Reupholstering a Desk Chair

Do you have an old desk chair that you are just not happy with? Well I did & now it's awesome. I had gotten this chair from my partner's parents. They are always giving me things that they don't want anymore & I can never say no & plus I needed another desk chair. First and for most I would like to apologize for the poor quality of these pictures. I used my cell phone camera & wasn't very organized when starting this project. I didn't take a pictures of the chair before I took it apart or the steps on how it got from point A to B, which I wanted to do when I intially started this project but got so excited I forgot. So please use your imagination in this post. Haha.

This is so easy to do. What you need to do is take the chair completely apart, as you can see in the picture above. Then you need to find a fabric that you would like to cover the chair with, I had old green bed sheets from a twin bed. But you could find a funky pattern fabric or even use towels with a graphic that you like, the options are endless.

Then you take the fabric of your choice & lay it flat on the floor, place the backside of the chair (where your back rests) on the fabric & cut around, making sure that there is enough fabric to fold over to tape or staple to the other side. Once the fabric cut, I couldn't find a stapler, (should have gathered all of my tools needed before starting but didn't, so unorganized with this project! haha), but I found that duck tape works just as well. I took the tape & followed it around the edges, making sure the fabric is pulled tight. This reminded me of wrapping the ends of a present, if you know what I am taking about, this is a great technique to use. Do the same thing to the bottom part of the chair (where your hynee rests). Make sure that before you put the chair back together you flip it over & make sure that the cushion looks good for your taste.

I was going to paint the hardware but decided against that. Another thing, remember what pieces go where when taking the chair apart & also make sure that you have a designated spot where all the hardware is put so that you don't loose any important screws or pieces. Haha. I lost a screw & looked all over for it for about an hour. Ugh, it was so frustrating. This project took me about a half hour minus looking for the lost screw.

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

So.... Valentines Day is creeping up on us, so I have been look at some ideas on what I am going to do for Valentines gifts/cards. I found this remarkable website. http://cfabbridesigns.com/blog/. This website has great ideas for that perfect Valentine. I will be taking some of these ideas & make them alittle bit more my taste. Post on those to come.

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

Quote of the day; "Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live."

DIY: Candle Holders Turned into Bathroom Storage

I saw this really cool idea, while I was surfing the internet & I had to try it! I barely have any counter space in my basement bathroom. So I thought that this would be a resolution for my q-tips & cotton balls & even more importantly get them off the counter.

The things you will need are: two candle stick holders, in this case I wanted to make two holders, so if you are doing two like what I did then you will need four holders. You can use all different sizes or styles of holders. I landed a really great deal on these four. I got all of them at Goodwill, the two larger ones were only $1.99 a piece & the two smaller ones were only a $1.00. Can't beat that at all.

Then you will need to find two jars with lids. I have been saving glass jars for quit some time so I didn't have problem finding any. You can use pickle, spaghetti sauce or jelly jars, I could go on and on. You could also use glass vases, without lids. Which would make a really cool glass terrarium. Which I will be doing soon, posts on that to come. But for this project I wanted to use something with a lid. Next I went to Michaels & found wood bobins & glued them to the top of the lids. I used the ever famous Gorilla glue that adhere to metal & wood. Let that dry for 24 hours.

Along with glueing the bobins to the lids, I glued one top of the candle holder to the top of the other one. To make sure that the two holders would adhere, I took some sand paper & ruffed up the tops alittle. Taking the glue & going around the rim of each candle stick & put one ontop of the other. I let the holders dry over night to make sure that the two adhere stronge. After the holders have been let to dry for 24 hours, if you used alot of glue when adhereing the two holders there might be some glue that has seeped around the rim of the two connected holders, this doesn't look appealing so I took some sand paper & just sanded down the exposed dry glue

I found a box that was big enough to fit the holders. I did this so that the spray paint wouldn't go all over when painting & plus I was spray painting these inside in a well vented room of course. haha. Also I painted the lids black to match the holders. Took approximately two coats of paint for the holders & lids. I let everything dry for a good 24 hours. After letting them dry, I took the glass jars with the gorilla glue & put the glue around the bottom of each jar then stuck it to the holders. I also let this dry for 24 hours to make sure I had a solid construction.

This is the final product, I think it turned out awesome! To make something out of objects from a thrift store is something I love. This looks really classy to me. It's unexpected. What do you think? I am thinking about painting a design around the jars but I am not sure if I want to do this, maybe it will make it alittle bit more custom, hmm.....What do you think? Suggestions on what I should paint?

If you aren't the DIY-er, I would be more than happy to make you a couple of these. Just drop me a line at Ballantyne87@yahoo.com.

I hope this finds your creative juices flowing. Til next time friends!

