Reupholstering a Recliner Chair

I did not realize how difficult it was going to be to reupholster a chair. This took a very long time and many sewing and ripping out tries. The first thing that I would advise if you are considering this is to take many, many pictures. I took lots of pictures (many more than what I have posted) and I should have taken a ton more. 

Their was nothing wrong with this chair other than the fact that it had a lot of pen marks on it and was dirty. I could have stream cleaned it but it wouldn't have gotten out the pen marks so I opted for a new look and decided to reupholster.

Taking apart the chair.

The most difficult piece to put back together was the back.

 I used the seam ripper so that I could save the fabric and use it as a pattern for the new material. When I took everything apart I made sure that it was marked so that I would know where the new fabric was to be sewn.

Taking all the staples out was a big job!

Lots of sewing to do.

After many hours, my reupholstered recliner. I don't think I will be attempting to do another one any time soon.

Christmas Tablescape

For a pretty Christmas tablescape we have added feather boas tucked into the silver bowl with pinecones glittered silver and Christmas balls along with a string of lights. Tucked around the bowl is another white boa and silver poinsettas.

Silver chargers with the peacock colored plates and napkin rings finish off the table.

Rustic Burlap Blocks

This idea came from the site of blog.styleestate.com 

You can check out their great site. 

    

I liked this idea and decided to make some of my own. First off I stenciled onto a burlap ribbon the words that I wanted on my blocks, then I got my husband to cut some 2x4's the length that the words were plus 1 inch. I painted the wood white then sanded the sides and edges and top for a shabby chic look.

Staining Fiberglass Doors

Wood doors are beautiful but very expensive so we opted for a fiberglass door which was a little less expensive. I stained it using minwax called "aged oak" and minwax varathane.

I was careful to make sure that every coat was completely dry before doing the next coat. In all I stained 4 coats, then 2 varathane coats.

Getting ready to stain. These doors have a wood grain built in.

When you brush on the stain, do it in sections and don't let it dry before wiping it off. Use a clean cloth. 

Brushing on the stain.

Wiping off the stain.

Candy Cane Snowman

For this cute little snowman you will need a 3 x 7 inch glass jar, 15 - 20 candy canes (I used 16), 2 elastic bands, ribbon of your choice, and a snowman Christmas tree ornament (I got this one at the dollar store and it is a Christmas tree ball decorated as a snowman head wrapped with a scarf)

Put the elastics around the jar then start inserting the candy canes in upside down. I wanted some of the jar to show so I didn't put the candy canes all the way around.

To hold the candy canes firmly in place wrap the ribbon around the jar and tie with a bow in front.

The snowman's head was just the right size to push into the jar, no glue required.

The snowman head Christmas tree ornament has jingle bells on it so they are inside the glass.

He's kinda cute don't you think?

This tablescape is such a fun kids table. The tablecloth is wrapping paper, the chargers are a blackboard slate with chalk, the plates are paper plates bought from Pier 1, and the plastic cutlery is put in a red and green stocking sewn from felt and tea towels. The candy cane snowman is set on top of a melted candy tray. The cups are paper and the straws are red and green stripes. The name tags are three little candy canes glued to stand with a name tag placed in the hook.

Painting my wall Grey and DIY Pictures for the Wall

Going from a brown taupe

To Elf Grey

I decided that it was time to switch up my colors in the living room. I had a hard time deciding what color of grey that I wanted to put on the wall and if I should paint them all or just one wall. One wall won out and the color that I chose was called Elf - CL 3215 D. I didn't want to get the grey with blue undertones and this paint is brown undertones.

Once the color was chose I knew that I needed something big to put on the wall. What I did was buy a roll of wallpaper and a couple of oversized stretch canvas'. I had to cut the canvas down to fit the wallpaper width but I left the length of the canvas.

Here is showing the one canvas made into two. I made three on them so I had to buy two canvas.

I papered the canvas just like I would have put it on the wall.

The brown and the grey compliment each other quite well. 

End of Summer Wreath for your Front Door

The cost of this wreath was under $25.

For this wreath you will need a roll of burlap ribbon. beige netting ribbon with gold sparkles, one cattail bunch, some berries, three sunflowers with clips on the back and a wire wreath.

I cut the ribbon in lengths of approximately 12", as you can see they don't have to be perfect. 

Tie each ribbon onto the wreath.

When the ribbon is all on, snip the cattails off the bunch and hot glue them into the ribbon.

Snip about 4 pieces of grass at a time and hot glue both ends together.

Set them in the wreath while the glue is still hot.

This is not a fussy wreath and it only takes a couple of hours to complete. I added 3 sunflowers that you get at the dollar store. They have clips on the back so you just clip them to the wreath.

I think it looks really nice!