Thrift Shop Re-Do - Sitting Stool

Hey again!  One more for ya on this rainy Saturday.   This project actually was done in a series of steps, but just completed this morning.   I never, NEVER seem to have a chunk of time more than an hour long available to me at once.  

First I want to thank you guys for all of your comments.  They definitely keep me inspired to continue with my little "decorating on the cheap" journey.  I also want to welcome all my new followers!   I am so, so pleased and honored that you've joined and hope to have many inspiring posts over the next little while.

Anyways, on a trip to the thrift store a couple weeks ago, I came across an adorable little stool.   

Along with a candle holder and box, but that's for later...

Needed some work, clearly, and it also seems like it started life as a tall stool that somebody cut down.   But no matter, there was something appealing about it and guess what?   Six Dollars.   Six!  That's it!  You cannot buy a stool at Walmart for six dollars I don't think.   Well, maybe you can, but then what on earth would I do with my rainy Saturdays??

I plan to have this little guy downstairs in the kitchen or the room off the kitchen or the entry way, or maybe even to bring into the family room if extra seating is needed.  I have too many options sometimes.   So the color had to be black.

I spray painted him up. 

First step, make sure it's a nice day, so that this does not happen.

Then find a nice open spot outdoors, spread out an old blanket (or something) and find yourself a cute helper...

This step is not necessary.   This particular cute helper got bored after about 5 minutes and retired indoors to watch SpongeBob.   To each his own.

I basically just used my trusty can of Valspar Black (I used a flat, not a glossy.   Why?  I couldn't tell you.)  and sprayed him all up.

When one coat was dry(ish) I flipped him onto his head and sprayed the underparts.

Let him dry in the sun for a bit.

I like it alot better already!

I decided that since I didn't prime or sand, or anything else that is recommended before painting, that I would show A Touch More Love by spraying one last coat of a protective sealer.

To be honest, it did not make a bit of difference that I could SEE.  But it did make me feel better.

So this is how things were this morning....

Being a bit of an idiot inexperienced with recovering furniture (even the small stool variety) I had wondered how to make the top a comfy place to sit.   A nice lady at the fabric store suggested just some plain old batting that could be shaped for an underlayment and then fabric on top.

Perfect!   I chose the remnants of the same fabric that was used on my window mistreatments.

That way if it is in the kitchen, it looks more at home.   Somehow it's changed from a "him" to an "it".  Did you notice that too??!  :0

Okay, I have neither tools, experience, brains, or a staple gun, so I again relied on The Magic of Glue.

Fabritac for this project again, to be exact.

I basically guesstimated the amount of batting and fabric that would be needed.   I went extra on the batting, because I wanted an actual "cushiony" feel.  

Cut it all with plain old scissors and then went about putting it together.

I initially did this with the stool right side up, but it turned out much easier (duh) to turn it upside down.

Did a bit more trimming just to make sure there wasn't a ton of overhang.   And what I did was basically put the fabric on the bottom (right side down), then the batting on top of that, then the stool on top of THAT.  Something like the picture above.  Actually, EXACTLY like the picture above.

I glued a little hem along the edges of the fabric, just to make it look neat.  Because don't we always get people that come into our homes and proceed to peer underneath all the furniture to make sure things are neat?   That's what I thought.

I did one side first.  Just wrapped him all up like a present.

And worked my way around.

Oh!  I almost forgot.   Make SURE that you have really sophisticated and "fancy" tools at your disposal to hold everything down while the glue is drying....

My personal favorite is the Chip Clip.   So many uses.

Followed closely by.....

A Small Box Of Heavy Things.   This holds everything in place very well also.

Despite me and Chippy's best efforts, it's still not THE absolute neatest job in the world.   But, remember - this part will be on the underside.   And I don't think people REALLY come to your home to look under furniture.   Just sayin'.

Here's a view from the top looking down.  Or the bottom looking up (it's still upside down)

And, I think he's done!    All dressed up and ready to meet the rest of the house...

I'm sure this will more around ALOT (most of my small furnishings do) but for right now it's in between my Kitchen and my Room That Is Next To My Kitchen.

