I'm Back!

After a very long break from my thus far meager attempt at blogging, I am back and I have loads to post. The holidays are fast approaching and I've been busy with making lots of homemade gifts and surprises for my friends and family. I manage to squeeze this crafting in between the kids sports and school events and my hectic schedule so it gives me great pleasure to have so many finishes to post:) Some of my upcoming posts will be just a peek at gifts I have in store for a few lucky people (and I don't want to give to much away!).

By far the largest finish I have completed was upholstering a chair that I bought at a church thrift store for only $10. Originally, I intended to finish this and give it to a friend who recently bought a house and had no furniture (literally) besides her bed! She's one of those people who likes to take great time and consideration before making big decisions like picking furniture which is very unlike me - when I see something I like I can make up my mind in an instant. But I digress ... As it turns out, Andrea decided that she wanted the chair for her room and begged me to keep it. This is what the chair looked like the day I bought it:

What you can't see in this picture is that the chair had decent structure and the previous owner had taken good care of it. It had clearly been recovered at least once and I suspect that the springs in the seat are newer (not original). My favorite part of the chair is the heart shaped back. It's a dainty lady's slipper chair and I love it! It took some time, but I removed every staple, nail, and fiber right down to the wood and springs. Then I recovered it with new foam, batting and muslin. It was a lot more work than I thought it would be! I found a really cute fabric to slip cover it with and it was a bargain at only $1.50/yard. *Keep in mind that I did this freehand with no pattern. Here is the finished product:



Isn't it cute? The fabric is a crushed velvet with roses embossed all over it. I love it! To cover the imperfections, I also made a little pillow to cushion the back of the chair. What do you think? I would love to read your comments. It fits the shabby chic decor in Andrea's room perfectly and she's pretty happy with how it turned out. It's her new reading chair.

Stay tuned for more posts to come this weekend and in the upcoming weeks. I am thinking of rising to the challenge posted on Coleen's blog over at Cha! Cha! Gigi and I might just post for the 25 Days of Christmas. I can't make any promises though because the kids are usually online all night working on their homework, so I'll have to wait my turn to get on.


Until next time, happy crafting!