Sunday, April 21, 2019
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Happy Anniversary!
From here -
to...
How did all this happen?
Hope your day is as full of smiles and sunshine as it was all those years ago! Happy Anniversary!
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Chair Refresh
I thought burlap was a rugged fabric that would serve well on the chairs Mike and I use daily for dining. When I picked up these chairs last year, I was thrilled with how the burlap seemed more fitting for a farmhouse kitchen and thought it would serve us well.
Now, less than a year later, this is how they look.
Mike's chair started showing wear at around Christmas and the burlap has just continually become more threadbare till there are big holes appearing.
My chair didn't start showing the wear as quickly but once it did show a bit of wear, the holes quickly followed.
So, I decided that spring break would provide me plenty of time to give them a little attention. I mulled over what type fabric I wanted to use because I don't see a need to use burlap again if it is going to wear out so quickly. I considered getting a linen or using a drop cloth. I also considered using a floral that I used to line the shades in the kitchen. However, I liked the quiet neutral quality of the burlap and wanted something similar to it.
Then, one day I remembered that I had a remnant of fabric I had picked up a few years back at Sirs. (Gosh, I miss that place!) I thought it was enough to do at least the three chairs that don't have arms which we use in the kitchen. I brought it out and draped it across one of the chairs and decided it might work.
With the bright sunshine calling me yesterday, I jumped into my chair updating project. I thought I'd get that knocked out in less than an hour. Boy! Was I ever wrong! I had forgotten that the hard part of covering furniture is removing the old cover.
I had to study the under side of my chairs a bit because I knew that it was just a matter of removing a few screws to get the seat off. However, I never dreamt that the screws would be really long like they were. I finally became pretty certain of which screws were holding the braces to the chair frame and which might be the best candidate for holding the seat on and gave it a go. The seat came off quickly and easily. Then, it was time to remove the staples that were holding the burlap on. All. Those. Staples!
I got a screwdriver and began prying them up and pulling them out with pliers. My goodness, that is a job! Eventually, I got them all removed. I think I could have just tugged at the burlap and most of it would have come off without removing the staples but I wanted a clean surface before I reapplied a new cover. So, they all had to come out. The original tan cover was still intact on the cushion showing all its sadness. There were stains galore there but it made for a good base cover to protect the padding and I decided to leave it there just like the upholstery person before me had done.
I laid the burlap out onto my fabric and cut a large enough square to cover my chair seat. Then, my trusty manual staple gun and I went to work stretching the new fabric and attaching it with staples. I do not have the strength I once did when I wrestled with cows or tossed hay bales around. So, I had to also hammer each of the staples down into the plywood seat to make certain they were snug and strongly holding the fabric in place.
I'm pleased with my finished product and my updated chairs. They are still casual and quiet in a room filled with chairs and I like that. I also like the freshness that the new fabric covering brings. My stiff arthritic hands certainly hope these covers last longer than a year!
Now, less than a year later, this is how they look.
So, I decided that spring break would provide me plenty of time to give them a little attention. I mulled over what type fabric I wanted to use because I don't see a need to use burlap again if it is going to wear out so quickly. I considered getting a linen or using a drop cloth. I also considered using a floral that I used to line the shades in the kitchen. However, I liked the quiet neutral quality of the burlap and wanted something similar to it.
Then, one day I remembered that I had a remnant of fabric I had picked up a few years back at Sirs. (Gosh, I miss that place!) I thought it was enough to do at least the three chairs that don't have arms which we use in the kitchen. I brought it out and draped it across one of the chairs and decided it might work.
With the bright sunshine calling me yesterday, I jumped into my chair updating project. I thought I'd get that knocked out in less than an hour. Boy! Was I ever wrong! I had forgotten that the hard part of covering furniture is removing the old cover.
I had to study the under side of my chairs a bit because I knew that it was just a matter of removing a few screws to get the seat off. However, I never dreamt that the screws would be really long like they were. I finally became pretty certain of which screws were holding the braces to the chair frame and which might be the best candidate for holding the seat on and gave it a go. The seat came off quickly and easily. Then, it was time to remove the staples that were holding the burlap on. All. Those. Staples!
I got a screwdriver and began prying them up and pulling them out with pliers. My goodness, that is a job! Eventually, I got them all removed. I think I could have just tugged at the burlap and most of it would have come off without removing the staples but I wanted a clean surface before I reapplied a new cover. So, they all had to come out. The original tan cover was still intact on the cushion showing all its sadness. There were stains galore there but it made for a good base cover to protect the padding and I decided to leave it there just like the upholstery person before me had done.
I laid the burlap out onto my fabric and cut a large enough square to cover my chair seat. Then, my trusty manual staple gun and I went to work stretching the new fabric and attaching it with staples. I do not have the strength I once did when I wrestled with cows or tossed hay bales around. So, I had to also hammer each of the staples down into the plywood seat to make certain they were snug and strongly holding the fabric in place.
