Velvet Chair "Paint-Over"

I am a thrift store fanatic. I could spend hours and hours searching for hidden treasures that someone once considered junk.

The one thing that I could never find but always wanted was a velvet chair!

Through all of my searching, I was never able to find one and I was starting to lose hope! I even considered spending $500 on brand new chair because I was growing so desperate for one.

Last Friday I had a long and frustrating day, and I decided to go thrift shopping to ease my tension; little did I know that all of my wishes were about to come true!!!

After picking up multiple wonderful things (including a stack of vintage Disney vinyl records), I had one last area to check...and there, out of the corner of my eye, I spot it. Corally and velvety and comfy as ever. Like manna from heaven!!

Okay...even if you can't understand my excitement or my thrift store craze, I'm sure that most people can understand the usefulness of being able to update old furniture to match your ever-changing styles. Even though this chair was stunning to begin with, it was a little to outdated for what I like. What it needed was a touch of gold.

"Gold??!!" you say, "E gads!!!"

I know...but listen...

Maybe not listen, but seriously. It looks great.

SO - let's get past my written rambling. If you have a piece of furniture with wood details that you'd like to paint, here's what you want to do:

Supplies

-Sandpaper-

found at Michaels or any craft store - be sure that it comes in different grain levels - you will need it

-Acrylic Paint-

found at Michaels - I used Martha Stewart Gold Coin in Satin - I used only 2 bottles but I would recommend purchasing more - always better to have too much than too little

-Paint Pallet or Bowl-

to hold your paint, of course

-Varying Sizes of Foam Brushes-

found at Michaels or any craft store - MAKE SURE to buy the foam brushes in the bag - they are worth the extra .50+ - the cheap brushes that aren't in packages fall apart ridiculously fast

-Finishing Spray-

found at Michaels - I used Martha Stewart Indoor/Outdoor finishing spray in Satin

-Painters Tape-

found at Walmart or any home improvement store - I would HIGHLY recommend Frog tape - it is somewhat costly (around $7.00), but it stays where you want it to and removes easily

-Plastic or Drop Cloth-

we don't want you dripping your paint all over the place!!

Once I had all of the supplies, this entire process took around 2 hours.

Annnnd here we go.

Step One

Cut your plastic or drop cloth to fit the area that you'll be working in. If you plan on working indoors, you'll want to leave quite a bit of extra room as sanding and finishing will get somewhat messy.

If the clothed section of the chair is easily removable, that will save you a LOT of time. If not, never fear. There is always a solution. If you're lazy like me and don't want to remove the chair and backing, use your painters tape to line the edges as well as you can. Sometimes you can even slide the tape in between the cloth and the wood, which will completely protect any paint from getting on your lovely coral velvet fabric (yes, I'm talking about my chair...I just love it so much).

Once you've lined the edges, wrap the ENTIRE fabric with painters tape. You might start thinking you're going to skip this step to save time, but don't!! Seriously. Sanding will get dusty and you'll be spending even more time trying to get your chair clean afterwards.

Step Two

Using either the most dense grain or medium grain of sandpaper, sand off only the top layer of the wood, just enough to get the lacquer off but not too much that all of the wood color is gone. I chose to sand the wood to appear slightly grainy and scratched so that the gold paint would look more antique.

Once you've sanded the off the lacquer (which is important...you'll find out why), use the smallest grain of sandpaper to smooth over the wood in case there are any stray slivers.

Dust off the entire chair - wood, taped fabric, everything.

Step Three

Begin painting your wood. Don't worry about laying the paint on the first time around. The less strokes you use, the smoother the finished result will be. I went around my chair 3 times to complete the look I wanted. Don't worry...it doesn't take as long as it sounds! Luckily, Martha Stewart Acrylic dries very fast, so if you finish the first go-around quickly, you should be fine to add your next layer.

Side Note - the reason I say to make sure the lacquer is gone is because your paint will not stick and you will frustrated. You might even break your chair that you've already worked so hard on!! So sand properly, kids.

Step Four

Once your paint is COMPLETELY dry, use the smallest grain sandpaper again to lightly go over any bubbles or rough areas. Wipe off the sanded areas and remaining dust.

Step Five

If you are inside...OPEN YOUR WINDOWS!!! As many as you can. Of course the can says to spray in a well-ventilated area, but my two skylights were not enough. I started feeling dizzy after 30 seconds. I may have lost 3 whole years of my life to this project. At least that means no rest home for me.

If you are outside...don't huff. That's all.

Holding the can about 10 inches away, use solid movements to spray your finishing spray over the painted wood. Wait five minutes (it dries fast), sand and dust any rough areas, and spray again. Repeat this process a third time.

Step Six

Wait at least 30 minutes until your chair is completely dry...

