Queen of the Castle - DIY Upholstered Bench

Our little Carly is quite the princess. She's slowly inching her way up to queen status, and I didn't help matters when I gave her a thrown on which to sit.

Our front window has always been a design dilemma for me. For one thing, it's huge. Ginormous, really. Also, it is fashioned with...wait for it...vertical blinds. Ugh. What is this, a doctor's office? But what's a good solution? While there are many options, I have yet to figure out the perfect one.

Before getting Carly, I toyed with the idea of putting a few arm chairs and maybe a table in front of the window. I also really liked the idea of a long bench that offered extra seating. Once we adopted Carly and made the decision that we wouldn't let her on the couch, I thought she should have something comfy to lay on too. As a bonus, she would get to look out the window and go crazy staring at all the rabbits lurking on the other side. Pesky wabbits.

I made a trip to one of the local Salvation Army stores and quickly found exactly what I needed: a small and basic wooden coffee table. I think I paid a little more than $20 for it.

She's really excited about her new bench. Can't you tell? 

I also scored a piece of upholstery fabric for under 3 bucks at the same Salvation Army. Yahoo! What you see is the back of the fabric. I did wash it, but as you can see, I did not iron it. It's just not my thing, okay?

After securing the find of the century a run-of-the-mill coffee table from the 90s, I ran to Joann Fabrics with a 50% off coupon in hand. Here's where it gets ugly. A 4-inch piece of foam that I had cut to the length of my coffee table was 60 dollars. Six. Zero. Whoa, Nelly. I knew it would be expensive, but dang, girl! Figuring I was in pretty deep at this point, I went for it. I also grabbed a large sheet of light-weight batting.

After getting my loot home, I enlisted the help of my favorite husband, Rich, to help me pry the table top off the base. There were several screws involved which were pretty easy, but the thing was also glued down. Once we got it off, I used a marker to trace along the outside edge of the table. Then, I used a serrated bread knife to cut that baby down to size.

Next, I laid the still-not-ironed fabric flat on the floor face down followed by the batting followed by the rectangular cut of foam followed by the table top face down. Before laying the foam or table top on my fabric, I made sure to keep them in line with the pattern on the fabric. It's hard to see in this picture, but I could see the pattern through the back, so it was pretty easy in this case. 

After folding the batting and the fabric over the sides for a rough-measure, I cut the batting so I had enough to wrap and staple. Then, I cut the fabric about an inch and a half wider. Because the pattern on my fabric was pretty linear, it was easy for me to cut a straight line.

I wrapped the batting around and used a staple gun to secure it in several spots. As you can see, I wrapped it kind of like I would a gift. I tried a few different ways, but I thought this looked the best. 

Using the same gift-wrapping method, I wrapped the fabric around and folded the longer edge inside of the batting to give it a more finished look. Again, I stapled in several spots to make sure it was secure. In order to smooth out the many wrinkles, I just made sure to stretch it a bunch before each staple, always making sure to keep it lined up nicely.

Before reattaching the table top, I sanded and stained the legs with Poly Shades Mission Oak, the same color I used on the library file cabinet I worked on a while back. I used the same method this time -- sanded, stained, rubbed with steel wool, stained, let dry for 24 hours.

Finally, using the original holes and screws, my darling husband secured the new bench top into place.

This picture was taken the day we finished it, so you can see the wrinkles really weren't a problem in the end. I really do need to get in the habit of ironing, though. This project sure didn't teach me any lessons.

As you can see, Queen Carly really enjoys her spot on the thrown. Check out the dog-nose-window behind her. She's regal and she's artistic. We got really lucky with this one.

And because I can't resist, this:

All in all, I spent about $75. Considering similar items often cost $150 or more (I've seen them at as much as $699), I'm happy with the outcome. Plus, I can't really put a price on that cute little sleepy face.

Serious Upcycle: Ceiling Fan Update & DIY Mercury Glass

Bada bing, bada boom. That cliched expression pretty much sums up how I feel about what I accomplished with $14.04 and 2 hours of my life. Here we go.

