After Much Pain & Suffering

So I purchased two matching wing chairs in a (lovely?) dusty rose color this spring.  I paid $30 a piece.  Not bad at all! Oh, I'll just quickly reupholster them and finally be able to complete the room I've been working on.  Yeah, right.  Here it is, at least six months later, and I've only finished one of the two chairs.  If you've ever wondered why getting something reupholstered often costs more than just buying new, let me tell you.  IT IS NOT EASY!  It took me at least 7 days just to rip off the old fabric!  It didn't help that my chairs had a very solid, hardwood frame, either.  Getting the old staples and nails out can really mess up a girl's dainty hands.
This is what the original chairs looked like:

I suppose it would have been easier had I any actual training in the reupholstering department.  And the proper tools.  But I've always believed in the tried and true 4-H motto:  Learn By Doing.

It was also quite the chore to find a fabric I liked for the re-do.  The stuff (in the perfect peacock blue color) I really wanted cost $90 per yard.  I needed 8 yards per chair.  Not happening.  I finally found this beautiful blueish-with-a-slight-green-undertone velvet fabric for $17 per yard.  It was regularly $150 per yard, so I practically stole it!  And it is actually great for kids since spills bead up and wipe right off.

The nail-head trim was another pain in my side. Did you know I had to pre-drill every single nail?  The hardness of the frame caused the nails to bend if I tried to hammer before drilling.  I probably ruined 75 nails that way.  But never fear, I repurposed them by sticking the ruined ones into my pumpkins this year.  Waste not, want not.

What do you think of my refinished chair?  I'll be starting on the second one this week.  Maybe.  If I can bring myself to do it.

Parent's Mantle (The After Photos)

A friend of mine reminded me that I never posted photos of how my parent's mantle turned out. It has been months since it was completed and I think they are enjoying it so far. They decided on a neutral paint color and neutral tile. I couldn't convince them to do a Taj Mahal style of tilework, but they are sort of the cowboy/country type, so I'm not surprised. The painting on the mantle has been hanging there for at least 10 years and was painted by yours truly. It's a picture of some of our horses, Rhythm and Jungle Rose out in the pasture behind the house.

Finally, NO MORE WHITE BRICKS! Ironically, they will probably be back in style next season. :)

Put Your Pumpkins To Work

Are you tired of lazy pumpkins who, while festively decorated, just sit there and do nothing? Me, too. So I came up with some ways to use pumpkins that were both fun AND functional. Pumpkin candlesticks, pumpkin tiered platters, pumpkin name cards, gold-leafed pumpkins (Okay, some were not functional, but I digress....)

A few weeks ago I was asked to present a fresh technique on decorating with pumpkins on the lifestyle television show, Studio 5. Today was the big "reveal" and you can watch the segment here. The video sums it up quite well, but I've included additional images of the pumpkins I made. The gold spray paint I used was Krylon's Brilliant Gold and for the glittered pumpkins I simply brushed on some artist's acrylic medium (you can use white glue or Mod Podge) and sprinkled the gold over the glue. If you have any questions about any of these projects, drop me a line! Have fun making your own versions of these pumpkin ideas. (That is, if you can have fun knowing that your poor pumpkins are now working instead of sitting on the front porch just looking pretty.)

I Have No Greater Joy

I can't even remember how to operate this blog thing. Yes, it has been since January since I've posted. I've actually got a bunch of stuff to show you. That's the problem, see? I don't have time to blog because I've been busy making things! But I'm not going to worry about trying to blog all the time. I'm not trying to be rich and famous. I just want an outlet to share some of my thoughts and creative experiments. Some of them don't turn out too well, but maybe I'll show you anyway. Here is a painting I just finished that I'm entering into the International Art competition put on by the LDS church every three years. I have to wait until DECEMBER 31st to find out if I make it into round one of the judging. That's a long time to wait. But if I don't make it into the show, at least I have something that I think captures my cutie pie (now 18 months old) quite well. I have rarely painted myself. Who wants to look at themselves that long? I realized I need my roots done. :)