Make sure all of the dust is wiped clean from the tape...

Remove tape...

And gasp in awe at your new, lovely piece of furniture!!!

You may even want to sit in it.

It feels good, right? Better than it did before? That's because you worked so hard, you little soldier.

Congrats to you and your new home accessory!!!

Of course, no makeover project is complete without the Before and After photos:



Craft on, little birdies

I Heart Utah

The other day I was staring at my bedroom walls thinking that there was something seriously missing. It's such a large space that most of the walls are currently void of artwork, and I had no clue where to start. The only thing I knew was that whatever it was, I had to make it myself. It's the curse of the DIYers.

One weekend, I was browsing through Pinterest and came across an art piece of Texas using a wood board, nails, and crochet thread. It seemed like a fairly easy project, just time consuming as it required hammering 150+ nails into a piece of wood. I decided to create my own version.

What you will need:



Square Cork Tiles (WalMart - Approx. $5)




Thumbtacks - Depending on the amount of boards, you

might need a few of these. I bought 5. You can get them in

colors - I chose white because I planned on using a variety

of colors for the multiple boards I was doing, and it was

easier for me to paint my own  (WalMart - $.99)




Crochet Thread - They come in multiple colors and sizes

(WalMart or any craft store - $1-$5)





Nail polish. I know, I know...weird, but I used it to paint

the thumbtacks once the thread was strung. You can  also

spray paint the thumbtacks while they're still in the cardboard

that they're packaged in. I chose nail polish because it has a

hi-shine quality. Also because the color was b-e-a-utiful!

(Urban Outfitters - $5, although any brand will do)

The final images were painted with Revlon - Gold Coin

 


Jute Twine (Hobby Lobby or any craft store - $2-$5)




Hot Glue Gun (WalMart or any craft store - $2-$5)



Step 1

Start by tacking out your shape. I chose to do mine freehand, but normally I would recommend drawing a mirrored image of the state on the reverse side. It makes the tacking easier, and once you've put a thumbtack into cork board, it shouldn't be moved or adjusted. If you pull it out and re-tack, a larger hole will be created, and the thumbtacks will not stay in.

Helpful hint:

You might want to place another cork board underneath the one that you're tacking. If you found another brand or type of board that's thicker, GOOD! You're lucky. Cork board tiles are typically thinner, so the pins will go all the way through the other side. Placing another cork board underneath prevents little pokes and prods as you tack.

Step 2

After the border is finished, tack the heart around your favorite part of the state. In my case it was Salt Lake City, of course.

Step 3

Time to thread. The easiest place to start is the upper point of the heart. Loop the end of your crochet thread around a thumbtack, leaving a small tail to wrap in order for the thread to hold. From there, work your way around the border, wrapping thread only once on the 'border' tacks, and connect them to the nearest 'heart' tacks.

Step 4

I chose to outline both the state and the heart to create a bolder definition, but it is not necessary to do so as it looks good with or without. Once the entire piece has been thread, cut the string, again leaving a small tail to wrap around the thumbtack to hold the thread in place.

Here's where this project appears daunting. 

The back side, as I said, will have the tips of the tacks sticking out. I thought of all of the random craft supplies I had at my house, and chose one of the most time consuming options. Time consuming, but worth it!

As I've made a lot of these cork boards by now, I'm in the process of figuring out quicker and easier ways to cover the back. If I come up with something genius, I'll be sure to post it.

If you are a lazy bum (like I usually am) and decide that this step is unnecessary, feel free to skip to Step 6. The reason I would recommend Step 5 is because the tacks might scratch up your walls...and also because the back turns out AWEsome. "Radical", if you will.

Step 5

Warm up the hot glue gun, unravel a couple feet of twine, and flip the cork board upside down.

To start, hot glue a line about 3 inches long starting at the top corner. Line your twine up with the glue and press down, pressing on the ends first and working your way to the middle. The quicker you lay down the twine, the better it sticks (don't say "duh" you turd, someone may not know this!)

Continue this process working your way in towards the center. Once you've survived up to the last small sight of cork board (if you did, CONGRATULATIONS!!!), cut the twine with enough to cover that small spot - place a glob of glue on that empty space and push that twine into it. It may slightly burn, but it's a good burn. The burn of a job well done.

Step 6

If you would like to hang your nearly finished art piece, take two thumbtacks and cut the points off with diagonal pliers. Then cut a piece of twine about 2 ½ inches long. Organize the twine and thumbtacks to where you would like them. One by one, place a glob of hot glue onto the bottom of the tacks - press onto the edge of the twine you cut and hold for 30+ seconds.

Step 7

The FUN part!!

If you would like to add color (which, come on...why wouldn't you??), it's very, very simple.