The dreaded ceiling fan. So practical. So windy. So aesthetically displeasing. Especially this one, circa 1992 (or so). I didn't really want to remove the fan altogether and replace it with something else. For one thing, it would most likely have been pricey. For another, I might not have liked it too much in the end. So, for the last few days, I've been pondering ways to transform this monster into something prettier. Should I paint it? I thought about painting stripes or cheverons on the blades. Nope. Too crazy/trendy. I thought about spraying the hardware silver and the blades white. Maybe. Then it hit me: mercury glass!

I've pinned a ton of DIY mercury glass tutorials (my favorite being this one), and I've been meaning to try my hand at the magic. This was the perfect opportunity. Having read on several tutorials that the only place to find Krylon Looking Glass spray paint is Hobby Lobby, I headed straight there. On the way, I continued to ponder about how I would deal with the gold hardware and the blades. While in the spray paint aisle, I decided I'd use Krylon's Brushed Nickel for the hardware and leave the blades as-is for now. I wanted to think about it a bit longer before doing any irreversible damage. I'm known for making rash, impatient decisions. Just ask my mom my husband my sister my cousins my co-workers anyone I've ever met.

There she blows before I began spraying but after I prepped the ceiling. Yikes. I think Rich might have murdered me if he knew I was spray painting inside the house in a room that I just spent three days painting. Spoiler alert: I'm not dead. What Rich doesn't know (until he comes home or reads this) won't kill me. No worries. Carrie @ Dittle Dattle showed me it was okay to use the following method. Yes, if Carrie @ Dittle Dattle told me to jump off a bridge, I would.

Before painting the hardware, I had to remove the blades. Here's where it gets good. After taking the first blade off, I discovered that they were reversible! Super! Who chose to use the lighter side? The dark side is so much better. Check it out!

Once the blades were all down, I donned this mask. Safety first, people. I am Luke's father. That's the second Star Wars reference in 5 sentences, and I've never seen even one of those movies.

After a couple coats of brushed nickel, the motor and hardware came out looking more like this:

Below are the original glass shades. What is the technical term for those things?  As you can see, they are bumpy. Anyone who knows me knows I detest bumps. Let's not talk about it.

To achieve the desired effect, I sprayed the inside of the shades with a couple thin coats of the looking glass spray. Some of the tutorials I read suggested several coats (up to 5 or 6), but I went with 2 because since it's a light fixture, I wanted to maintain the opacity.

After applying 2 thin coats, I sprayed the painted surface with a 50/50 mixture of white vinegar and water. I let that sit for about a minute then  dabbed with a paper towel moistened with the same vinegar/water mixture.

While wiping, my fingerprints created this masterpiece. He looks happy
about the result, no?

Here's a shot of what it should look like after you've dabbed and wiped. As always, the photo doesn't do it justice. You'll have to try it out and see for yourself!

I could hardly wait to see the final results after replacing the blades on the reverse side. I ripped the newspaper off the ceiling, jumped off the ladder, and scoped out my upcycled ceiling fan. Behold:

It's so much easier this way:

Before



After

So what do you think? Are you as thrilled about this upgrade as I am? At the very least, I dusted the fan blades. At the very best, I got a new fan for $14.04.

P.S. If you enjoy reading my blog, please follow me by clicking "Join this site" and/or entering your email address over to the right of the page. If you want to see what projects I have worked on or plan on working on in the future, follow me on Pinterest by clicking the link to the right! If you like it, pin it!

I'm linked up with:
The Shabby Nest
Jennifer Rizzo
Simple Home Life
Craftionary
The Trendy Treehouse
Tidy Mom
My Romantic Home
Chic on a Shoestring
Beyond the Picket Fence
Fireflies and Jellybeans

Pinterest Challenge: Fall Edition!

