trying my hand

Yesterday I refinished a chair. Yes, it is true. Little old me tried her hand at something creative and followed through. I shall tell you all about it.

We found this gross chair whilst driving about on Saturday and tossed it in the truck so that I could pursue my dream of taking something ugly and making it nice again. See, I read all these decorating websites and they're all recession-friendly and these girls make the cutest things out of junk. I just want to be like them.

Ugly chair:

Speaking of junk, look at this hunk-a-junk:

Not to be confused with this (just plain old) hunk:

Moose was acting like such a weirdo the whole time we were outside repurposing old objects.

I think it's because we had just put his medicine on his back (no ticks, no way!) and he didn't like the way it felt.

I think he's over it.

In between sanding, painting, and recovering, I finally got the urge to do something with the buoys I've been collecting from the beach over the past 8 months. I am just so intrigued by our beach and all the "finds" that wash up on the shore, sometimes I come home with the weirdest stuff. Mostly just pockets full of rocks . . . and occasionally a buoy.

We hung them on the creepy.scary.viney.buggy garden shed.

I like the maritime feel.

And, to get to the moment you've all been waiting for . . . to see the chair made new. I would like to say, first, that regardless of your opinion, I will have you know that this entire project cost exactly . . . ZERO dollars.

chair: found on side of the road

paint: found in basement

along with

paint brushes and sandpaper

staple gun: purchased by dad when he made my garden hutch

fabric: something I've been moving from state-to-state since I went to Tanzania in college. I just liked it then, and I still do, so I thought I'd actually put it to use.

So, while it did cost SOME people money, it didn't cost ME a penny. Except the fabric I bought back in 2004 but I'm pretty sure that wasn't too expensive.

So . . .

ta da!

Roosters!

I like the way it turned out. Besides the fact that the fabric, however enchanting and eclectic it might be, matches absolutely nothing in the house. Oh well. It can always go outside.

Or, I'll sell it to ya.

I'll be holding a silent auction in the comments section.