I'm pleased with my finished product and my updated chairs. They are still casual and quiet in a room filled with chairs and I like that. I also like the freshness that the new fabric covering brings. My stiff arthritic hands certainly hope these covers last longer than a year!
Monday, March 4, 2019
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Thursday, February 7, 2019
Oldies - Number 3
This week's oldie-but-goody is one I'm sharing with my daughter-in-law, Bonnie, in mind. At Christmas she was asking us to recall what our favorite Christmas gift was and, honestly, I cannot recall one that stands out above the others. Maybe I was thinking of this photo from my youth or maybe I was thinking of all the times I sat in the floor and played with my Barbie dolls when I answered her with this as one of my many favorites.
My great-grandmother gave me a doll that just hit the scenes and the marked the year I was born. My mother didn't really like her because she had always hated it when somebody shortened her name or called her Barbie as a nickname but I thought she was really wonderful in her grown-up curvy body and all the fancy clothes that could dress her for any fantasmical occasion.
She was that original Barbie in the zebra-striped suit with the straw-colored hair and I thought I was something special to have her. By the looks of things, I must have been about five-years-old because I'm wearing a broad, snaggle-toothed smile, a cow-lick splitting my straight bangs, and beaming with pride at my newest wonderful toys. Shown in this picture is the fancy canopy bed, complete with Barbie-pink bedding and I recall wanted a bed just exactly like it. I also see the stylish black, patent-leather carry case that Barbie and all her clothes, shoes, and accessories were stored in when not spread across the tiled floor (that was probably made of asbestos) of the den. Front and center are the fancy, white plastic dressing table and stool, adorned with curlicues and gold, with Barbie, herself, sitting upon with her legs crossed all prim-and-proper. I remember having a little plastic hairbrush for Barbie and a hand-held mirror with some sort of reflective foil on it as well.
In the background I see the fireplace that Daddy built himself with his novice brick-mason hands and the old churn where he plopped his Co-op cap when he came in from the barn. It looks like I was a polka-dot lover from the beginning in that cute little multi-colored number and my trendy pedal-pushers (known as capri pants these days). I'm guessing Mama was glad I was playing something calm and didn't have things sprawled out everywhere because she was at least eight months pregnant with my sister if the date on the photo really indicates the date the photo was snapped.
Times were simpler then and I really was a lucky girl to have such fancy toys to feed my imagination and creativity. I remember wrapping her and myself with all sorts and bits of fabric and trims to dress us up and pretend we were worldly. Over the years Barbie has been criticized as a toy and I certainly understand how the concept of her as a model and image might mess with a young child's mind. But as I look back, I just recall dreaming and being creative to come up with fancy attire for that doll as she lived my fantasies of what grown-up life might be. I've seen my daughter and granddaughters play with Barbies in much the same way and it brings a smile to my face because I fondly recall hours of quiet play on my knees with that first Barbie and my big imagination whiling away the time. Good times!
My great-grandmother gave me a doll that just hit the scenes and the marked the year I was born. My mother didn't really like her because she had always hated it when somebody shortened her name or called her Barbie as a nickname but I thought she was really wonderful in her grown-up curvy body and all the fancy clothes that could dress her for any fantasmical occasion.
She was that original Barbie in the zebra-striped suit with the straw-colored hair and I thought I was something special to have her. By the looks of things, I must have been about five-years-old because I'm wearing a broad, snaggle-toothed smile, a cow-lick splitting my straight bangs, and beaming with pride at my newest wonderful toys. Shown in this picture is the fancy canopy bed, complete with Barbie-pink bedding and I recall wanted a bed just exactly like it. I also see the stylish black, patent-leather carry case that Barbie and all her clothes, shoes, and accessories were stored in when not spread across the tiled floor (that was probably made of asbestos) of the den. Front and center are the fancy, white plastic dressing table and stool, adorned with curlicues and gold, with Barbie, herself, sitting upon with her legs crossed all prim-and-proper. I remember having a little plastic hairbrush for Barbie and a hand-held mirror with some sort of reflective foil on it as well.
In the background I see the fireplace that Daddy built himself with his novice brick-mason hands and the old churn where he plopped his Co-op cap when he came in from the barn. It looks like I was a polka-dot lover from the beginning in that cute little multi-colored number and my trendy pedal-pushers (known as capri pants these days). I'm guessing Mama was glad I was playing something calm and didn't have things sprawled out everywhere because she was at least eight months pregnant with my sister if the date on the photo really indicates the date the photo was snapped.
Times were simpler then and I really was a lucky girl to have such fancy toys to feed my imagination and creativity. I remember wrapping her and myself with all sorts and bits of fabric and trims to dress us up and pretend we were worldly. Over the years Barbie has been criticized as a toy and I certainly understand how the concept of her as a model and image might mess with a young child's mind. But as I look back, I just recall dreaming and being creative to come up with fancy attire for that doll as she lived my fantasies of what grown-up life might be. I've seen my daughter and granddaughters play with Barbies in much the same way and it brings a smile to my face because I fondly recall hours of quiet play on my knees with that first Barbie and my big imagination whiling away the time. Good times!
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
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