Paint the thumb tacks just like you would your nails. Hopefully you have a steady hand - if not, wipe the slip-up before it dries, or use nail polish remover.

Now, don't be confused...like I said, I did many of these, so that's why these ones are Portland, Oregon (where I eventually want to be)

You can paint just the heart or just the border:

Or you can paint the entire thing!

Step 8

Hang up!!

You hang that art piece and you feel a swell of pride as you do. It is extremely necessary that you step back and admire it.

Good job, you, Ya did good.

Craft on, little birdies

Green Bow Pillow Project

One day while I was wasting my life on Pinterest (crack in web form), I came across an adorable pillow from Freshly Picked for $45.00 and thought, "I can make that!" I do this often, but rarely

find the time to actually follow through.

With this pillow project I was in luck. It was a slow weekend and I wanted nothing more than to just sit at home, eat ice cream all day, and craft. I discovered that I had all of the supplies I needed to complete my project, so I came up with a strategy and off I went!

The fabric I used was a thicker material, similar to canvas. It helped keep the bow in the position that I wanted and will keep the filling from clumping over time; although it was harder to sew as the entire project was hand sewn. I used a white hand-sewing thread, but if you're making it with a sewing machine, any matching thread will do, as long as the seams are backstitched.

I began by measuring out the size of pillow I wanted (keeping in mind the extra fabric for the seams).

Because the fabric is striped, it was easy to measure and cut exactly where I wanted.

For the bow, I measured the width to be even with the length of the pillow, and with the 'height' I kept both sides about 3 inches shorter than the pillow.

I cut a strip of fabric from the scraps that I had left for the bow tie. The width depends on how big you want the tie to be. I would recommend about 2 1/2"  width and about 6" in length (any longer than 6" will leave a lot of extra fabric inside of the pillow) 

I stacked all 3 pieces together to assure that the sizes were proportional. Once the sizes were right, I turned the pillow fabric inside-out and sewed the 2 sides together, leaving the bottom open for when I was ready to add the bow.

Before hemming the edges of the bow, I cut a small triangle off of each corner so that the folds would lay over each other cleanly.

Once I had hemmed both the bow and tie, I folded the center of the bow accordian style so that there was a tight center, and made sure that the bow was wrinkled in the way that I wanted before solidifying the hold.

I forced needle and thread through the fabric a few times to hold the center tight.

If you don't want to risk blistering your fingers and knocking your tooth out with pliers, I would recommend tying the center together with either strong thread or twine. The center will be covered with the tie, so appearance doesn't matter in this case. Lesson learned!

I arranged the bow directly in the center of the pillow, factoring in the 1/2 inch I would love from sewing the bottom of the pillow together. Again, the stripes made for easy measuring, and I marked with pins the spot where I wanted my bow.

I placed a piece of carboard beneath the single top layer of fabric (I'm convinced my cutting mat was stolen by gremlins). With a rotary cutter, I made a 1" incision on each of the stripes that I had pinned. The incisions should be about 1" apart.

I replaced the bow where I wanted it, and stitched a few times through the center of the bow and the pillow for an extra hold. I then pulled the each side of the tie through the incisions that I had made, covering the accordian center of the bow. I was very careful to cover the parts that I didn't want to be seen, and made sure that the tie was pulled tight enough to create the crinkle effect that I wanted in the bow.

Next, I turned the pillow inside-out and pulled the fabric around the tie towards the inside of the pillow, then sewed the tie and fabric together to close the incisions.

Before turning the pillow right-side out, I sewed half of the bottom together on one side, and about 3 inches on the other side, leaving about a 3 inch section open.  I turned the pillow inside out, being very careful not to rip and seams or tear the bow off. This is quite the task...or so it seems at 2:00am!

I stuffed the pillow with Fairfield brand Soft Touch Poly-Fil. I prefer the Soft Touch over the Polyester

Poly-Fil because, even though the fabric is thick and the pillow is decorative, I like my pillows to be soft and squishy!

Once the pillow was stuffed, I turned in the remaining 3 inches of fabric, and hand stitched it together and...

VOILA!!!

The pillow is complete.

Fun Fact: Voila is very very similar to Viola, and when you've been typing all day, it's almost impossible to notice the difference.

Craft on, little birdies

Flag Banner

This is a fairly simple, fun project that has totally added a cute, whimsical touch to my room!

It would've been a LOT easier if I had a sewing machine, but even without one, it was worth it.

I began with a roll of twine that I purchased at Hobby Lobby. They're fairly cheap; only around $3-$5 a roll. I measured across my wall with the twine to make sure I knew exactly how I wanted the banners to hang and where I wanted the banners to criss-cross. I cut a total of 4 pieces to stretch across my room.

