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Sept 24

Hi. Hard to believe this month...heck; this YEAR!, is very nearly over. Up here in way northern coastal CA we really didn't even have a summer this year. It all just goes by in a 60 degree WHOOSH!

Last time I mentioned I wanted to share pics of a chair I reupholstered. I've always been a big fan of slipcovering (which I just kind of figured out on my own) but tufting and everything being tacked down scared the heck out of me! Last month when I went to visit my mom I brought this old chair of my grandma's. Mom had reupholstered it to match my bedroom at the time 20 years ago, but it had sat in the garage for about the last 15 years. 

First and foremost, you very carefully take it apart because the old pieces of fabric and trim become your new pattern pieces. 

As soon as I saw the tufted cushions exposed I had the big AHA!. Seeing it all undone made it all make sense. :-)

Sweet shape, huh? They sure don't make furniture as solid as they used to! For years there was a tag attached to the bottom of this chair with my grandma's name on it as it had been custom made for her in 1954. Sure wish that didn't get lost.

So. from here I figured you basically have two tufted cushions that get nailed on and then set about covering the rest. 

Keep in mind we used the old piece of fabric to mark (with pins) where the new buttons would go. My tips illustrated in the pic above are: Sew your button through a few layers of batting (on the back side) so they won't just pull through and use a strong poly cord like this kite string we nabbed at the $store.

This was about the time mom threw her hands up and said, "Well, you're not listening to me and you seem to know what you're doing now so I'm going to go quilt." ;-) Thanks mom. I didn't want to replace that wide ruffled solid strip so I married the front to the back with this piping. Above I simply glued it on and held in place with pins while it dried. (seriously, it had taken us about 3 hours to remove all the nails that had been used when in fact some glue here and staples there are also just fine.) 

It's very nearly impossible to hide the nails when attaching the back piece so I just went bold and used these nice decorative silver nail heads.

Never really understood how easy it is to attach the skirt. We just cut 1/2" strips of cardstock, tacked it all around, and then

Voila! Clever. I learned a lot by redoing this chair, and I don't think I ever would have attempted it without mom's help, so again; THANK YOU! 

Next month she is going to attempt to show my how to crochet. I'd be happy if I could just add a cute little border to pillow case edges. I'll let you know how it goes :-)

Sept 14

Hi! Back again this week as promised :-)

I've long been a collector of the fabulous and LARGE (useful) images that Karen at Graphics Fairy so generously shares. I guess so many people have wanted to share what they made using the images obtained from her site that she started a second blog; http://www.graphicsfairy-diy.com/. I think I came across it while jumping around looking at projects using the Annie Sloan chalk paint I mentioned in the last post. Anyhooo....

I went back and looked at what I had collected from Karen way back when (I was creating on a more daily basis) and remembered how much I LOVE this image

Still blog hopping, I came across BlockPosters, which is a very cool free site with numerous possibilities. I soon put two and two together and turned the above image into a poster that spanned 8 sheets of paper. Saved it to a disk, took it to be printed in color, came home and did the good old glue it face down transfer method that I linked to in the last post, and got this

I did do a good job of matching up the edges, but as I wetted and rubbed, the edges wore down--as you can plainly see. Also, I didn't like that the paper ended before the table edge.

Back to the drawing board, I used a photo editing program to crop and size the image exactly to the table top, saved it to disk and took it to Staples to be printed.  

Came home, glued that new $30 poster face down directly over the existing transfer, and can you guess what I got?

My first thought when I opened my eyes the next morning (let the glue dry overnight) was that these images are still somewhat transparent. Surely, the first image will be showing through somewhere? On the other hand, because of the glue finish of the first layer, this second layer peeled off beautifully, as you can see above.

Yep. There's the double image that I should have KNOWN would happen! ARGH... If you know me at all you know that yes--I did march right back to Staples and order another $30 poster. But this time it was gonna be good! lol. 

I put a coat of white paint over the whole mess and let it dry overnight. Then I glued down my final attempt. I spread the glue too thin toward some edges so I got the iron (no steam) and pressed it down pretty hard and that seemed to do the trick. 

While it was completely drying I set about antiquing the table with a mix of Annie Sloan clear wax and a couple of her different colors that I had bought in sample bottles.

