The Ugly Chair Project

I stumbled across this completely gross chair at a garage sale--but it was disguised with a blanket.  I was in need of a comfy reading chair for my home office--something that no one else would ever use except me.  The owner of the chair saw me looking at it and invited me to sit in it--it was wonderful!  Deep and soft, sturdy, and just perfect for reading.  I asked why she was getting rid of it, and that's when she took off the blanket.  I was about to turn away when she said something that immediately caught my attention:  If you take it now, I'll give it to you free. 

Well, needless to say, it went into the back of my truck.

At home, I threw it in the corner of the office, covered it with a blanket of my own, and there it sat until a few weeks ago when I decided to rearrange the office.  The chair, I thought, would have to go.  I would get a new one to replace it.  But then I remembered the curtains I had snagged at another garage sale...

I snagged 6 panels of these floor-to-ceiling curtains for a steal!  They are reversible and lined with fleece.

...and decided to try my hand at creating a slip cover.  I was inordinately please with the result, and it only took a couple of hours to finish.  Here's how it went:

First I separated the curtain panels so that I had two lengths of the same fabric.  I draped one of the lengths across the front of the chair, letting it drape over the back.  Then I tucked in the fabric around the back and arms:

Next I draped the second length of fabric over the bottom half of the chair and started tucking again. 

This time I used a long wooden spoon to really get the fabric tucked in well.

 

Next I started gathering the extra folds of the fabric and creating pleats.  I pinned the pleats with safety pins temporarily.

On the sides, I pulled the fabric around and pinned it.  I didn't worry about the bottom edges.  It was looking great everywhere else, and I had a plan for covering up the messiness at the bottom.

On the back, I pulled the edges of the fabric together and pinned those as well.

Next I took a long piece of narrow fabric (about 18" wide) and hemmed one long edge.  This would go at the bottom and cover up all the messiness.  I turned under the other long end.  I wrapped this piece around the bottom of the chair and pinned it in the back.

Last, I took a piece of fabric wide enough to cover the back, folded and sewed the edges, and pinned it to the back of the chair to cover up the edges of the narrow piece at the bottom and the space that the fabric did not cover.

At this point, everything was still pinned, so I got out a long needle and some strong thread and sewed the pleats.  But for all the rest I used this awesome fabric glue:

I just went around the chair and anywhere the fabric folded or was pinned or met up with another piece of fabric, I squeezed in a line of glue, pressed and held for a few seconds, and kept going.  Although this is great glue, super strong on fabric, I was concerned about using it on the pleats, because there were several folds.  That's why I used the needle and thread instead.

I still can't believe the finished product!  This was so much fun I am tempted to do it again with my "cool down" chair at school--another comfy chair for reading or just chilling out, but has some major flaws.  We'll see...  For now I'm just enjoying my "new" chair.

And we have to have a before and after:

Thanks for looking!

Until next time,

Go Get Crafty, Sister!

~Sister #2

Toy Box from Desk Drawer

See the drawers on the right?  The bottom two are really just one big deep drawer with two handles so it looks like two.

A few months ago I scored several drawers from an old wooden desk similar to the one above, only painted black.  They were just too sturdy to end up in the recycle bin, and I was sure I'd be able to put them to good use one day.

That day came recently when I decided the toys being stored in different places around our house needed to be weeded out and placed in one spot, so when the kids came over they would know just where to go to find their favorites.

 

The large drawer was already the exact size I needed, so no need to do anything to the basic structure.  

The bottom of the drawer, however, was made of thin wood and would never be able to withstand the rigors of life as a toybox.  

Lucky for me I had held on to an old cabinet door that was just the right size.  

I nailed that on with my trusty nail gun.  Yes, I left it white.  It wouldn't be seen anyway, and I was on a roll and didn't want to take the time to paint it and then let it dry.

Next came these sturdy castors from Ikea.  I love their castors, even though the largest ones are quite pricey.  These are the medium size, though, and just right for what I needed.  Plus, any larger and the box would not have fit the space I had in mind.

One side of the drawer had holes where two handles had been fitted in order to make it look as if it were really two drawers instead of one deep one.  

I covered the bottom set of holes with a random piece of hardware and glued one in place on the opposite side as well, so they matched.  Then I inserted a length of rope for the handle--long enough so the box could be pulled around by someone under two feet tall, lol.

I didn't bother with repainting the box.  The color goes with the room, and I love the beaten up weathered shabby chic look.  (Even if I'd painted it, the box would eventually look like this again.  :)

The final touch was adding the label.  I used my Robocut and some grey vinyl I had left over from another project.  The vinyl sticks great, but since I knew it would get a lot of wear and tear, I gave it several coats of Modge Podge. 

The box fits perfectly under the bench in my entryway.  Now the kids know exactly where all their toys are, and I have a less cluttered home to boot. 