We interrupt the pinning in progress (because you know you are) to bring you a special announcement: the Pinterest Challenge: Fall Edition is here! Once per season, a bunch of crazy people get together over the Internet to share the projects that they've pinned and punched in the face. By punched in the face, I mean they've completed the project for themselves (maybe with a few tweaks here and there based on their own taste).

Hosting this challenge are Sherry @ Young House Love and Katie @ Bower Power. Their co-hosts this time around are Sarah @ Ugly Duckling House and Carme @ Our Fifth House. These four are among the best bloggers out there. (I just haven't been discovered yet.)

I've joined the last two Pinterest challenges with my Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Loaf and my 1940s wood file cabinet redo. Having just realized that Fall is already upon us, I'm still not 100% sure what I'll complete. Here's what's currently pinspiring me:

An upcycled dresser drawer made into an ottoman by Becky @ Beyond the Picket Fence,

A DIY sunburst mirror by Andrea @ Decorating Cents,

or something gray and yellow for my next room redo
(styleboard created by Chelsea @ Tis So Sweet).

 

Please consider joining me for the Pinterest Challenge: Fall Edition. Along with many most of you, I am so very busy and don't have a heck of a lot of time to pinning and projecting; but here's what's awesome about the challenge: 1) It's meant to be fun. Don't stress yourself out by biting off more than you can chew. Do something simple and manageable if you don't have time for much more. 2) It can be used as a stress reliever! If you're bogged down with stuff at work or home, use the challenge as a chance to take time for yourself!

 

The rules are simple:

• Give credit where credit is due. Link your project to the original source.
• Shut up and commit! Take one week, and only one week, to complete the project of your choice. Projects should be completed by Tuesday October 30. You have the whole weekend!
• Come back here on October 30 (and visit YHL or BP) to share your results.
• Have fun! :) Projects can be anything you've pinned -- a recipe (MOM), a piece of art, a furniture repurpose, a sewing or knitting project you've been dying to try. The possibilities are endless!

Please join me! It's so much more fun to do things together! :)

P.S. If you enjoy reading my blog, please follow me by clicking "Join this site" and/or entering your email address over to the right of the page. If you want to see what projects I have worked on or plan on working on in the future, follow me on Pinterest by clicking the link to the right! If you like it, pin it!

Patio Furniture Upgrade

Remember those outdated gliding patio chairs that we were gifted way back in the Spring? I told you I was going to have them updated by the time I went back to school. Well, school has been back in session for almost two months now, and I just finished the upgrade last night.

This is what the chairs looked like pre-upgrade:

 

I decided to go with a trendy color combo for the update: grey and yellow. After measuring the original cushions, I bought 3 yards of a yellow and white geometric indoor/outdoor print from fabric.com.

 

 

When the fabric came in, it sat around for quite a while. A few weeks back, I finally got around to recovering the cushions. After carefully measuring a second time and cutting the fabric, I sewed two pieces together on three sides. Then, I slipped the original cushion inside the pocket. Finally, I used my  Dritz snap fastener and some size 16 (7/16") snaps to close the top. That way, I can easily remove the covers for cleaning.

 

After covering the cushions, the filthy chair frames sat outside for another few weeks. I finally decided to get my butt in gear this weekend. I pulled out the spray paint and got going. After thoroughly cleaning and drying the frames, I gave them each a coat of gray spray primer by Valspar. Then, I added a coat of gloss protective enamel in gray by Rust-Oleum.

 

When I got home from work this evening, I went straight to the garage to add the cushions to the frames to see what the final product would look like. I have to say, I'm pretty happy! Check them out...

 

 

What do you think? If you look closely at the first picture, you can see that the dark green strips from the original cushions show through a bit. It's pretty subtle, so it doesn't really bother me a whole lot. It certainly wasn't worth the extra work to sew in a lining! I just love that snap fastener. It should make it way easier to clean the covers since they'll get filthy dirty before I know it!

 

It's too bad that I didn't get my butt in gear early enough to enjoy the chairs during the Summer. We may squeeze out a couple more mild days before they get put away for the Winter, but we should get much more use out of them next year.