Craft Area & Rugs

Our dog, Mitchy, loves the new craft area. (Woof Woof)

Hey Everyone,

I recently redid my craft area. It was to small of an area to spread out all my projects. I didn't have enough space to leave projects out & work on something else at the same time. It was always a mess. On the other side of the room dividers (top picture) is where we have a small family room area with a couch & two recliners (pictures to come). Before I moved stuff around the white tables where on the 'family room' side of the room dividers, which was the home for all of my pictures. I thought the end tables would be more pratical on the other side, while making my art area alittle bigger. I had old black end tables that I stacked on top of the white tables to give me more storage space, also by stacking them it also saved alot of floor space & at the same time its visually pretty interesting. You will notice that I still found space for picture frames & if you look really closely, I know the picture is dark, you will see all the mini projects I am working on. The middle picture. You will see my sewing machine, which I got from my mom, which she got from my grandma. I am looking for someone who can teach me how to use it. Do you know how? I have so many ideas going threw my head & knowing how to sew would help so much with alot of those ideas.

Still talking about middle photo, you will notice the shelf I have on the wall, which I love & got such a great deal on. Got this at Michaels for $15.00 on clearance, because it was returned with a couple of chips on the paint. Originaly it was $50.00. I scored big with this find. After touching up the chips with some white paint, bam, good as new. Then you will see the art table underneath. Also got this table at Michaels. It actually moves updiagonally. Kind of like a drafting table. I really don't ever use it for that purpose.

Originally the desk that stretches across the back wall, was an "L" shaped desk. When I had it this way it was just taking up a whole bunch of useable space. So I just took out the section that made it an "L" and made it into a long desk. On the left hand side of the desk houses my computer & house bill information, and record keeping. On the right hand side is a surface where my cricket machine is, & just an area where I can leave projects out that I am currently working on.

Light is a major issue in my basement, so I decided to line the back of the desk with lamps that I'm not using & these lamps also happen to be lamps that I look to revamp.

On that same wall I have two bulletin boards hanging above the desk that I use as bill reminders (left) & as an action calendar (right). An action calendar is where I put post-its on & write what projects I am working on & when I feel they should be completed by. This is a great idea for all house holds & can be used for a varity of things. I have been wanting to do this for a long time because I think that this will help me get things completed.

I am kind of stuck on what I want to do with the floor. The rugs that you see in the bottom picture are rugs that I have in my kitchen, they are definately not going to stay there but I wanted to see what size or how many rugs I wanted down there. I really like the feel of the two rugs. Give it some interest to the floor, but it drives me nuts that they move & aren't always square. So with that said I am in search of a rug, that's approximately 5X6 or larger. I also have another idea in mind & that is making a canvas rug. I have been looking around for instructions on how to make one. The best one that I could find was on Marthastewart.com, gotta love her. Click on link & see instructions http://www.marthastewart.com/good-things/making-canvas-rugs . I have been wanting to do this for the longest time. Do you think this will be a big endeavor? I think that this would be expecially good idea since it will be in a space where there might be spills or messes that might happen. Also this will be a hard service so that it will be easy for my desk chairs to roll around. Hmmm... Decisions. And ooohh, the canvas rug will be custom, gotta love that. But might be alittle bit more expensive. I found this website that sells #10 canvas, http://www.allenscanvas.com/?gclid=CNWwqNTtzKYCFQHs7QodqkosIA , which for 25 yards I guess really isn't that bad. Oh my, just came up with an idea, I can make seperate sizes & make a puzzle out of a whole bunch of them to go on the floor or make enough for everyone for a Christmas gift. I will have to do some more shopping around. I always find that if you take your time with finding materials needed for an expensive project it usually turns out being cheaper than if you just went out & bought the stuff after reading this post. HAHA. That's kind of a given.
After doing some more looking around for carpet ideas, I found this DIY project on ApartmentTherapy.com, putting inexpensive rugs together by sewing them by hand. I think this might be an option I will definately look into. Inexpensive & probably can find a whole bunch of second hand rugs at Goodwill. Link & how to: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OEIbDXvUlj8/TOq2KGdKFAI/AAAAAAAACm4/dbWOIIYUBKo/s1600/1-23-diy-rug-4_rect540.jpg&imgrefurl=http://gritsandlime.blogspot.com/&usg=__yTzSif-5bzUqIR926a3ABovLrDY=&h=405&w=540&sz=52&hl=en&start=83&zoom=1&tbnid=7MqW6ZT7FhD5yM:&tbnh=99&tbnw=132&ei=_U46TdSSM8K_gQfq5ICuCA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddiy%2Bcanvas%2Brugs%26start%3D80%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1 You will need to scroll down to the part where is talks about the rug, click on it, then will bring up information on how to do this DIY.
I hope you enjoyed reading. Til' next time.

