A Soft Landing for Old Furniture: Recovering Chair Cushions

Have you heard?  I look like this.

I am unwieldy.  I am misshapen.  I am a twofer.  And I cannot take an iPhone self portrait.

This baby is due in 12 days.  12 days!!!  It's been great sharing my body with him and everything, but GETOUTGETOUTGETOUT!!! 

I'm normally still pretty busy but toward the end of this pregnancy there has been some of this action.

A little R&R is needed.  But mostly, lately it's been all about crossing things off my to-do list.  Call it nesting if you must, but I really believe it's the accurate realization that I will soon be attached to another person whose needs will be unpredictable, round-the-clock, and very demanding.  Add to that my toddler, husband, animals and full-time job and... well... it's gonna be a while before I resurface to tackle any projects. 

Nesting = Planning.

So the house is relatively clean and organized, the laundry is caught up, rooms are rearranged (more on that in another post), and I've been cleaning out cupboards and storage areas.  We need room for baby stuff again.

Nesting = ...nesting?  *maybe*

One thing I knew I could tackle easily and inexpensively was recovering a little footstool Beep likes to carry around.  Because how else is she supposed to reach all the forbidden FUN STUFF?

The stool belonged to Cabbage's grandmother, and who knows where it came from before that.  It's old and sentimental and I didn't want to change it too much, but seriously.  Look at the upholstery.

It was time.

If you've never reupholstered a chair, trust me when I say it's one of the easiest DIY projects to tackle.  It usually requires no more than new fabric, a scissors, a couple of screwdrivers, and a staple gun.

In this case I turned the stool over to reveal some ancient screws securing the pad to the base, and old nails holding the crumbling upholstery to the pad.  Most of the time, though, you'll find a few screws holding the cushion to the base, and staples attaching the upholstery.  Carefully unscrew the base and set it aside.  Then pry up the old staples (in this case, nails) to remove the old fabric. 

This bad boy revealed yet another layer of even older tapestry, which was crumbling with age.  I happen to think that's cool, so I left it there for... whatever.  Historical records? 

I opted not to replace the padding (hellooooo people, that would have required EFFORT and MEASURING), but if you wanted to do so, now would be the time.  The foam is sold at fabric stores and you can cut it to size (plan to overlap the base a little which will give nice rounded edges) with a straightedge razor.

Next I centered the cushion on the pattern of this great aqua ikat-esque fabric I ordered from fabric.com.  I carefully cut around the base, being sure to leave enough to wrap around the cushion to the back, plus a couple of extra inches on each side.

Testing the wrappage factor.

Take your time making sure you're happy with the pattern placement.  Then, it's just a matter of wielding ye olde staple gun.  It usually works best to staple opposite sides as you go, rather than all down one side at once.  If your cushion was a clock you'd staple at 12, then at 6, then 11, then 7, and so on.  That method helps ensure your tension is even and the fabric stays straight. 

Stapling isn't an exact science, and I don't see any need to be super picky about it as long as the top side looks good.  But, if you want to try to make less of a hash job of stapling in a straight line than I did below, be my guest.

Please also try to get your toddler to be your hand model.  Child labor, it's the next big thing.

Continue to staple opposite sides until you approach the corners, but leave them loose for now.  Then rotate the cushion to staple the remaining sides.  Trim any excess fabric from the sides.

The corners can be dealt with several ways, but I usually just make a neat fold and try to ensure each corner's fold matches the others.  Then staple away until it's nice and tight and flat.  Trim as needed.

Flip over and review your work.  If you notice any unevenness, this is a good time to tweak or add staples.

Reattach the pad to the base, and away you go!

Take some crappy pictures of your child playing with it in a messy room and enjoy the satisfying results of 15 minutes well spent...

Until the next project, which is this nice little mission-style rocker my aunt snagged at a garage sale a few years ago.

It's in good shape and the size is perfect for Beep's room, but the upholstery is old and grody. (I'm bringing grody back, by the way.  Hey, 80s, how've you been?)

I removed the cushion from the base, popped off the upholstery you see above, and found this stuff which looks pretty original. 

...And is stuffed with straw.

Nope, didn't replace that either.  I left the green fabric alone and cut out a new square of my happy aqua fabric to match the stepstool.

This one required a little more planning because two sides will show- one in the front and one in the back.  I simply creased and folded the fabric and stapled it firmly in place wherever the staples would be hidden.  Where they will show, I tacked about three staples down the side, with plans to add some nice little upholstery tacks down the line.  (Translation: when the new baby is weaned in a year or so.  If I remember.  Which I probably won't.)

Continuing around the sides, trimming and cornering that bad boy, I soon had this nifty little number.

Reattached, the rocker now looks like this.

And these two separate pieces, though not matching per se, now relate to each other. 

I love how they turned out.  Though the chair will stay primarily in Beep's room for bedtime stories and midnight rocking sessions, I chose a pattern and fabric that would work anywhere in our house.  That way, as my little helper navigates a world made for people twice her height, her great-grandmother's little stool will be welcome wherever it lands.