 

P.S. If you enjoy reading my blog, please follow me by clicking "Join this site" and/or entering your email address over to the right of the page. If you want to see what projects I have worked on or plan on working on in the future, follow me on Pinterest by clicking the link to the right! If you like it, pin it!



DIY Unpaper Towels

In keeping with what seemed to have become a theme last (Last?! Is it Fall already?!) Summer, I went ahead with something I'd been seeing all over Pinterest: unpaper towels. I could link up with about a hundred bloggers who have created the reusable towels, but I have to say, my favorite tutorial has to be Lilly's at Cottontail Babies. I'll explain exactly why a bit later.

To get the party started, I ran to JoAnn's with coupon in hand and purchased 1 yard each of flannel and terrycloth. Most of the tutorials I checked out suggested a pretty, decorative flannel and a coordinating terrycloth. I just didn't see the point of choosing a cutsie fabric since the unpaper towels would be stored underneath my kitchen sink. It would make more sense to pick out something specific if they'd be displayed on the counter. I picked the least expensive terrycloth I could find (on sale for $2.50/yard) and a reasonable flannel for $7.99/yard. (I used a 60% off coupon for that.) I walked out of the store about $6.00 poorer.

When I got home, I cut the fabric into 11-inch squares. I got 9 squares of each out of the fabric I had.

 

Then, I pinned each of the pieces of terrycloth to a piece of flannel.

 

 

Then, I sewed along the edges with about a 1/4-inch seam allowance. I don't have a picture of this, but I ended up leaving the edges raw. (As opposed to sewing them inside-out and turning them inside-in for a cleaner, more finished, look.) I figured since these would be kitchen towels that would be stored under the sink, it didn't really matter what they looked like.

 

I also sewed a big X on the towel (from corner to opposite corner both ways) so that when they were washed, the sides wouldn't come apart.

Next, I used Dritz snap fastener and some size 16 (7/16") snaps to help create the effect of actual paper towels. Again, no picture for this step. (Sorry. Sometimes I get wrapped up in the process and forget to snap them. I need to be a better blogger.) If you have or purchase these pliers and snaps, the directions on the back of the package are easy to follow. Most importantly, when making these towels, you need to fasten an outtie (the part of the snap with the nub) on both corners of the right side of the square. Then, fasten an innie (the part of the snap with the hole) on both corners on the left side of the square. This ensures that when you use and wash the towels, you can snap them back together correctly.

 

For my unpaper towels, I recycled a used paper towel roll. Some tutorials suggest making a roll out of plastic, but my way is free! I simply secured a snap using the same fastening method to the top and bottom of the cardboard roll. Check it out.

 

 

Sweet, huh? Finally, I rolled the pieces of fabric together for a $6 unpaper towel roll that can be used for years!

 

 

Back to why I really liked the Cottontail Babies tutorial. In short, she was honest. To wrap up her post, she admitted a few of the very things I was thinking on my way home from the store:

• It's going to take some effort on my part to snap them back together after washing them. I hope I don't end up just folding them and stacking them under the sink.
• I could have skipped the sewing part and simply fastened snaps to cheap washcloths instead. But they're durn cute.
• This could have been yet another use for upcycled T-shirts. It would have been free. I only paid about $6 for the fabric, though, so if I use them like they should be used, they'll end up costing pennies over the next few years.
 

Even though all this is true, the project was fun and it's super cute. I think it could be a pretty cute (and inexpensive) housewarming gift! Let me know what you think!

 

P.S. If you enjoy reading my blog, please follow me by clicking "Join this site" and/or entering your email address over to the right of the page. If you want to see what projects I have worked on or plan on working on in the future, follow me on Pinterest by clicking the link to the right! If you like it, pin it!

 



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Upcycled T-Shirt: DIY Scarf & Headband

After creating 15 DIY reuseable shopping bags, I had a bunch of scrap cotton fabric laying on my living room floor. Instead of throwing it away, I used it to create some cute accessories.

