Buttons, Ruffles, and Bows

A Slipcovered Chair For The Guest Room

Well, I've been doing a lot of this...

And not a lot of blogging.  I've been training to run a half marathon in October.  I did a nine mile run today, and I'm starting to have some doubts about the whole thing.  But I'm not ready to give up yet.  Anyway, I did find time to finally finish this chair. Here's the before.

The chair was not comfortable to sit in, so I decided to replace the seat.  What a mess that turned out to be.

O.K.  Now what?

I had to cut a piece of plywood for the seat, install supports to hold the plywood, cut foam to fit the seat, and cover with batting.  Not the paint and slipcover project I had originally thought.

There's the chair with white paint and a new seat, ready for the slipcover.   I used three of my favorite things - covered buttons...

Bow ties...

And ruffles.

This chair is for my blue and white guest room.  It is filled with many projects to do.  I'll show you more of the room later.

Now I just need a cute pillow.  Oh well, there is always one more project.

Janet

Now onto the parties.

Making the World Cuter
Show Off Your Cottage Monday
Make it 4 Monday
Metamorphosis Monday
Modern Craftswoman Monday

Pink Paint and Power Tools

What more does a girl need?

I had this shelf from my previous home.  It is a shaker style and was originally painted a Williamsburg shade of green, if that makes sense.  Many years ago, I painted it white and added lace trim to the shelves.  Still didn't work.  So it has been in my basement waiting to be sold, donated, whatever.

Yes, it is meant to hang this way, even though it looks upside down. Well, since I've been trying to repurpose the things in my basement, I thought why not try to transform it from shaker style to cottage style?

Using plates and bowls as patterns, I drew curves on the side of the shelf.

I cut the curves with my jigsaw.  I used a scroll blade. 

And it worked!  No one could be more surprised than I was.  At this point, I put on a coat of paint.  It looked terrible.  I thought there was no way to get the new cuts smooth enough to paint.  So, I did what I had to do.

 

I bought a power sander.  I had no idea that the wood could be that smooth.   For those of you that already use an orbit sander, this is your cue to laugh.  That's enough.

So I got the edges smooth and put on another coat of paint.  It looked terrible.  The curves were just to bumpy and imperfect.  Back outside it went for more sanding.  This continued on several more times until I was finally happy with the results.

And you remember my shabby pink bench that I made here?  I have been dying to use more of this pink paint.  So that's what I did.

I put the shelf over the toilet in the master bath.  It is a very small, separate room, so that's the best picture I could get.

I'm going to have lots of fun accessorizing this one.  I'll need storage for all those personal items, something to hold extra rolls of toilet paper, and of course a lot of "just because they're pretty" things.

Janet

I'll be joining these great parties:

Metamorphosis Monday

Make it 4 Monday

Show off your Cottage Monday

Modern Craftswoman Monday

Floral Accents

At the heart of cottage style, floral patterns and fresh blooms bring color to the decorating landscape and lighthearted enchantment to our interior spaces.  Whether they are sweetly hand-painted on a headboard, skillfully rendered on canvas, or plucked from the garden, these endearing floral elements live and breathe the essence of cottage charm.

                         ~Victoria - Rooms of Bliss~

I received these beautiful roses for my birthday and I was inspired to look around at all the floral accents in my home.

In the dining room.

In the kitchen.

On the windows.

In the laundry room.

In the powder room.

From the garden.

And my most recent Goodwill find.

This wonderfully aged platter.

Today I'm celebrating the floral accents in my home For Show Off Your Cottage Monday at The House In The Roses and Todays Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality.

Rooster Party

There's a rooster party at Bella Vista but I can't attend afterall.  I didn't realize you had to sign up by August 4th.  Since I already took the pictures, I decided to share them.  I hope you stop by the party to see all the other roosters.

I have to say, most of my roosters live in the kitchen.

On dishes...

On fabric...

On furniture...

This is the desk in my kitchen.  It started out as the ugliest style of kitchen cabinets you can imagine.  I added molding to the doors, painted it with a crackle finish (I know, I know, "friends don't let friends do crackle"), decoupaged roosters with some hand painted grass, and replaced the counter top with a piece of wood.  I added the bulletin board to connect the top and bottom cabinets.

Since this is considered furniture, maybe I can go to Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday party.

 A couple of roosters have gotten into the great room, too.

Well, I think that is more than enough roosters to show.  Speaking of showing, I will also be joining Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home.

Janet