Upcycled Director's Chair

Bear with me as this gets a bit lengthy...I was walking through our local Goodwill when I saw this wooden contraption lying on the floor. Sparking my curiosity, I went to see if I could tell what it was. Upon further investigation I saw it was the frame of a director's chair. A frame that looked as if it had been through a hurricane and someone had done a terrible attempt at trying to fix it up. It was priced at $3 so I snatched it up knowing I could give it a new life!

Here is the helpless, crumpled and folded chair as I found it. 

After leaving Goodwill, I ran to Hobby Lobby and found this cute duck fabric on clearance ($3/yd). 

And...these rosey knobs. 

A final stop at Walmart to pick up spray paint and a long dowel finished my supply needs. The chair's prior owner had tried to brush paint the frame...horrible mistake. Spray painting is so much easier!! I prefer to use Krylon Paint+Primer. It's a little more pricey but eliminates a lot of sanding and paint layers. And...since the chair did not have its' original seat, I had to buy the dowel in order to place the seat fabric. This will make more sense later. 

To start the upcycle, I took the chair apart and put the hinges and screws aside. I grabbed a block sander out of the building and gave the chair a quick buff and wash. 

When that was done, It was time to let the spray painting begin. I did 2 coats of paint allowing to dry 24 hours between each coat. Our South Carolina humid summer heat makes the paint take longer to dry. 

Here we are after paint session. 

I also painted the hinges. 

...Then reassembled the chair. That was the easy part. Now comes the measuring and sewing of the seat and back of the chair. First I measured the depth of the seat and cut the long dowel in  2 dowels that length. For my chair, it was 16" (this is also the depth for the seat fabric, I only added a 1/2" seam allowance for each side). Once the dowels were cut, I used them to measure how much fabric I would need to do the seat. 

The width of the seat measured 21". I added a 1/2" seam allowance to each side. My final dimensions were 17" deep x 22" wide. I marked my fabric and cut it. I place it right sides together and using a 1/2" seam I double stitched the front and back seams...leaving the sides open. I trimmed away the excess and turned the fabric right side out. Then pressed the seams. I learned the hard way not to under estimate the value of ironing when sewing. You should never skip that step! 

Once it was right side out and pressed, I put the dowels inside the fabric. 

Using my 1/2" seam allowance, I zig-zag stitched on top of the fabric to close up the sides and trimmed off the excess. I left the edges raw because you won't see them. Next I situated the dowels at the edge and was ready to assemble my seat. 

To assemble the seat, I folded the chair together and slid the dowels down the groove. Then I opened the chair back up and tada...a seat! 

Now..all ready to make the back. I used the same measuring techniques as with the seat. I measured width and height and added 1" to give a 1/2" seam allowance to each side. My dimemsions ended up being 7 1/2" high x 22" wide. I cut 2 pieces of fabric at this size. Then I folded up and pinned the 1/2" seam allowance on each top and bottom edge (long edges) of the fabric. 

Then I stitched it in place.  

Once all long edges on both pieces of fabric were stitched, I placed right sides together and double stitched the sides together using a 1/2" seam allowance. After that I turned the fabric right side out, pressed the seams. Then I went to measure. 

Using pins, I marked where I needed to stitch so that the fabric would slide right over the wooden posts. 

I pulled the fabric back off the chair and went inside to measure the distance between the edge of the fabric and the pins. For my chair it was 1 1/2". So I top stitched 1 1/2" from the edge to make a tube to slide over the posts. 

I was now ready to close up the long edges. I simply turned the fabric and top stitched the pieces together between each 1 1/2" seam I just made. Be careful not to stitch past that or you will close up your tubes. 

I did a quick fit test then proceeded. No director is complete without their name on the back. Therefore I pulled out my Cricut and freezer paper to make a stencil. (If you have thick fabric such as the duck, you can do this now. If you are using a thin fabric, do this step before stitching the back close as the paint may bleed through) You can also do this by hand using a print and trace method and cutting the stencil out with a utility knife. At any rate, once you have your stencil, you're ready to iron it in place. 

