A virgin no more

I have never ever reupholstered anything, and I'm not sure this counts as 'reupholstering' in every sense, but still I am very proud.

I bought these Sat. in a frenzy that sets in when you realize 'Every relative we have is descending upon us for the Holidays' and you have 2 chairs in your kitchen.

We chose them for the price, $40 for all 4, for the quantity, and for the fact that it appeared the seats could easily be removed and reupholstered.

Here they are so far:

I removed the plastic that was covering the seats and then just put this fabric, a remnant I had from my valances I made in the kitchen, over the fabric that was already there.  LOVE the result!

I'm debating tackling the folding chairs we also snapped up... perhaps covering those seats in the complimentary Rooster upholstery fabric remnant I have.

And yes, next I am sanding the already reupholstered chairs and painting them [black]... but I killed the sander yesterday [OY!] so I am off to Home Depot first to see if it can be fixed, or cheaply replaced.   I also killed the iron.  Apparently it was not a good day for electronic devices in this house, and I kept my paws off the sewing machine for obvious reasons.  Does HD sell irons?  Cheap?

See the theme here [cheap]?

Alas a horse rescue friend is injured, so I have offered to go over and help her with her horses today... so HD and the chairs will have to wait 'til after that. S'all good.

Update:

The Sander?  Dead.  Sheared off the sander head.  

HD dudes advice, 'Don't press so hard.  Let the sander do the work'.

Easy for him to say.

I bought a quart of Behr [with primer] in  Beluga Deep Space and I love it!  It was a bit too blue on the brush, but dries a fantastic black.  What do you think?

Must dash to get the other 3 painted, the seats reattached and the house put together for the pilgrimage of Outlaws due to arrive... who knows when.  Apparently it is a secret when they will arrive, where they want to stay, and who exactly is coming.  My new mantra:

Poor planning on their part will not become a crisis on mine....

Poor planning on their part will not become a crisis on mine....

Poor planning on their part will not become a crisis on mine....

I so envy all those bloggers who so serenely and peacefully glide into the Holidays... I expect this to all come together with a resounding thud here.  *sigh*

Saturday Score

So today the husband, child and I headed out to see what Habitat for Humanity Restore had in store for us.
Oh the treasures!
They had the desk with hutch top I want... but it was too pricey for our budget.
They had a replacement kitchen hutch, but it wasn't juuuust right, so I passed.  They had several other furniture items, that were really lovely, but not right for where ever I meant to put them.

What we did find were 4 nice chairs to go with the pedestal table we bought last month.  With company coming for the holidays, and now even more company I had no idea about... we needed chairs.
We had 2, rickety, ugly chairs and the banquette... now we have these 4 chairs and the banquette.

These will get sanded, stained dark like the table, and in that box in the center I want to stencil an acorn/oak leaf stencil.  I have fabric left over from the valances that I can recover the seats with and they will be lovely!  All 4 chairs were $40!  And hubby sat on them to see if they were sturdy enough so they're solid.

I also was looking for an old window to make my sister an Xmas present.  She had seen an item at a craft show where someone took a window and somehow floated pictures in the panes to make it like a frame.
I scored this gem for that project:

Let's hope those security thingamabobs are not too hard to get off.

H4H wanted $5 for it.

I also picked up a cute hunt scene folding table for $5.  Then I found some simple wooden shelf brackets that were $1 each to put shelves in my laundry room, and an acorn shaped finial for $1.

Then we headed over to this thrift shop I had heard of, driven passed, wondered about but been too afraid to venture in solo.

WHAT A FIND!!!

First thing I spotted as we walked up was another metal doll crib like the other one I bought to make into a dog bed.  I was certain the guy would want too much.

He only wanted $10!!

Then inside I spotted these folding chairs.  Again we're pathetically short on chairs for the masses it appears are headed to our house for the holidays... so these will be awesome!

Cute right?  Again, $10!  TOTAL!

And finally, I spotted this... I have wanted one for my master bath for ages to go with the Asian/bird theme in there.  Too often they are way too pricey for me to snap up.  When he mentioned $5 I thought I would fall over.