When I went to wet and rub this last attempt off, a good bit of the color came up with the paint it was stuck to (probably where I ironed!). If I was smart I would have remembered how fabulously the second attempt had transferred because it had been glued down over a glued top, you know?  ah well. Live and learn. I was actually scared for a minute when John walked through the room while I was removing that last layer of paper and said, "OH, failed again, huh?" NO!!! IT CAN'T BE!!! lol.

I think I did a fair job using paint to blend it all in together. All I knew for sure was that I was NOT going to attempt it a 4th time!

If nothing else, I get points for sheer determination, huh?

I like it a lot, and if I ever DO outgrow it (as my mom says I always do) then I'll pass it on to someone else who will love it, rather than do it over.

Now I'm looking at all the other pieces I have stacked in the garage with new eyes. And looking at the bins of posters at Michaels and the like as well! The sky's the limit!

But I will do it the RIGHT way, which to recap all of the above is as follows (I think):

Get a professionally printed posted that is sized correctly for your piece.

Spread a layer of glue over the surface and let dry.

Now spread a second layer of glue and burnish the poster face down onto it real good. 

Lightly spritz with water and carefully remove all paper bits.

Seal with several coats of your choice--polyurethane, varnish, etc.

:-)

Be back soon to share the results of FINALLY learning how to reupholster a chair.  

Sept 12

I've been having fun re-doing some old wood furniture pieces. I happened upon The Purple Painted Lady's blog last month and was enlightened by her transformations and the use of Annie Sloan Chalk paints and waxes. I was drawn by the continued mentions that the paint will stick to anything, with virtually no prep. Around that time Ace Hardware was promoting their new paint which is a combined primer/paint. We all know how primer sticks to everything, right? so I thought if I got it in a flat finish it may be cheaper yet comparable to chalk paint. I had a coupon for a free quart and got gray (I think because I just couldn't decide on a color) and painted this cabinet I had been hanging on to in the garage for quite some time. It was (like most pieces start out) a blah brown. 

I had also ordered three little sample 4oz jars of the AS paint, as well as the finishing wax in both clear and dark. This piece is the result of the Ace paint with a top coat of the Annie Sloan dark wax. I used this technique to transfer the words across the middle shelf. (yay! So glad I just found that gal's tutorial because now I don't have to type it all out).

Things change over time and that far end of the kids' play area in our family room is no exception. Where once hung the ABC quilt over dolls and toys, now hangs a map of the United States over a desk and books. This is now an 'education corner'. Years ago I snagged that IKEA embroidered lamp shade at a yard sale and FINALLY took it a couple weeks ago to the hardware store and asked for help to make it a hanging lamp. I suspect that if I'd been 30 pounds (or 20 years) lighter the guy at the electrical counter would have just put it all together for me but I was equally happy that he sent me home with all the right parts and instructions and it actually works. :-) 

I hadn't planned on actually cordoning off the space, but one day last month as I was driving by the nearby thrift shop I saw this tri-fold screen (again, a big blah brown piece) and just knew I needed to bring it home. When that little voice pipes up; "You're not ever gonna see THAT again!" I just have to buy it. 

First I spray painted it with my all time favorite Robin's Egg Blue, then I dry brushed the flat Clark+Kensington version of REBlue paint over that. Then, after some distressing with sandpaper and screwdrivers I rubbed the Annie Sloan dark wax over it all. It may not stay looking this way forever but I'm glad I bought it when I saw it. 

I still have several fun pieces waiting for transformations in the garage but I'm not sure how much I can keep bringing in my house!

I'll pass this on too, before I forget; next time I'm going to try this recipe for chalk paint that I came across while googling today. Will be interested to see the difference between that and the primer paint I've been using. Much as I love the finished pieces I've seen, I will avoid as long as possible paying shipping on $37 quarts of paint.

Oh--That big empty aquarium? I couldn't leave it at a yard sale for only 10 dollars, but what to put IN it has become quite the dilemma. What we're reading about most turtles is that they get so big they really need to live in the back yard. Most of the lizards and geckos we saw at the pet store seemed so dang FAST and jerky, I just have all sorts of stress thinking about cats chasing them under couches. Any suggestions or testimonials would be greatly appreciated! 

Well, all those pieces were just supposed to be the lead up to a pretty cool end table I finished this week but if I'm tired of typing you're probably tired of reading so I promise I'll be back in a day or two to share.