Make sure all edges are down completely. Next I chose some turquoise acrylic paint and applied it liberally around the edge of the letters then smoothed it using a sponge brush. The reason I used a lot of paint was to gain coverage without having to use a lot of pressure. I didn't want to have the paint come through the other side. 

Gave a quick blow dry...

...then peeled off the stencil once the paint was dry to touch. 

Last, I put the back on the chair. Drilled some holes for the knobs and placed them in the chair. 

From drab to fab!!! Couldn't be happier with the results! 

 

Monogrammed Burlap Table Runner

If you're like me, you LOVE burlap! The rustic, country look make me adore this fabric.  It may be because it reminds me of an old potato sack! Well, I was in the check out aisle at Hobby Lobby when I looked up at the nearby display of fall decor. I noticed a ruffled burlap table runner. I immediately stepped out of line and went to grab it. It helped that fall decor was 40% off too! When I got home, I went to work. 

Now the way I did my monogram can be done a number of ways. I happen to own a Cricut so I used this to make my stencil out of freezer paper. If you've never used freezer paper, you're missing out! A number of tutorials can be found on Pinterest and YouTube. Anyway, I found the design I wanted and cut my stencil out. If you do not have a die-cutting machine, you can print and trace your design and hand cut it with a utility knife. 

Once you have your design cut out, iron it to your fabric. This part is a little tedious as the burlap is hard to adhere to. I flipped the runner over and ironed the back side as well just to make sure I had a good seal. 

Te paint I chose to use was Tulip Slick fabric paint. You may use acrylic or any fabric paint. 

Now to the fun part...painting! You can just squirt the paint on one area at a time and work it in. Make sure not to go outside your freezer paper boundary. 

Cover completely!

Many tutorials will tell you at this point to allow to dry for 24 hours. Ain't nobody got time for that! Grab your hair dryer and give it a quick blow dry. 

Once it is dry to touch, carefully peel off your stencil. 

The finished project should look nice and neat! I am super happy with the way this turned out! 

Do you love it? Don't just settle for a table runner. Painted burlap looks great in many forms! Purses, wreaths, garden flags, door mats and much more! Thanks for visiting!

Trampoline Pool Noodle Spring Covers

I saw a Pinterest post not long ago from Pick Your Plum where pool noodles were used in lieu of a trampoline mat. As it often happens on Pinterest, the post was a dead end...nothing more than a photo. Hating a sun-cracked trampoline mat I decided (especially with pool toys being on clearance) to give this a shot. 

First we went to Walmart and bought 10 pool noodles. We have a 12' trampoline with 83 springs measuring 5.5" each. We were able to get 10 spring covers from each noodle so we ended up with a little extra from 2 noodles. 

Next, we marked and measured each noodle. 

Then we cut the larger noodles in to smaller ones. 

After we had our 83 small chunks, we turned the noodle and sliced it vertically leaving a split. 

Once all the noodles were prepared, we placed them on the spring in an AB pattern. I love the way it turned out and so does my daughter! Best of all, no more expensive trampoline mats to be eaten by the sun! Now our springs are protected from the weather and our bodies from the springs!! The final cost was about 45 minutes and $10!!

High Protein Banana Bread

I love bananas but I like them when they are basically green. Once they turn the least bit brown, they have to go. So they usually go in the form of banana bread! I played around with some recipes until I created an utterly delicious recipe with an added bonus...protein!! 

Ingredients:

4 ripe bananas-mashed

1 1/2 cups self rising flour

1 egg-beaten

1/3 cups butter-melted

3/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup fresh almonds-crushed

1/2 container vanilla Yoplait Greek yogurt

1tsp cinnamon

1 tbs Natures Valley Granola  

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a bread pan with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl, combine egg, butter, sugar and flour. Add bananas and yogurt. Once these ingredients are combined, add almonds. Mix thoroughly. Pour in to pan and sprinkle with a dash of sugar, cinnamon and granola. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Enjoy! It's moist and delicious!!  

Before putting in the oven. 

Fresh out of the oven!!