the tufted wonder

We got a little ambitious this weekend.  You know we like a little DIY and it had been quite a while since we'd tried anything.  A few weeks ago I got the supplies for Matt to refinish his old weight bench. (Which is at least 50 years old . . . his grandpa's . . . the thing was just a BOARD . . . much better now!)  That little reupholstering project inspired Matt and he suggested doing something similar to our coffee table.  I had started to see 'coffee table to ottoman' projects on Pinterest, so I showed him the pictures but of course he did not want to read and see what anybody else did . . . he prefers forging his own way.  But that didn't stop me from reading a bunch of other people's experiences!  

The table:

It was pretty scratched up because we use that thing all the time.  I wanted something softer for Bo to protect his little noggin.  

So.  What we did.  

Matt took the top off the table:

And suggested we cover it with this fine fabric.

no.

He measured and drilled holes for what would eventually be the tufting. 

After Bo woke up from his morning nap, we took a family trip to JoAnnes to pick up the necessary supplies.  While there we grabbed foam, batting, button kits, heavy waxed thread, giant needles, and of course- the fabric.  We discussed some of the patterns but couldn't agree on one, and our house is so eclectic (since it's primarily 'found objects') . . . so we decided on a solid blue.  

I made grilled cheese and Matt cut and arranged the foam:

He put foam on the top and three of the four sides, since we wanted the drawer to be accessible.  Then he covered the foam with batting to smooth it out.  He then cut the fabric and upholstered the table.  

So, yes, it would appear that Matt has done the brunt of the work up until this point.  That is because it's true - he did it all, while I kept the baby happy and out of trouble.  When Bo went down for his second nap, I got started on the buttons.  I first covered the buttons with the same fabric . . .

Giant needles for sewing through inches of foam and batting.

Then I started the arduous process of sewing the buttons into place.  It's harder than it looks, and this guy was no help whatsoever:

I got most of the buttons in place but it took both of us to pull the string taunt and tie it to a washer underneath the table to keep the tufting in place.

And . . . voila!  

Except, not quite.  The once-perfect height of the coffee table now had an extra three inches added to it, so Matt had to cut the legs down a bit.  

And so!  Now, finally, finished! 

A close up of those sweet tufts and the reason we did all this in the first place - that precious noggin.  Stealin' somebody's phone and trying to make a run for it. 

And with a tray (a Vday gift from my mom, how timely) to hold our stuff:

How do you like that styling?  Dog toy on the floor, rumpled pillows, baby bottle on the side table . . . that's life!

So, we are pleased.  My feetkins are propped up in comfort and Bo's little head is a bit safer.  Matt said he was chasing Moose around the table when Moose tried to pull his usual move of diving under it, but our doggy got a little stuck and had to army crawl to the other side.  Ha!  What a hilarious animal.  

what to make in the fall

I went through a recent dry spell in the crafty department.  I've since been revived and my dining room/sewing table is a mess of threads and fleece remnants.  (Baby mittens - should be easy, but elastic is so hard!)  Tomorrow is Veterans Day and I'll be home with a bunch of little boys so I'm looking for more "projects" to keep us occupied.  I was home with them several days in September for holidays, and I had more ideas back then:

Rice Krispy treats made to look like apples (with Tootsie Roll stems).  The idea was to do pumpkins but it was a little early in the season so I went for apples.  

We also made this apple banner that weekend which looked pretty cute.  I cut small apples in half and let them paint and stamp.  They drew in stems and seeds later.  Even the three year old could participate.

We made these shirts using clorox in a spray bottle.  I'm anti-scary so even though they were Halloween-ish, the shapes were of a friendly sort.

The black looked pretty good for Halloween because it turns orange when bleached.

 

I found little orange hoodies at Target, perfect for making into a jack-o-lantern.

I made these cupcakes for small group last night because I realized I hadn't made anything fall-ish.  Apple crisp should be coming up soon.  I've totally lost any desire to bake but I'm trying to resurrect in honor of my favorite fall flavors.  

