One of my favorite elements to use in my home is rocks. Which doesn’t sound very attractive, but I’m not talking about any old piece of earth. I prefer chunks of marble, fossils, minerals, and crystals. Mostly they just sit around and look pretty, but these particular rocks have a job to do: holding back my curtains. The bedroom curtains in these East-facing windows get shut at night, to help us sleep, and in the morning I open them wide to provide us (and my plants) with some sunlight. These crystal curtain holdbacks are the perfect way to keep the curtains pulled back, while also adding a beautiful natural element to the room.  And if crystals aren’t your cup of tea, you could easily make these with agate slices, fossils, geodes, or any other type of mineral you like.

The tiebacks match my geode-topped jewelry box. More evidence that I’m a sucker for a pretty rock.

Supplies
Wooden dowel – I used one with a 3/4-inch diameter
Drill
Screw connectors/dowel screws – I used these, but something similar like these should also work.
Crystals – I used zeolites that were about 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide. I bought them in person at Paxton’s Gate, but try Etsy if you don’t have a local shop that sells crystals.
Glue – I used E6000
Paint
Paintbrush
Saw
Pliers
Wall anchors for hanging (optional)

Steps:
1. Measure and cut two pieces of dowel of equal lengths. I cut mine 4.5 inches each.

2. Drill a hole in one end of each dowel.

3. Using a pair of pliers, screw one end of a screw connector into each dowel.

4. Paint the dowels to match your wall/decor. To hold them upright while painting, it’s helpful to screw them into a scrap piece of wood, foam, or a cardboard box. I did two coats of paint.

5. After your paint has dried, glue the crystals onto the ends of the dowels. Let dry overnight.

6. Now drill a hole in your wall near the window frame, and screw in your curtain tiebacks. If you don’t hit a stud, you’ll want to use wall anchors so that things are nice and secure.