Outdoor Fire Pit

In laying out my outdoor zen garden (as my mil likes to call it),  I included a spot for a fire pit.  We had a number of bricks stacked haphazardly behind our shed, but for a long time I was secretly holding out on using them for anything, hoping that those bricks would be some day be used in a kitchen add-on.  However, when neighbors added on to their similarly shaped home without the use of extra bricks, I realized that I was holding out for naught.  So, with a little premixed mortar and some planning help from my brilliant son, I went to work.

These bricks have been stacked behind our shed since we bought the house, over 10 years ago!  And who knows how long they were there before that.  I didn't encounter any snakes, but there were TONS of spiders and lizards!

My biggest issue in building the pit was the inability to cut my bricks. I had to plan around full bricks.  I had seen a youtube video describing how to make a rocket stove, which leaves space at the bottom between the bricks to feed the fire.  I thought maybe I could do something similar.

A few weeks before "the build" my son was visiting.  I  described what I wanted and between the two if us we came up with a design.

As you can see, he gave some serious thought to the project.  :)

 Everything I needed I already had:  the brick, the tools and even the mortar.

I've had this premixed mortar around for a while, and it's come in quite handy for quick tile projects. Even though this one was planned out before hand, it was carried out "spur of the moment" (as in, I woke up one day and decided it was the day to make a fire pit).

I had placed a squarish piece of cement to mark the spot for the pit, and I decided to 

just build around it.   First I laid the bricks in a square around the piece of cement, which will become the base of pit. 

The second row, however, would allow for an opening the size of a half of a brick.  It will be used later to feed the fire, or I can block the space with a broken piece of brick.

The mortar was real easy to put on, sorta like icing a cake.  Unfortunately, my cakes turn out a little messy, as did this project!

The next row was laid out the same as the first, as well as the third and fourth ones.  I was concerned about the stability of the walls, since I didn't stagger the bricks, but they seem fine.

Just for good measure, I slapped on spread some extra mortar on the inside corners.

The last row was not really a row at all.  I just placed two bricks at each of the corners.  This will hold up a grate for fires, or the wooden top I plan on making to cover it during the summer.

The mortar shows quite a bit in the photos, but with weathering and use, it will blend in nicely with the brick.  (At least that's what I keep telling myself, lol.)

At dusk, it's the perfect spot for a glass of wine.

With the sun almost all the way down, it's ready for some marshmallows on a stick!

First Set of Pillows

I ended up making several pillows (did I say several?  I meant a b** load) and here are the first--a knock off of popular pillows I've seen around Pinterest, and specifically, at Boldloft.com.   Making my own not only saved me money, but also allowed me to make mine more personalized for the couple I was making them for.

Obviously the couple are teachers, and met at school.  If you can't tell, he's trying to shoot arrows through her heart, and she finally takes pity on him and draws the arrow in herself.

I started with a large piece of butcher block paper and drew out the design.  Lucky for me it was stick figures! 

I transferred the design to fabric using carbon paper.

Okay, I don't have a picture of me sewing and trimming thread and sewing and trimming thread, but I did that umpteen gazillion times (it seemed like) until I had sewn over each tiny arrow, the chalkboard frame, the stick figures, and finally, the heart in red.

I love how the finished product turned out!

This was my inspiration.




Until next time,
Go Get Crafty!
~Sister #1

Pillowcase Inspiration

I snagged a bunch of nice pillows at a great price on Black Friday, thinking they'd make good budget-friendly gifts.  I've got plenty of fabric, so now I'm on the lookout for inspiration.  I mean, anyone can sew a few straight seams and a hem, right?  Well, maybe not anyone, but I was looking for something a little more creative.  So I turned to the internet.


And of course, I wasn't disappointed.  Here are just a few of the beauties I found:

Here's a super-cute pillowcase from The Cottage Home blog that uses different fabrics and treatments for the edges.  I love the girly-girl look of this and I could totally see making a few of these for the girls on my list! 

Not a diy, but I could see this mustache pillow from Urban Outfitters being an easy knock-off.

These beautiful fleece pillowcases from Flax and Twine look so snuggly and cute! 
Simple monograms and appliques would make them easy to personalize.

These next two I spotted on Etsy: 

I just love how using different fabrics and fonts can transform the theme of a pillow!

These pocket pillows by Suzanne at Just Another Hangup would be a fabulous way to give a small gift--just tuck a book or a small stuffed animal in the pocket. 

These adorable pillowcases from A Beautiful Mess would make sweet gifts for a wedding shower, or even a house-warming.

Isn't this pillowcase from over at Instructables.com a great idea for a toddler pillowcase? 
Just let them go with some washable markers, then pop it in the washer.

These "pillows" have been floating around Pinterest in one form or another. 
An easy knock-off using just a couple of lengths of fabric with strategically placed seams. 

And finally, a knock-off idea for the kids, or the kid in you.  Simple white pillowcases and fabric markers!

Until next time,

(when, hopefully I will have a few pillowcases completed)

Go Get Crafty, Sister!
~Sister #1