It will go over the corner of my tub area after a good cleaning and light paint job

It's hard to see in this picture but the towel bars are bamboo look, and the walls around the tub are stenciled in a green/green meandering vine pattern.  I have some other verdigris, bird items in there as well [hooks, magazine rack, etc] so this bird cage will just finish her off.

I also found a cute shelf to place between the mirrors over the vanity... it was just too large of a blank space.  This will finish it off nicely with the bird plate I picked up last year at Pier 1.  Shelf was $5

I could have bought a million things in that shop.... so, still scared to venture in there alone, but now in a good way!

Hope you had a great Saturday... and now I'd better get busy!!

Ta Da!!

Ok, so nothing here is ever, truly done... but here it is

I am getting sick of black paint... between this and the 2 file cabinets that just don't seem to want to take paint... I'm almost over it.

Dog beds

The twin beds

The '4 Poster'

And the fabric just came!!!

It is not as pink as it looks in the pic, and the white is more ecru/antique white like the bed and the red is cranberry.

Here are a few others I am working on, I have 2 of these metal cribs to redo:

And these are the wooden file cabinets I'll put in my family room as end tables once repainted.

I sanded them yesterday

Yes, Progress!!

So, I got the China Cabinet top in the house, positioned, and I think it looks fabulous!

Yes there is a middle door to be put back on, but I really could not wait to share!

As a reminder, here's the 'before'

Remember the mirrored back?

And I also picked up my new projects today... 3 armoires

They have a rod, but the also have holes all the way up to position the 3 shelves that came with.

No idea really how I will redo these yet.  First they need a good sand, some holes filled, and some Kilz to hide the knots.  By the time I have all that done, I will have come up with some finish theme.

Suggestions welcome.

Progress? Sort of

The twin and the four poster dog beds have 2 coats of paint on them.
The fabric for the mattresses and duvets, visions of which have been dancing in my head for weeks now, is ordered [had to order, they did not have anything at my local Joanne] and on it's way.

The twin white beds are being done with red/cream mattress ticking mattresses, topped with a coordinating red/cream toile duvets [though there will be more to them than just toile].
The metal bed I have not touched yet as I am still trying to find the pinstriping tape, but the material for that one is ordered too, a darling lamb and blue fabric since I intend to keep some of the original blue on it and the one lamb.
The black 4 poster is the last one needing material.  I'm torn between doing the red/cream toile/ticking on it as well, or a black/cream ticking/toile [cliche?], or something completely different.
Thoughts?

Today I head out to pick up a big load of furniture.  There are a few pieces I'll sell, and a couple pieces for me that I have been searching for forever.  Once those 2 items I am keeping are here and painted, I can clear out the Family room, put in the carpet, and rearrange everything Juuuust so.

There's also a hutch nearby that could serve to replace the one I sold from my kitchen  and have regretted ever since...  spending that much more $$ though scares me a little [there's a reason I go into this venture in the first place, I'm a cheapskate!]  I'm thinking I'll play waiting game for the price to come down.
What's meant to be will be, right?  I spent quite some time the other day on Craigslist with a notebook, and a map looking at the plethora of hutches out there... I fell in love about a dozen times.  I need a bigger house!  Alas, most of them were too far away to make it feasible to snap them up.

In between all that I've been making dog sleeping bags [Xmas gifts] and stockings for our dogs, and one for my dad in the home.  The house is somewhat decorated, I made one of the wreaths I wanted to make,  menus for when my family and then the Outlaws come to visit are planned in my head, and MOST of my Xmas shopping is done!  That is the real relief right there.  My kid made out very well between Goodwill and the Toys R Us Star Wars Lego sale [there IS a God!].
If I could go back in time and invent Legos...... *sigh*
Why are those plastic connecting blocks SO expensive?

For want of about 2 dozen nails the China Cabinet would be done.  I really should finish her up when I get done writing here, so it can go out into the garage, get it put together, photographed, and sold.  A local business owner with lots of traffic offered for me to post a flier at her shop of whatever item I am selling.  That is an awesome offer I should jump on, and getting the China Cabinet nailed shut, literally, would be the perfect first item to advertise there.