Just for a fun look, I also tried it with a band of black trim along the edges.   Can you tell it's even there??  

It is ingeniously held on by.....

Tada!  Glue dots.   This is probably ANOTHER practice that is not generally recommended, but it will suffice for now.  That way, when I don't like the trim, or want to change the trim - I can just pull it right off again!   Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

The queen likes it too.  

 I had so much fun with this project!  I'm really happy with how it came out - even though I didn't quite have the foggiest clue what I was doing.   And I'd love to hear what you think!  I'd also love to hear about any projects that seemed overwhelming and just a little scary, and how it all turned out for you.

Ta for now!

Smiles and Hugs,
Joyce

Fall Wicker Basket

Okay, so I really REALLY love baskets.  All kinds, all shapes - I must have literally almost 100.  I used to hang them from the ceiling at our previous house, but it never seemed to look right here.   Trouble is, they all seem to be some different version of wood.


Not that there is anything wrong with that.  Not whatsoever.   But, they tend to take on some kind of dingyness to them and they are all varying shades of the same thing.   Nothing looks like it wants to work together.  

So enters my new best friend, Spray Paint.   I have been spray painting everything lately (or at the very least finding things that I WILL spray paint the next chance I get)   My poor dog is cowering in the corner - he thinks he's next.

Here's a batch of them drying in the sun....

This is what happens when you take an ordinary wicker(ish) basket and introduce him to Valspar.

The end result of this particular basket - it's the largest on the top left corner of the above photo.

A definite improvement, but I still needed to add something.    I grabbed this

and these

and went to work adding some fall "festivities" to the mix.    The foliage (for lack of a better term) has probably seen better days, since I've been stealing from it here and there.   

Some of the berries were used for this fall project

And some other pieces had been used for the candlestick "redo" on this project here

So the back was looking pretty sad and "unfluffy".   I have no real fix for this.  I just figure that will stay in the back and anybody who notices will be too polite to say anything.   So much of my life is like that.

Anyways, attaching the garland was very, very easy to do.   I simply held a piece up and figured out where to adhere it with some floral wire.   I am positve that there are better and more "permanent" ways to achive the same thing.  But since this is not for my store or a gift, it will just be used here at home.   The good news about that is also that the garland can easily be taken back apart and replaced with something else for each season!

So you'll be sure to meet this basket again.  :)

I basically wanted to make sure that wherever the wire was attached, it would be covered by a leaf or another part of the garland and not stick out like a sore thumb bright shiney gold piece of wire.

The leaves do seem to cover it up very well!

So after attaching it on each side (or maybe in five different spots altogether) we have our end result

TaDa!

I so love the way these colors look together for fall.   Here's another view :

But that's just in an upstairs hallway and I wanted this little beauty somewhere that we actually ARE.  So I ended up bringing her back down to the family room on my hearth.

Cute!  I love it.  This would be great for newspapers, magazines or even a little stash of firewood.   Here's another cute tip:

Turn a basket upside down and it becomes a GREAT area for a small display!  

Total cost ZERO and time was approx. one and a half hours (even counting waiting for the paint to dry - I think you are actually supposed to Prime it first and wait a much longer time, but whatever.)

Now I just can't figure out which I like better!  Either way could hide a bunch of yucky - very useful.

By the way, I am linking up to Reinvented's Trash to Treasure Tuesday (if I'm able, since it is Wendesday LOL!)   Be sure to  check her out here!

Have a great day!

Smiles and Hugs,
Joyce

Fun with Paint - Chalkboard Style

I will be entering this post in a Linky Party!!   Or two!   Check here for tons of Make Your Monday projects brought to you by Twice Remembered.

Also I am again *repurposing* to participate in a KNOCK OFF KNOCK OUT Party hosted by It's So Very Cheri.

This will also be included in Show and Tell Friday over at My Romantic Home.    Get yer butt here for a visit!

So if you are an avid blog follower, you might have seen the following trick repeated many, many, many times over the last few weeks.   I hope you don't mind one more! 