I had already pinned a bunch of DIY T-shirt scarf tutorials, so I didn't have much research to do; but because I only had a tiny bit of fabric left (the sleeves and bottom 2 or 3 inches from my Ts), I only had a couple options. I picked Rabbit Food For My Bunny Teeth as my teacher. I followed her instructions pretty closely with a few tweaks here and there. To do this yourself, all you'll need is an old T-shirt (the larger the better) and some scissors.

To make the scarf, I could really only use the few inches I salvaged from the bottom of the shirts. I had bunches of colors, so I had to pick and choose from what coordinated. If you try it, I'd use an entire shirt from the bottom hem to the armpits. The loops need to be long enough to drape around your neck a few times, so anything above that doesn't work. I cut pieces measuring about an inch (give or take a bit) along the width of the shirt. (Sorry for the lack of pictures. I was busy trying to figure out what I was trying to do.) Your pieces should remain as loops. Do not cut them open! Cut pieces until you no longer have any fabric left. If you go from the bottom of the hem to the armpits, I think you'll end up with about 15 loops. If you'd like a bulkier scarf, repeat these steps with a second T! Save the bottom hem for later.

Once all your loops have been cut, put your thumbs inside and pull outward, stretching the loop as far as it goes, until the fabric begins to curl inward. Repeat this step for each loop.

Here's where you'll need the bottom hem line. Cut the bottom hem line so it becomes one long piece.

Gather all of your loops.

Then, using the last 4 to 6 inches of the hem you cut, tie a knot in any random place around all of the loops. You'll want to leave a bit fabric hanging for later. With the remaining hem, wrap the loops in an overlapping fashion up and then down again for about 3 or 4 inches. When you come back down, tie the end of the hem piece with the piece you left hanging from earlier. You can either trim those pieces short or leave them hanging a bit to add some interest. I left mine hanging a bit.

Depending on the look you're going for, wrap the finished product around your neck once or twice. I like the twice-wrapped look!

I would have liked it to be a bit chunkier. In the future, if I do this again, I'll definitely use more loops. I was working with what I had!

After I was done with the scarf, I made a headband. Rabbit Food For My Bunny Teeth also has a DIY Workout Headband tutorial. I followed that one pretty closely too. I prepared 5 loops exactly the same way as I did for my scarf (by cutting and stretching). For this one, I cut them to make 5 long strings (instead of loops). Then, I taped the 5 strands together and used a binder clip to secure it to the piping on my couch so I could weave without worry. Remember the days of making friendship bracelets with embroidery floss? It's kind of like that!

The weaving pattern is very simple once you figure it out, but it's a bit tricky at first. Make sure your strings are completely separated so you can clearly see the order. First, you bring the far left string over the second farthest left string. Then, you bring the middle string over the second farthest left string (which was originally the farthest left string). Then, you bring the farthest right string over the second farthest right string. Next, you bring the middle string over the second farthest right string (which was originally the farthest right string). This pattern continues until you're finished weaving. Finally, measure the headband around your head and double knot the strings at the top to the strings on the bottom. Each of the strings (top and bottom) should be double knotted to a different string on the opposite end. That way, it's pretty secure. When measuring, keep in mind that the fabric you're working with is cotton and will stretch considerably. I went with a snug fit knowing that it will stretch over time.

Rabbit Food For My Bunny Teeth offers a fabulous pictorial. Check it out since I'm not doing a very good job:

Rabbit Food For My Bunny Teeth

When it's all done, it should look something like this:

Pretty cute, huh? I was pleased to complete 3 fun, simple, and free projects using 15 old T-shirts! What do you think?

P.S. If you enjoy reading my blog, please follow me by clicking "Join this site" and/or entering your email address over to the right of the page. If you want to see what projects I have worked on or plan on working on in the future, follow me on Pinterest by clicking the link to the right! If you like it, pin it!

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