Home-made Carpet Cleaner Experience from H*** But It Worked!

Hello All,

So I tried the recipe I posted for carpet cleaner. It's amazing how those simples items can bring up stains from a carpet. But there were a few problems when I was mixing all the ingredients together. The directions didn't mention this but when you put white vinegar or any vinegar for that matter with baking soda it will explode....... So here I am reading the instructions, added all the ingredients & mixed well.... then this happened http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqEK5ECcsDo.... (that's not me of course) vinegar was everywhere, my dogs about had heart attacks & it really does hurt your hand. It was a flippin' mess let me tell you. I read the instructions over and over & thinking that a missed something. ::scratches head:: So this is what I did instead. I mixed the water and vinegar together as instructed by my previous post. Once I sprayed the carpet stain I sprinkled some baking soda over the wet carpet. IT WAS AMAZING TO WATCH. Considering what it did to my bottle & the bottle on the video, I hope that I have carpet tomorrow. Haha. After I let the carpet dry, I then sprinkled baking soda again on the stain. I am letting it set as we speak. I am not to fond of the vinegar smell, I must say, so what I am hoping what will happen is that the baking soda will absorb the smell of the vinegar or the vinegar smell will go away with time. I guess we will see.
Well I am off to paint my bathroom. Picture & a post on that to come.

Take care all.

Long Time No Type! Home made cleaning solutions!

So you guys have probably heard me say a "I am going to blog every day." Well. . . As you can see that hasn't happened. Well 2011 is a new leaf & I am going to do my best by posting a blog every day about something I have found while surfing the internet or what I am currently working on. I hope that everyone has found joy in the holiday season & went out with a bang for 2010.

I love searching around the internet for interesting things. Lately, I have found alot of home made cleaning products such as Frebreze & Carpet Cleaner.

I love Frebreze, but it's so expensive, $4.00 or more for a 30 oz or something bottle. I find this overly price. Don't you? So I have found this home made recipe for frebreeze, that I am going to try. I have been really obsest on finding recipes for this & comments on what people think. All of these recipes are items that you can find around your house and will cost way under $4.00:

Febreze:
Option #1
an empty spray bottle
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 to 2 tablespoons of fabric softener

Option #2
1/2 cup laundry detergent
1/4 cup, 3% hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
2 cups of water
(poster assures the website found that this won't bleach out fabrics onto which it is sprayed onto)

Option #3
Was from a commentor on curbly.com says that she prefers this over Option 1 & 2.
Linen Water:
30 oz distilled water (be sure to use distilled)
2 oz vodka (plus a drink for you haha.)
5 drops of essential oils of your preference (examples: lavender/rosemary)
(Commentor mentioned also - no noxious chemicals, no wax residue on fabrics.)

All of these you will need to shake vigorously to emulsify all ingredients.

Out of all the options, I think that Option 3 would be my first pick. I plan on trying all of them & then rank which one I prefer the most.

I have two dogs, Mitchy & Levi. Sometimes they can have messes or make messes in the house, along with that comes messes that I or my lovely boyfriend make. With that being said I always have a stash of carpet cleaner in the house. This can get kind of costly if you break it down. So after looking around for home-made recipes for Frebreze, I stumbled upon a way to make carpet cleaner with also ingredients you may or may not have lieing around the house. I found this recipe at www.ehow.com. This website is awesome, check it out sometime.

Carpet Cleaner
Ingredients
White Vinegar
Distilled Water
Spray Bottle
Baking Soda
Clean White Towels, I prefer white so that you can see the stain being removed.
Vacuum.

1 = Mix 1 part white vinegar with 1 part distilled water in a spray bottle. Add 1/2 cup baking soda. Mix thoroughly.
2 = Spray the solution directly onto the stain or use it in your carpet cleaner machine. Allow it to sit on the stain for 5 to 10 minutes.
3 = Blot the excess vinegar solution up with clean towels until the carpet is nearly dry. Alternately, suck up the moisture with the carpet machine.
4 = Mix equal parts vinegar and baking soda to form a paste and rub it into any stubborn stains. Allow it to sit for 10 minutes, then wipe it up with a clean towel.
5 = Sprinkle baking soda over the carpet liberally once it has dried from cleaning. Allow to sit for several hours or overnight, then vacuum. This will deodorize the carpet.

These were all found at Curbly.com. AWESOME website, you need to check it out.
If this inspires you to try any of these, please let me know how they turn out for you. I will be trying them sometime this week & post what I thought. My house is a disaster with the holidays passing. Til' tomorrow.