My mom gave us the best gift this year, 6 month membership at the YMCA!  We went last night and hubby and I, in all our flabby-ness, worked out while my son played in their 'Kids Cave' where he gets to play with a Wii without me shelling out $$ for one!  Then we 3 went for a swim during family swim time!  After a month of working out at the Y, I'll be in better shape for skating on our pond when it finally freezes, and hopefully by spring I'll be ready to bike [so I need to save up for that Mountain  bike I want].

Finally, there is a lovely rescue horse who needs her beauty shots done so we can advertise her and find her true home.  This poor girls is just a gem... if I could take her I would snap her up.  I know it seems like I say that about each one, but truly there are about 4 I really mean it about... each one a potential 'heart horse' who I simply met at the wrong time.  While that is sometimes depressing to think about [all those lovely horses I can not have] it is also heartening that when I am ready for the next one, I'm fairly certain one will come along.  The best I can do now is take lovely pictures of her so her home can be found.  I'm trying to find time in the weekend for that as well.

Now, where did I put that hammer?

Dog beds, dog beds and more dogs beds

SO I also tripped across this gem at Goodwill, and had to scoop it up.

I'll work them into a twin bedroom set for doll or dog.  Aren't they just too cute?

So tomorrow is Thanksgiving at 'the home' with my father.  My family has always been a tad unusual, but even for us this is a new... twist.  When I get back I have these 4 dogs beds to dive into, and the China Cabinet to finish up.  Not to mention Christmas decorating and gift buying, and wrapping [I really hate wrapping, am I the only one who does?].

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.  Thanks for the advice, suggestions and the support as I dove into the Upcycling venture.  It means so much and I am truly Thankful.

Small Disasters, and on to the next thing

So here are pics of how the first China Cabinet back came out.  Yeah, not so good.

Beadboard wallpaper, how I love you.  But you do not stick to cheap plywood, and so I must bid you adieu for this project.  

NEXT!!!!

So back to Home Depot I went, kid with pink eye in tow, and I got actual beadboard plywood, custom cut by a charming and very helpful HD employee... with some trim pieces to cover where the beadboard 'seams' will be.  You see the back of the China Cabinet [CC] is 54" and bead board, if you want the pattern to run vertically, is only 48" and you just can not squint enough to make 6' of gap disappear, I don't care how myopic you are.

Aside: Why they make beadboard sections in 4' x 8' sections I can not tell you... who runs beadboard taller than 3' or 4' [other than the few who go floor to ceiling]?  If you must make it 4' x 8', wouldn't it make more sense for the pattern to run the other way at least?

So we're piecing 3 pieces together to cover the back of this CC... and covering the 'seams' where those pieces meet and hiding the mismatch of the pattern [cause it would have taken another whole $19 piece and more patience than I presently have to actually also match the pattern] with some trim.  Really, it's actually exactly the look I wanted in the beginning of this project.  Almost 'board and batten meets beadboard' which sounds like a bit much, but trust me, it's perfect.  Or will be.

And here's my most recent Goodwill find, soon to be doll/dog bed:

My sister had one of these, I even have a picture of her and my mom and dad on Christmas morning apparently the day she got it.  This one is pitted a bit, and has some very superficial rust so it will get sanded and painted and then a 'mattress' and bedding and become a doll or dog bed.  Fun!  Fun!  Fun!

What to do with the decals, though?  Well obviously the one on the end of the bed is toast, I mean a headless lamb would keep even a baby doll awake nights.  However, the decal on the headboard is still in great shape.  So, is there a way for me to spray paint this without obliterating the headboard decal and actually accentuating it?

I must also say how proud I am of myself for finally, FINALLY, remembering to take a true before picture!!!  Really, all I did with this was take her out of the box it came in!!  


Oh and did I mention that the kid with pink eye who I dragged hither and yon was PERFECT today?  Ok, well 'perfect' is not exactly a realistic expectation to begin with, who am I kidding... but he was awesome!  Not one word was said about not wandering, not swinging, climbing, slithering under, etc., etc.!  And my blood pressure was quite normal the whole time... through my own haircut, his haircut, a trip to Staples where we copied every document associated with building this house [another short story only I can make looooong], and the meeting of the minds that was cutting that beadboard juuuuust so!!  So proud!

