Super Special, Ultra Exciting Project (mostly) Complete!

Last week I showed you the project I was going to tackle during my trip to visit my family in Utah- my brother's couch.

He got it for $25 second hand while he was a bachelor in North Carolina, then hauled it across the country when he and his girlfriend (now wife) moved to Salt Lake City, Utah.

They both liked the couch fine, but it was clearly in need of an update. Enter- Big Sister Sarah and her bag of tools.

My baby and I travelled from my parents' house on Tuesday and when I arrived that evening I started stripping the couch almost immediately. My brother helped me tear off the trim and most of the fabric that was attached with about 16 trillion staples.

Here's how it looked on the morning of Work Day 1.

And here it is at the end of Day 1.
Do you love that fabric they chose? It's velvety soft and is a beautiful color- sooo nice to work with.

New buttons were covered (in advance) and applied, fabric was wrestled, many MANY knots were tied, folds were made, muscles were strained and my spine screamed by the end.

Like the action shots my brother took?

Day 2 was a little less of a struggle. The inside and outside arms and bottom front all got covered.

Day 3 started with me running around the Salt Lake Valley trying to find a walk-in clinic for my baby (who'd been sick almost our entire trip), then sewing the double cording which would trim out the rest of the couch. Day 3 was when I'd hoped to finish, but that flew right out the window.

Day 3 was also when my two other littles were delivered to me by my wonderful Mom who worked a 5 hour day then drove another 5 hours to bring them up from her house.

Day 4 was spent putting the last pieces on and trying not to cry when things went wrong, while my wonderful brother and his wonderful wife took my two oldest littles for a fun-filled day to keep them out from under my feet.

By the end of Day 4, I had accomplished all that I'd hoped to during my visit.










Obviously, the couch isn't quite done. I brought the seat cushion covers home with me to use as patterns for the new ones, which I'll sew up this week and mail back. Then they'll take the actual "after" shots for me and I'll post them the instant that I get them!

All in all, this project turned out to be exactly what I'd expected it to be- BIG, challenging, fun, scary and rewarding.
I encountered a lot of unexpected problems which I had to find solutions for.
I had to undo a LOT of my work on several occasions to get things just right.
I learned techniques that I'd never used before and now have the confidence to use again, and turned out a finished product that I am happy with.
Hallelujah.

Glaze, glaze, and more glaze

Today's post is all about the glaze- "antiquing", if you will- and what a difference it can make.

This table was purchased at an estate sale and even came with a mirror for the top.

It had such beautiful details, but they were kind of lost in the tired, dark wood finish that it had.

Getting primed and painted made it look better, but those details were still not popping. The table was just looking kind of flat.

But when you add some black glaze to those carvings and turnings, they just jump right out.



This table has found a home in the office of my friend's husband and will proudly display his television.



I found this foot stool at another estate sale. The cross stitched pad had become very worn and the wood finish had seen better days.

Once again, primer and paint helped...

... but a new fabric on the pad and a little brown glaze in the carved details makes it special again.



Like how it matches the cushion on my chair? I think it if were staying at my house they'd become good friends.





Finally, one more example of how paint and glaze come together to make something unique. I bought several of these birds at our local Dollar Tree a while back and loved them as-is. But after my husband admitted to me how often their life-like appearance had startled him, I considered giving them a little re-do.

It took a couple of coats of spray paint to cover the bright colors that they used to have, which of course just washed all of the detail right out of them. But with some brown glaze painted on them wiped off, all of the detail came right back.

Glazing gets easier with practice, and though I haven't used it much yet, I sure plan to! If you want to give it a try, take a look at this tutorial.

Desk chair revamp

I picked up this little office-style chair one day at a thrift store. It was stashed way up high in a pile of other chairs, but it immediately stood out among them. The lines are so clean and modern, yet it still has a vintage quality about it that I love. It's quite a departure from the curvy chairs with turned spindles that usually grab my attention.


I've been wanting a new desk chair, so I thought this could be a good candidate.

Since the finish was in pretty good condition, I decided to forgo painting this time and just focus on the seat.
Ohhhh, the seat.

The outside layer of fabric was pretty gross, but it was nothing compared to what was under that.

There was a layer of disintegrating foam, then another layer of yucky fabric wrapped around a warped plywood base. I used the old base as a template to make a new one.

Then I used my new wooden base as a template for some new foam.

A thick layer of spray adhesive applied to the wood keeps the foam from sliding around on it while it gets worked on.

Some Dacron (or in this case, quilt batting) smooths out the edges of the foam.

I couldn't find a big enough piece of fabric in my stash that I really loved, so I thought I'd try to make my own. It was inspired by a table runner I made a while back.

I positioned the fabric on the foam how I wanted it, then held it in place with some upholstery pins.

Staple, staple, pull, tug, staple, smooth, staple...

Some black dust cloth to make it a little nicer looking...

And that's it!

My stripe looks a little crooked, though. Just goes to show, sometimes even being careful doesn't produce perfection.





Ah, well. I like my new desk chair.
It's perty.

Super Special, Ultra Exciting Project!

So here it is. That extra big, completely terrifyingly exciting project that I'll be tackling while I'm away. Are you ready?
Ready?
No, I don't think you are.
Okay, here it is.



Isn't it gorgeous? My brother brought this vintage couch across the country with him when he moved from North Carolina to Utah. And while he and his bride love the couch itself, the fabric with which it's been covered is not very loveable. It's kinda hard and scratchy and very burlapish (I dub that a word). Durable? Yes. Comfy? NO. Not the kind of fabric that makes you want to sprawl out and take a snooze.

