September 28, 2011

Back and ready to bring it!

HooooowDee! Well, this cowgirl is back from Nashville and what a spurrific time! It was good to have some face time with my stellar feller and we got re-nude together. (Hee Hee, sorry if that image burns your eyes out butt I couldn't resist, oh no there i go again, somebody stop me!) So I am sure some of you now are wondering how a good christian gal can talk like that, well, here it is. God created sex and sex is good so we are allowed to talk about it as long as we keep it monogamous and in marriage. So, moving on so ya'll don't un-follow me....

We were holed up in the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. The HOTEL is 52 acres, not ON 52 acres, it IS 52 acres large! They hand you a map!! when you register. Luckily we had our GPS so we could navigate within the hotel.
Glass sculpture in the lobby

The Cascades walkway

Gorgeous chandelier

You could take a boat ride through the canal!

Just breathtaking foliage



Koi being coy....

Indoor waterfall, one of three

Behind the waterfall, even the iron work is  made to look like water waves

Fountain and getting set-up for a wedding

Me and the hubs dressed up

Totally diggin' the E-man

All the Honky Tonks

Bella Mont Mansion
Uh, Oh a secret picture of that man 'o' mine

Bella Meade Plantation- definitely a must see for anyone visiting

Slave quarters- so glad that is over, very sad conditions inside 


A Spoondalier!!!! If you look real close above the cups you can see the lights!

All in all a fun trip but good to be home to see the little cowpokes and get back into the groove of everyday life in the Burgh. Why? 

because....
I did not make Crafting with the Stars but I am Crafting from the Sidelines!! We are going to follow along with Crafting with the Stars and do the challenges just like them. I am also going to enter their sidelines competition for Wallflowers so you can vote at both places.

So keep your eyes peeled for a super knock-off challenge!

Go to: http://redzoegirl.blogspot.com/2011/09/welcome-to-official-first-contest-of.html for the crafting from the sidelines competition. Voting opens Oct. 3rd here
and go to
http://www.sewdangcutecrafts.com/2011/09/round-1-theme-whos-paired-up-with-who.html to read about the original competition. Voting will be open on Oct. 4th here for us Wallflowers

 Always being renewed,

September 22, 2011

Going Away!

I am going away with the hubs this weekend for a much needed break in Nashville,TN. So, I'll see ya'll next week.

Always being renewed,

September 19, 2011

Future Chair love

I have been jonesin' for all things mid-century lately so I couldn't believe it when I found these chairs at various garage sales etc. for none more than a $10 dolla holla! I hope to get these done over the long, cold winter in Pittsburgh so then I can show you some serious before and afters. Just look at these mad men...








Love the lines of both of these bad boys!
 My crib/daybed is black with green cushions and robin's egg blue/green pillows. Love green so I might do some drop cloth slipcovers and then paint them in a pattern with green and then paint the frames black but I also find orange SUPER groovy but not sure if I can make that work with green. Okay is anyone else exhausted by that run-on sentence?

Any suggestions on color combinations?

Always being renewed,

September 17, 2011

De-Stressed French Country Style Chairs

Oh to be sooooo relaxed as my little pair of chairs! You can check them out in my shop!





Them before- very stressed out over how they look =0(

Before




This is how they got relaxed.... First I had to strip the varnish because it was so bad. Then sand, fill holes with wood putty, sand again, prime, paint in a nice semi-gloss antique white oil based paint.  Sand edges to distress the finish and then let them relax while I tackled the seat cushions. They are currently getting a nice polyurethane soak at the spa. Always a good way to unwind.

Remove old cover  and save to use as a template on new fabric. The cotton batting was so old, first of all it WAS cotton AND it stuck to the fabric! I used burlap because the chairs look rustic to me and therefore I thought a rustic material was in order and tres chic! It really is comfortable for all of yous guys who think, "WHAT THE?!?"

Covered in burlap from the back. Do you see the two holes? yeah, had to drill 2x to get the center for the tufted button


Make your piping. I just used the old piping for length and then cut my burlap on the bias. That means diagonal in sewing talk and it allows you make your piping go around edges easily.


I made a double piping using my burlap and then just some store-bought piping.

This is it married. See opposites do attract!

I made it wider than the original piping because I would need more selvage to staple with, you'll see in the next photo....


How to finish the edge

Here is a little free tutorial within a, oh, yeah free tutorial. Covered buttons. Covered buttons on just about everything make it look custom made vs. store bought so get you button covered ninja on and never look back at plain buttons again. Not that there is anything wrooong with plain buttons!

These come in packages so you get all the tools that you need. Then you can just get the replacement supplies for next time unless, you change up sizes like me, in which case you'll have every size tool for covering buttons. Ever.  Now, place fabric on the white "bowl" and then press button into it.

Like so

and so...

Place button back over top and use blue "thingy" to press it into place. You may feel a pop when it catches. If you get just one side, press again on that side and see how you did

Pressed but not popped out yet, it can't wait to be put on the seat!


Now get yerself some long Doll needles

Thread it so you have 4 strands and use heavy duty thread

Go up through the correct center hole, through the button shank and back down through correct hole.
Now PUUULLLLLL! Staple the thread tightly back and forth several times to secure it so it looks tufted. I was not able to take the picture that shows me STANDING on the back of the cushion, pulling, stapling over and over again and trying to photograph all at the same time. But you all have such great imaginations, you get the picture..

All Done


And all done, now nail cushion to chair base and sit and relax yourself!!!


Let's Review:

Before: Stressed Out!
                                          
After: Relaxed, aahhhh!

Now, my little chairs are not de-stressed because they "look pretty" mind you. They had to go through a lot of hard work to get rid of all the stuff that was holdin' them back from their beauty within. Just putting a coat of paint over old varnish would have looked good initially but as people got closer, all the little problems would have become visible and the paint would have started to crack.

So take a page out of my little blog and do the hard work on the inside, and it will be hard, but get rid of the stuff that is holding you back and when you get through it, your new self will shine through and no one can argue with that kind of long-lasting beauty

Kim

I am linking arms with these blissfully beautiful bloggers:
Funky Junk Interiors
Shabby Nest
French Country Cottage
Restore Interiors -Restore Wednesdays
Miss Mustaed Seed- Furinture Feature Friday
Coastal Charm


Redoux Photobucket

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