If you have never heard of chalkboard paint, it is like the coolest stuff ever created!   Take a look at the following "redo" and you'll be looking around your home for stuff to "chalkify" too!!

I started with a picture of a giraffe and it's baby that for some reason I have lying around.  I must have thought it was cute at one point, but needless to say, it does not exactly BLEND with the current decor around here.  But it was a good size and seemed to have some potential.

I hadn't noticed this before somehow, but it has a nice little ropy detail running along the entire edge!  It had blended right in with the greyish, weird, light brown "wood". 

Kind of added another challenge, because I wasn't anticipating it at the time and didn't want to ruin the frame.  But as luck would have it, it's just kind of inset INTO the frame - not glued or anything!  So it basically just ripped right out!

 I went to work figuring out how to dismantle this baby.

 

Alot of your less expensive cheap "art" will have something like this on the back.  These little brackets are bendy and attach the frame to the backing. 

With a little help from my super sophisticated stash of power tools....

Okay, I mean my CHEESE SPREADER..... I was able to get the whole thing apart in approximately 3  minutes. 

Now, this particular piece of priceless art was so cheap well-made, that it didn't even have real glass as a protective cover.   Just a sheet (which DID break) of super stiff plastic something-or-other.   I was thinking I'd save it to use for SOMETHING, but this part did bend and break into a bunch of little pieces.  Well, you win some - you lose some.

Anyways, I took the frame (with the rope torn out) and the cardboard backing outside to paint.

This is my secret weapon used to obliterate giraffes.   I found it at AC Moore, I believe, for about $6 and there is not even a DENT put into the amount still left after this, my first chalkboard project.   

I probably have better photos somewhere, but I basically chose an area of my yard that is away from anything that would NOT like to be covered into chalkboard material and also in the sun for fast drying.  I laid an old blanket down to protect the ground below.

I used this to cover the frame - separate blanket a few feet away from the first.

It's just a basic can of ivory color spray paint from Valspar. 

I did NOT prime, I did NOT sand, I did NOT also do anything else that one is supposed to do before painting.  Not that I am recommending that you guys ignore all relevant and practical advice, but sometimes I am a little lot too impatient to take extra steps.   Just point, aim and you are done.

Then I was left with this below.   About 2 coats on each and they dried very quickly being out in the sun.

Now I'm sitting and hoping that the cool little rope detail will look better against the white and HOPING that I can actually get it back into place without a fight.

The first piece actually did.  The rest wasn't willing to go down without a fight.  I'm guessing that the spray paint made the little "valley" that it sits in a bit too tight or something, but the stuff JUST WOULDN'T FIT. 

But with a little help from my friend (FabriTac) I managed to get the rest into place or at least attached to the frame and now all is right with the world. 

I laid the chalkboard covered piece into the frame and repositioned the bracketts that hold it into place.  Again with my sophisticated power tools butter knife.

Looking better and happier already!

See the weird little smudgy thing on the upper left hand corner ( I do this ALL THE TIME, by the way - people will come to my house and compliment something and I ALWAYS manage to point out it's flaw - why - WHY?)  Anyways, that is because I'm not sure that chalkboard paint was MEANT to go over cardboard and erase easily.   This was after trying to use an eraser, which basically just smudged the chalk around - I ended up using a slightly damp paper towel to erase next tiem and it worked perfectly!

For now, it is making it's home right here...

A little corner off the kitchen, next to where I've got the downstairs computer set up.   

The best part about this arrangement was actually an added bonus that I had not planned out..

It hides a multitude of yucky!!   I love lamps on countertops, but hate the mess of cords that you can never REALLY hide.   Plus a small stash of candles and other kitchen debris can be nicely tucked away behind it - out of view!

I'm going to certainly be looking around my house for more hidden treasure - so many things can be turned into something completely New and Useful and Beautiful!  This entire project, by the way, probably took about 3 hours start to finish and that even includes waiting for the paint to dry.  

Happy Weekend Everyone!. 

Smiles and Hugs,
Joyce