During my visit to Utah I'll be giving this couch a complete reupholstery job. There may even be some wood refinishing happening as well.
Do you think I'm crazy? I do.
This is scary stuff! Look at all of those buttons and tufting! And the double welting that goes all the way around the whole thing?! YIKES!!! Oh, and don't even remind me about the cushion covers.

Still, I'm so, so excited. I've never done a project of this scale before, or with so many different techniques involved- many of which I've never even tried before. So that makes it scary, but those are also the reasons that I'm looking forward to it. Plus, it's for my brother and sister-in-law, and I love them both so very much.

Besides, I won't be in it alone. I'll be making the dog my assistant. Wish us luck!

The thrift store's thrift store

This evening the kiddles and I will be making our way to Salt Lake City, then on to southern Utah for my kid sister's high school graduation on Friday evening. I'll be hanging with my folks and siblings and other loved ones for a while, then heading back to SLC to work on a super special, ultra exciting project for my brother and his wife before coming home. I'll show you a little teaser tomorrow, okay?

Anyway, I hope to still have some posts for you to enjoy in my absence. They may be a little scarcer than lately, but I promise there will be something!

Not long ago I mentioned a thrift store in my area that is like the thrift store's thrift store. It's a place where donated items go that are either not in good enough shape to be sold in the regular stores, or that have been to a thrift store but just never sold. For most of the items there, I have a feeling it's the last stop before the dump.

The Bargain Center is just a warehouse-type of room with large wooden bins arranged into rows where everything is just dumped in. They try to organize things, so there are bins of just shoes, just clothes, just toys and games, etc. And of course there are several bins if just STUFF. They don't usually have much furniture, but I like to see what I can find anyway. I pop in every now and then and usually have mixed luck. Sometimes I'll leave with just an item or two, and sometimes I'll fill a cart. My most recent trip was definitely a successful one!

The chunky wreath and cute little basket I found are in great shape. They just need a little dressing up to make them special.

That suitcase was way too darling to pass up, but when I spied it a lady was opening it and looking it over. I think I actually whispered out loud, "Don't!". Luckily she walked away from it so I scooped it right up. Things like this are always interesting and useful items to decorate with. I can see this stacked with one or two other suitcases or even perched on top of a plain little table to create a unique side table or nightstand.

Luck struck again as I was heading to the register. An employee had just laid this in a bin as I was approaching so of course I snatched it. Isn't it beautiful?!

I'm not really into wrought iron myself, but I know how popular it is and this star burst clock is a real eye catcher.

Hopefully it just needs a battery, but if a new clock mechanism is what it takes to get this beauty on the wall, I'd say that's an easy fix.

The bin of board games and puzzles usually gets a quick glance, but this time I spotted an old Scrabble game. I love Scrabble (even though I'm not any good at it), but I'm sure it's missing a lot of tiles which makes it unplayable. I hope to be able to come up with a craft or two using the tiles that it does have.



This is the item I'm most excited about. I put the basket in the picture to give you an idea of its size. The top is only hanging on by a nail, so that will need to be fixed, but otherwise it's in good shape.

It stands about thigh high and has that cool worn-in character that I love. The "Taters" themed paint detail? Yeah, it's gonna go.

It's very Idaho, and as much as I love potatoes, I have other plans for this bin. I can see this being used to store pet food with a little scoop attached by a chain, or a pretty little place to throw newspapers or plastic grocery bags to be recycled. Can't wait to work on it!


The Bargain Center is definitely not your typical second-hand store. Only certain items have actual prices, like clothing, shoes and books. Everything else is sold by the pound. Seriously. Everything I'd found was just wheeled onto a giant scale while still in the cart, then the weight of my items was determined by subtracting the weight of the cart which was marked on the side of it. The more "poundage" you buy the cheaper it gets. I was in the 40¢ per pound range so I got everything I just showed you for $10 and some change. ☺

Seriously, if you live close you need to check it out. As much as I'd love to keep this place a secret, it just wouldn't be fair.

If you're local, here's the info for "the thrift store's thrift store".

Idaho Youth Ranch Bargain Center
2619 Sundance Blvd.
Nampa, ID 83651
208-467-9784

Store hours:
Monday – Saturday 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Sunday Noon to 5:00 pm

I think I'm dead.

So maybe I'm not dead, but I'm definitely walking on air. Wait, is that Cloud 9 up ahead?
Okay, that was corny. I can't help it. I'm so stinking excited! Tickled is probably the best word to describe how I'm feeling. Why? Well I'll tell ya!

When I got home from an outing with my family last night I decided to check my Google Reader. Kristine over at The Painted Hive had a new post, so as I slowly scrolled down to read it, imagine my surprise and amazement and sheer joy to see my little high chair project featured there! Ha!

Remember it was Kristine that I turned to for help with this project, and upon her advice that I relied in order to do it right. Well, she's beginning a new section on her blog called "Busy Bees", which features the work of other bloggers. And she chose little old me to be her very first Bee! I couldn't stop grinning. I think I even squealed and clapped a little bit. Or maybe a lot. And then I made my husband come and read her post. And then I read it again myself.

Sweet, ego-inflating feature aside, the fact is, you need to visit The Painted Hive. If you haven't yet, you. Must. Go. Kristine's refurbished and rehabilitated furniture pieces are all amazing, her taste in decorating is downright breathtaking, and she really just knows her stuff. So go now and be inspired!

Meanwhile, I'm going to go smile to myself for a few more hours.