I found 7 miscellaneous fabrics at different craft stores that went well together with color and design, and cut a piece of cardboard into the exact shape I wanted for a stencil. Once I had all of my triangles cut, I laid them out across the twine I had already cut, and pinned them to make sure the placement worked. One at a time, I cut off the tips of the triangles to make them easier to fold, ironed the edges over, and hemmed the sides so that they wouldn't fray. I folded the top edge over the twine where they were set, and sewed right beneath the twine so that the were tight enough to not slide up and down the banner.

Once all of the triangles were sewn onto the twine, tied a small knot into the end of the twine, and used tacks to pin them onto two of the walls of my room.

I love the finished product!

P.s. Now that I'm finished documenting most of the craft pictures that I have on my phone, from this point on I will start taking pictures of the process! YAYYY!! Hopefully I will get better at this instructing thing, but who knows. Even after I make my mistakes, sometimes I don't learn from them. That's all part of the fun. Wish me luck....again!

Craft on, little birdies

Petal Dress

This project, in particular, will be a very hard one to instruct.

So I think I will do without instructions and just explain the process.

(Please excuse the messy bed in the background. I got so wrapped up in my project that things such cleaning my room, making my bed, etc., fell to the wayside)

I started by sketching out my dream dress. Something somewhat organic and natural, but soft and girly. I found the perfect fabric at Ikea (and cheap!) that is similar to canvas/burlap material, and bought two yards. I also bought a silky fabric from JoAnn's fabrics to line the inside of the dress. I got lucky with my sizing because I have NO idea how to measure clothes, and just sketched out on the fabric what I thought would fit me.

After cutting out my pieces, I hand-hemmed the edges of each piece to create softer lines and to keep the material from fraying. I then sewed my top section to become one piece, and added a zipper to the back of the top. Next, I sewed a skirt out of the silky material and began pinning the "petals" in a fishscale pattern, covering the entire skirt. Once the petals were all sewn onto the skirt, I turned each piece inside out and pinned together the shoulder straps, skirt, and top and hand sewed the entire dress to become one piece.

The one thing I didn't like about this dress was that the canvas material is easily crinkled, so it needs to be steamed every once in a while. If I was to do it again...I would figure out how to measure clothes!!!

Pain in the rear.

The end result...and I know I've said this before, but...Voila!!!

Craft on, little birdies

Mickey Mouse for your Mouth

Mickey Mouse is so delicious. Whoulda thunk?

Supplies: 1 box Oreos, 1 container mini Oreos, 1 bag Guittard chocolate chips, 1 bag each Wilton candy melts in red and yellow

1. Prepare by clearing out a section of the freezer, large enough for a cookie sheet, and cover the bottom of a cookie sheet with wax paper. Prearrange large oreos with two mini oreos to fit on the cookie sheet.

2. Poor 1/4 bag of chocolate chips in a bowl and heat in the microwave, stirring every 15-20 seconds.

3. Once the chocolate stirs smooth, dip part of the mini Oreos into the chocolate and place onto a large Oreo on the cookie sheet to form ears. Once each Oreo has "ears", place in the freezer for 20-25 minutes or until the chocolate has frozen/the Oreos have binded.

4. With the ends of your fingers, hold inbetween the ears and at the bottom of the Oreo, and drizzle melted chocolate over the Oreo until completely covered. Place on cookie sheet.

5. Once all Oreos are covered in chocolate, replace in freezer for another 20-25 minutes.

6. Melt Wilton candy melts, following the same instructions as melting chocolate chips. When the candy melts stir smooth, dip the bottom half of the Oreos into the red melt, and use the end of a utensil to add the yellow "buttons" onto one side of the Oreo. Replace in freezer.

Once the entire Oreo has hardened, take a bite, and enjoy!!

Craft on, little birdies

The Colorful Owl

Purple, blue, yellow, orange. I love colors.

And owls?

I'm in love.

This owl pillow came together surprisingly easy. The shape was simple. I drew a 12" x 18" rectangle and added the triangular shaped ears before cutting out my pattern. As seen, I cut 2 plum and 2 yellow teardrop shapes for the wings, 2 plum and 2 blue circles for eyes, and the triangle shape for the nose. I used cream embroidery thread to sew the eyes and nose for the face, as well as a criss-cross patterned "eye sparkle". The most complicated part was sewing on the wings and buttons, but after that was finished, I filled it with padding and sewed it all up.

Tadaaaaa!!

Craft on, little birdies

Mustache Pillow

I. Love. Mustaches.

I love mustache everything. Mustache necklaces, mustache mugs, mustache tattoos.

Yes. I have a mustache tattoo on my finger.

I just love them.

I had to make myself a mustache pillow.

This is a hard one to do a tutorial on, but I will try to post a link to the pattern soon! 

Craft on, little birdies