Matt works a lot . . . I've had several Saturdays alone in the past month.  (Although no boo-hoos for me, being home alone is infinitely better than being at the hospital for 24 hours, or 25 if you happen to be on call during the daylight savings switch . . . wop-wop.)  One of those Saturdays I made this random-looking wreath.  That's not what it was supposed to look like, but burlap is messy and I was ready to be done.  I still like it.

Another one of those home-alone Saturdays a bunch of girls from my small group came over and I forced them to make flowers with me.  In the middle of it, one of my friends confessed that she hated crafts and her mom and husband gave her pep-talks before she came!!!  I find that both tragic and hilarious.  This is my childish-looking wool flower I pinned to my new coat.  

So I don't think I can convince the boys to make flowers tomorrow.  If it's not raining, we will be tracking down lovely leaves.  If it is raining... well, it might be a movie day!  

out of my league

So we had this chair.  

Our first house in Long Island (two houses in two years of marriage, hooray) was pretty large and Matt brought all the furniture he could to fill it up.  But in our current house, we didn't have the space for it.  It rocks and swivels and I contemplated recovering it for use in the baby's room, but since I'm such a novice, I didn't want to drop $70 on fabric and then hate the way it looks.  

I tried to Craigslist it. (Do you like my staging?  The pillow and the brick wall? I mean, it kind of worked, we got two phone calls.)

But despite interest, no one actually came and got it.  So after staring at it for a few weeks, I began moving it around the house and tossing fabric on it from a large bolt I picked up at a garage sale.  You know I like throwing fabric on things.

And then one Saturday, when Matt was gone most of the day, I just went for it.  I decided to cover the chair.  I read this very basic post about a hundred times, and then just dove it, without really thinking it through.

Bo was a good little buddy.  

I just started draping and cutting and pinning and darning my heart out.  

Taking it to the machine was scary, as I really did not know what I was doing.  But at that point I was eager to have the thing done, so I just started sewing away.  The lady who's (basic) tutorial I followed actually sells an ebook on how to make slipcovers, and I think if I'd bought it I might have avoided some questionable spots.

So if there's ever a next time, I'll definitely spend the $10 on the ebook.  Corners are not easy.  BUT for this project, I really didn't want to spend anything, and I didn't want to over think it and scare myself out of doing it.

And, after two Saturdays of labor . . . voila!

Of course I have a chair model.    

And his jacket has his name on it.  

Anyway . . . its by no means perfect, it could use a pillow to hide some of the rough spots, and I didn't feel like hemming the bottom so that's a bit raggedy.  And perhaps my little side table with the typewriter leaves something to be desired?  

But, for a $3 project, I'm feeling pretty good about it.  I got some experience in slipcovering and we might actually sit there.  Looks like a good coffee spot.  

kitchen transformations

Our rental house is old.  To make it sound more charming, I like to tell the story of how it was a Sears kit house that the original owner bought and had built on his property.  He made some additions, and while I would've picked a second bathroom over a huge kitchen, nobody asked me.  So that's a nice little story, and it's plopped in the middle of five acres, which is kind of what made us fall for the place, despite some of its flaws.  Anyway, one of the home's charms is a farmhouse sink.  These are all over Pinterest and people seem to have a real thing for skirted sinks.  I might have thought I had a thing for them too, until I lived with one, and now I'm content to have cabinets under the sink.  But it kind of fits the vibe of the kitchen (old-timey).  

When we first moved in, there were red curtains under the sink:

But I was having a hard time working the red in with the yellow walls and blue backsplash (sigh), so I took on my first-ever sewing project to create this:

Lemon-yellow curtains.  With one upside-down panel and perhaps hemmed a few inches too short.  Ta-da!  Despite my original feelings of pride over my first sewing experience, I ditched the green rugs and found a big yellow and brown one, and the decided I didn't love the lemons anymore.  Actually I had picked up some fabric for a different project and wondered if that might be a nice change under the sink. I hung it up for an afternoon to see if I liked it.  

I had no idea that someone ELSE had an opinion about it!  I heard a bit of a scuffle and a growl in the kitchen, and came in to see Moose hilariously interacting with the big piece of fabric.  I didn't think dogs cared about that kind of thing, but apparently Moose is a breed apart.

