I did it!

Well, I finally got up the courage to just tackle the huge job of making a slip cover for my couch. I spent an entire evening looking at every blog post here and looking at every before and after here, I decided I just could not live with my couch any longer...So I washed the drop cloths I have had hanging out in my craft room closet and went to work.

Here is what the couch looked like before...


UGGGGLY!

Here is my progress so far.
I am going to tackle the cushions this week. I have decided to ditch the back cushions and make pillows instead...ahhh! It is so nice to have some time off...

Furniture...Gone White...before and after

I thought it was about time I shared with everyone the reason why I have been seen with white paint on my hands for the last six months...I have been painting the world white...After moving into my new house, I decided my dining room set (that was pieced together from various places over the years) needed an update...I can't count how many people have come in and asked me when I got a new dining room set...a little white paint goes a long way!


SO here it goes...here is the buffet...(sorry for the poor picture I took it in the garage on a sunny day) before...


And AFTER...
Dining room table...BEFORE...(notice the green walls...they got a coat of white too!)
and AFTER...
China cabinet...BEFORE...

and AFTER...(notice the white walls?)


Looks like new furniture, doesn't it?

My Twins...

SO I wanted to share my recent finds and new projects...I have been scouring Craigslist and asking all who would listen... to find two matching chairs (twins). On Monday I found a listing for two vinyl chairs for $25... I was not thrilled about the vinyl and they looked small, but I was recovering them anyway...so I decided to drive out and take a look...
...And I was pleasantly surprised!!! They not only were larger than I thought, but they were really nice quality...heavy chairs...and for only $12.50 a piece.. I can't wait to reupholster these!!!

Don't you just love them??Layton does...stay tuned...for before and after...

Adventures in Reupholstery...Kelly and Bob's Chair Part I

So I have to admit...this was a new adventure for me. It all started when I stashed a chair (which my husband purchased for 50 cents at a yard sale) in my barn and held on to it for five years swearing I would someday recover it. One day while digging in the barn I found the chair and pulled it out. As it is nearly impossible to get anything accomplished while watching three children, I called my mother and she suggested that I get started and just start ripping it apart first...Little did I know that pulling out nails, tacks and staples would be such a therapeutic task.

So, I ripped the chair down to nothing...see...


I had no intentions of reupholstering on my own... in fact, the next week my mother came up and we bought all of the materials and I sent it home with her, completely content to find a new chair to dismantle. (Check out my mother's story about the chair on her blog After I Finish This Row).

So, I continued on with my dismantle therapy...I was hooked...One day I remembered that I had an old favorite chair somewhere in the barn. When I asked my husband he said he had thrown it out...but I found it. This chair was a hand-me-down from my husband's sister Kelly and brother-in-law Bob. By the time we were done with it, it looked like this:


I know...scary...but I got to work and in the end it looked like this...
But this time I did not stop here...and put the frame in my mother's car. I decided I was going to give this a try... So I went to Joann's, and bought fabric and foam..determined to give this a try.

First, I used a staple gun to add fresh burlap. Then I used this upholstery "stuff" and weaved it together to make the back. The chair had cardboard there previously, but I didn't think it would last very long, so I used the weave method instead...Here is the chair after these additions:


Looks so much better doesn't it?? Next came the foam and organic cotton batting...


Completely foamed and batted...


One "How to make bias tape" tutorial, thanks to Erin at Patchwork Underground, one "How to make cording" tutorial, thanks to Jen at Just Another Day in the Lives of... and a little sewing later and ....

Voila!!! A New Chair...Or should I say...a new old chair!



Not too bad, huh? I would be lying if I said I wasn't ecstatic that this project will not be added to my new found favorite blog CraftFail, my mother and I laughed until we cried last night looking at some of the mishaps on this site. Stay tuned for Part 2...after I sand the legs and put this chair back together...