The best laid plans of upcyclers... let this be a warning to ya'

So, remember my great plan to wallpaper a new back for the China cabinet?  Easy peasy lemon squeezie, right?  Yeah, not so much.

Turns out the plywood stuff I bought and primed does not hold wallpaper.
No way, no how.
Not if you tape it.
Not if you wrap it like a Christmas gift.
Nope.  Not even if you whine.

I would upload pictures, but really, must you see the trainwreck?  Trust me, you do not want to see this.

So plan B, back to Home Despot, and I'll spend a little more to buy actual bead board plywood that is primed and get it cut to fit and be Done.  With.  It.

So much for me being a thrifty smarty pants who thinks beadboard wallpaper can fix everything.
I mean sure it's good, but it's no duct tape!

As for getting this China Cabinet done in a week?
Yeah, I was a little prematurely confident there.  *sigh*

Slow and steady wins the race... right?

China Cabinet, day... oh, I have lost count.

On the other hand, I do think that it's turning out better and better for the time I am putting into it, than it would had I flipped it fast with a slap of paint like I intended.

Today, was another coat of paint in the interior, and wallpapering the back of the buffet portion.
I think it came out great:

And here's a pic of the exterior, as it is now.

I like the handles on the doors, but not their 'finish', and am having trouble finding what I want to replace on the drawers- cup pulls in 3.5"

Ideas?  Suggestions?

Things Black and White- Doing the 'Warm Weather' dance here

Update; So things are not going as planned on this 'I'll have this done in a week' project.
Did you know beadboard wallpaper, the love of my life, does not stick to plywood?
Let that be a lesson to you.


So we are back to square one trying to get a back on this China Cabinet.
*sigh*
The good news?  I sold my Armoire.  Christmas Shopping money!  Yeah


I'm heading off to Home Depot for the 15th time.  You?



All things being relative, of course.... but I need the temps to go up a bit so I can finish painting that China Cabinet!
I got a day of 50*+ yesterday and hit the interior of the China Cabinet after spending part of the day at the rescue helping clean and sort items in the new office/tack shed.

So here's my cream/black China Cabinet

In real life it's not as white as it looks here, more off white/cream

Detail pics of the doors

And here's the Inspiration,  black and white paint Persy, AKA Personified, a horse who was saved from the slaughter pipeline.  How we can allow this practice to continue in this day and age, I have no idea.
Call your legislators to get the bill banning slaughter here in the US and export for slaughter illegal.

Learn about the issue  here or here, and contact legislators
CAUTION Graphic pictures at some of the links above

He has just the kindest eye, and is a real sweetheart.

Alas he's still in need of a home.

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
-Mahatma Ghandi 

Part of the reason I started to 'upcycle' furniture was to raise funds to help support my local horse rescue, who helped Persy and so many horses.  I donate 10% of all profits from my sales to Equine Rescue Resource.  If you are interested in helping, I'm sure there's a local rescue you could offer time or funds to.  If you have trouble locating one, give me a shout as I'm in touch with several rescues all across the country.

Finally another project inspired by another bloggers question about my craft space [still under development though I am eyeing the play room!] 

It was half price day at Salvation Army, and I actually found exactly what I wanted to 'finish' my crafty space in the Laundry room:

'finish' is in quotes cause is anything ever really finished?

It was marked $9.99, but only $4.99 on Half Price Day- WOOT!

Now, how do I redo this stool?  Painting over the almost rusty metal is a given, I'm thinking the yellow goes red and the shiny metal bits go black... but I also want to reupholster the seat and back.  Ideas?  I'm thinking slipcover?  Since the back of the seat back and the bottom of the seat are metal and resisted my attempts to pry them open slipcovering [ie with an elastic so it just pops on and off to be washed] came first to mind.  

I have no idea what one can use to stick fabric to metal- is there something out there that would do that?  Something that could later be undone, in case it gets ugly at some point?