Oh, Moosey.  What would we do without you?

So, I liked the change so I made some new curtains for under the sink.  

Hooray.  

They also go with THESE new guys, another summer project:

Ice cream parlor stools!

I don't think that's the actual name of these guys, but that's what they remind me of.  My mom bought them for me at a garage sale when she was visiting.  The owner said her parents had purchased them in the fifties as part of a table set.  They looked pretty lame when we got them:

Except you have to picture the seat as cracked in half.  And everything all cobwebby. 

Matt dismantled them for me and I sprayed them down with the red we had leftover from last year's porch furniture.  Matt also had to use a jigsaw and cut a new seat for me.  Thanks, dear!

I purchased the thickest foam I could find from JoAnn's and cut it to size before covering with the same fabric I used for the curtains.  

It looks cute on the stools but I think it's too matchy-matchy.  Oh, well.

They were originally supposed to go on the side, where the lip is bigger, but I think they're too big.  

I do like a summer project. :) 

my spot

I'd mentioned to Matt how I'd like a spot to sew, and one day I came home to a sewing table!  Matt made a table in our dining room that folded out on hinges, so we can use it as a buffet for our fancy meals (which rarely/never happens) and I can use the entire dining room as my crafting area, which is more often how you'll find the space.  

Recently we found a big bolt of Waverly fabric at a garage sale that we took home for $3 and I made a skirt for the table to hide my sewing machine and bins behind. 

So I'm headed there now to work on a couple different projects I've got going.

so very pregnant

I am currently 39 weeks pregnant, phew!  We had a doctor's appointment yesterday and everything is good to go.  I was disappointed to see the scale tip a few more pounds . . . my last two appointments I'd weighed the same!  Never thought I'd be so happy to see THOSE numbers! :)  We are in serious countdown, with the c-section scheduled next week.  By this time next Wednesday, I won't be pregnant any more!  The baby is still breech, with his big old head jammed up near my ribs.  The downside of this is that I still have heartburn a couple times a day.  The upside is that I'm not running to the bathroom all the time like most women at this stage of the game.  So, that's a plus.  Another benefit is knowing exactly when everything will go down.  Our parents were able to get tickets knowing that they would see the baby and not just me, waiting for baby to appear!  

I'm into my second week not working and it's been great, but a bit busier than I thought.  I'm not so good at just sitting around, I guess!  We've had time to work on the baby's room and get lots of little projects done.  I've put my sewing machine to good use!  The nursery is basically ready but there are a few more finishing touches needed.  It's also a really small room, so I haven't taken the time to get good shots of the whole space.  I did take some pictures today of a few little details that make it special.  

I've been working on this baby mobile for a couple days.  Now I know why the ones on Etsy were so expensive - this really does take a lot of time! 

Little whales and a sailboat, in from the Long Island Sound.  

I didn't love any of the changing table covers so I made one of those.  I should probably make/buy more, since it'll probably get stained in baby's first week home . . . I also accidentally sewed the corner seams inside-out because that's the kind of careful seamstress I am.  I figured it's jammed tightly enough into the changing table that you can't tell.  (I'm also the kind of seamstress who chooses to live with mistakes rather than take the time to redo them.) Gingham and seersucker- yes, please!

Baskets of diapers and wipes ready to go.

Laundry basket - we'll do plenty of that, I think.

Matt made some great pieces for the wall that I will feature soon, but here's one dreamy driftwood sailboat!

Crib ready to go!  I made the crib skirt, which you can't see here, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

A soft buddy to snuggle.

One big project is a chair that I've recently discovered is not a standard size so I don't think will fit in a standard slipcover.  I was really disappointed to figure that one out . . . sewing a slipcover is not high on my list of things to figure out how to do at this point in life.  I'm still working on a solution for that one, but right now it's got a some stuff thrown on it so I'm not assaulted by the living-room-grade plaid when I walk in the room.

Hope you enjoyed the little sneak peak!  More pictures soon! (if you can excuse the chair!)