be linking to these fun parties this week]