I Must Be Nuts

 

When I started working on this chair I didn't realize how hard it was going to be. Once I pulled all the fabric off I realized the back of the chairs must have originally have been caned. There was a deep grove where the caning would have gone and the back of the chair wood was extremely hard. It took me hours to get the staples out, and I had to order a pneumatic staple gun to get them back in!

 

 

I do think it turned out rather well but it should never have been my first upholstery job! It was just way to hard and very discouraging.

 

I used an old pecan bag for the chair back and tea stained a drop cloth for the seat.

 

 

 

I used the lower half of the bag for the back side of the chair

 

 

 

I have three more of these chairs and three more - all different - sacks, however I might tackle something simpler before I come back to the rest of these chairs! 

 

 

 

The Difference Between Husbands & Wives

I'm not talking about the obvious differences. :) I'm talking creative/decorating differences. My husband and I only have one big difference really. I like things to be pretty, clean and organized. He likes things to be functional and doesn't really care what they look like.

 This is the current object of my discontent.

My husband NEEDS this because he likes his keys to be hanging just inside the door where he can reach them. I can't tell you how many times I have taken it off the wall and had it magically reappear. I don't know how someone made something so small but that so easily hit my biggest pet peeve button. The name of this should not be "key and mail organizer" - it should be "The Clutter Displayer"

So this was my latest solution:

I picked it up for $6.00 at an estate tag sale. I adore everything about it. The color, the rusty wornness of it, and I love that it's former utilitarian use was an old dust pan. It has history. My all about the function husband says he doesn't like to dig for the keys he wants. *sigh* On the bright side it's still hanging on the wall and the clutter display is still gone, but I am keeping my eyes open for another more husband friendly option for keys.

Today's yard sale find list, most of these things will be featured in upcoming projects & will be posted later.

Cabinet/shelf  - .50¢ (this might turn into the new key holder)
White twin bed skirt - .75¢
Southern lady - $3.00
Wicker bowl/holder thingy $4.00
Round Table $4.00
Side table with drawer $5.00

Another yard sale find hard at work

I found this little Holly Hobbie cradle a few weeks ago at a yard sale. I left it just as I found it, even with the cutter quilt laying inside it, then put it to work on the studio floor.

Little baby "E" fit just perfect!

Rain Rain Go Away

It just won't stop raining! By the time I was getting around to getting things set up on Friday unexpected guests popped over, by the time they left it looked like a storm was brewing & it's rained everyday since. So I have not had a chance to use my new sprayer yet. I have so much work that needs to be done outside that it's making me crazy. So crazy that I am making more work for me to do inside!

Here's what I have been working on. I forgot to take before photos but I can do a before of the sneak peak because I found this fabulous vintage print at a yard sale for .75¢ and snapped a photo of it as soon as I put it on the wall.

The walls were a dark blue with a hint of gray tones. Then because it rained my walls looked like this for a day.

And this is the same wall and the same fabulous vintage print after I pulled the tape down. The white is West Highland White from SW and the Grey is Reflection also from SW, both in a satin finish.

I planned on repainting that shelf before I put it back on the wall, but then that would require it to stop raining.

Here is a close up of my print.

Anyone out there know the name of it? It's very old, in the original frame, with an old wood back and square nails. It has a bit of metallic sheen to it that you can see where the sun was reflecting off it. I was going to remove it from the frame and clean the inside of the glass, but it's so fragile I'm afraid of damaging it.

Guess what I got today!!!

The Wagner power painter max with optimus!! On sale for $114 at Menard's and a $25 rebate!!!! I was going to the store to pick get the Wagner that's one step below this one but with that deal it ended up being the same price as the small one was normally. That's the price I had budgeted for so I got the big one! LOL

Now I would love to stay and chat but I have a new toy to go play with!!!

My $40 Craig's List Desk

I got on Craig's list today and saw this!

It was advertised as $40 and had been redone and new hardware added. I would have preferred they left it alone and kept the original hardware, but the shape of a kidney shape desk is just sooooo cool! So I had to have it.

Here's my noob problems with it though. The former owner was a bigger noob then I was. She painted black paint over existing white paint. She did not sand, degloss or prime. The black is pealing off like a bad sunburn. The black is also painted over where there is a lot of detailed carvings. How do I get the paint out of those tiny grooves? Also what's your fav products to use to strip paint? 

The Painted Lady

This was the Painted Lady when I first got her for $6.00 at a yard sale. I was going to add some decorative wood pieces to her drawers and paint her white, but before I could do it she spoke to me. She had been white before and she was tiered of her plain white dress, she wanted to take a walk on the wild side!

I had more help then I needed trying to get her done.

So I gave her a new fur coat.,

a pretty pink dress,

And a pair of black high heals.

I was going to sell her when I was done with her but my 9 year old is begging me to keep her - and of course redo her entire room to match! For now I will let her hang out in the studio and let her paint harden up. Besides she loves it when clients come in and tell her how beautiful she is.

Linking to:

Say What Tuesday