Toddler Art

Recently, we needed a few thank you presents for family and I am not good at sending thank you cards, presents, or other follow-up tokens of appreciation.  I don't know why.  I'm just not.

I realize this is not my most charming quality.

In this case, though, I was determined to best my own flawed nature.  I doggedly searched high and low for ideas for a great gift.  I needed something small, something that Beep could help create, and something that would ship well.  With our crazy schedule I needed something quick, simple, easy, and still heartfelt.  Nothing I ran across seemed quite right, so eventually Beep and I came up with our own project: little canvas masterpieces.

I purchased pre-stretched, primed canvases at Wal Mart for just a few bucks per 2-pack, and sat Beep at the kitchen table with an assortment of washable markers in (carefully edited) colors.  After a slow(ish) start Beep got the hang of it and took a lot of pride in her paintings.  And by "pride" I mean "diva attitude" with a lot of marker-grabbing and "No me do it!" toddler attitude.  They weren't done until she said so, she insisted on coloring on the back of the stretcher frames, and she specifically informed me about the theme for each picture.  It was a whole thing.

When the madness was over, we had several customized paintings color-coordinated for each recipient's home.  I wrote the title, artist's name and date on the back and cleaned up marker smudges with a damp paper towel.

Wrapped, packaged, and mailed, each one cost just a couple of bucks in postage but made a big impact with each of the recipients.  Granted, they were all family who would probably like anything Beep did, but hey- this is at least somewhat decorative.
I made sure we also had one extra to keep for our house, and I love that abstract little gem.  This is such a fabulous little project for a toddler and I could easily see repeating this during any rainy day, trying it with other media (finger paints/cray pas/glue and torn construction paper), and even staging it at regular intervals until we have a nice little assortment of canvases hanging in a hallway gallery.   

I hope you try this project and enjoy it as much as we did!

Kid's Table Makeover

A few months ago I bought this little play table and chair for Beep at a garage sale.  It was worn and faded, marked up and pretty dirty.  It was also just the right size for her, and she's obsessed with Beep-sized furniture these days.  Plus, it was only $2.00.  Sold!

Since then it's been stuffed in our garage waiting for some attention and milling around in the back of my mind.  I could just picture her playing at it somewhere in our house or on the back porch.  I didn't really want it looking so shabby, though, and the colors were pretty awful.  I remembered hearing something about spray paint for plastic, so this Saturday we headed out to Lowe's.

I bought two cans of Valspar spray paint for plastic in colors that were both kid-appropriate and would coordinate in our home.  Back home again, according to the paint experts at Lowe's, I scrubbed the heck outta that dirty little set, let it completely dry, and then got busy painting.  Several thin and even coats of  spray paint later (done outside while wearing a mask), I was done painting and I called it a day to let the paint cure overnight.  (May I add that my index finger is practically numb today from working the spray trigger?  Color me wimpy.)

Today, when Beep and I got home I snuck out ahead of her and moved it onto the porch for the big reveal.

Cute, right?  $2.00 for the table and chair, plus $12.00 of spray paint for a grand total of $14.00 and one happy toddler. 

Beep was pretty excited about trying it out... until she heard Cabbage's truck pull up in the drive. 

Then she was off for some father-daughter bonding time, and I realized our photo op was over.  But it's all good.  She'll be back, crayons in hand.

Let's look at the before and after again.

 

I'm happy with the results, and I hope it will hold up well (but I'll let you know if it doesn't).  So there you go- a quick makeover for a garage sale find, and the result is a quick and kid-friendly set that will blend in almost anywhere in our house. Success!  

Have you guys ever tried this wondrous spray paint for plastic?  What's your latest DIY adventure?  What is this obsession with mini-me furniture?    

A Fence for Tabor

After almost two months of seeing our doe, Tabor, only on the wrong side of our property line, she is finally home.

As an aside, I think I have a greater appreciation for what Amish parents must go through when their kids leave for their rumspringa. 

So what I'm saying is, Tabor may be Amish. 

Anyway, over the past weeks her band of fairweather friends moved on (I told her it would never last/they weren't any good for her/we knew better).  She wandered the property in back of Cabbage Ranch, usually by herself.  She seemed fine and as her belly grew larger with her baby she visited more frequently.

As time passed she allowed closer contact and eventually Cabbage was able to feed her from his hand again, then pet her.  Within the last week my toddler, Beep, and I were able to visit with her at feeding time, and I was reassured that she was still the same sweet little deer.  Tabor was happy to be petted, happy to eat corn from our hands, and even tolerated Beep's hollering, baby pats on her forehead, and bucket-shaking antics.  That made me all the more certain she was ready and able to come back home. 

Our back fenceline stretches long and tight, paneled with wire and without a single gate.  Tabor has never been confident in her jumping abilities, but that's been especially true since she injured a hind leg two years ago and suffered some permanent tendon damage.  Jumping the fence wasn't a safe option for her, and she was still refusing to cross the fence where Cabbage had lowered it.  There, it was plenty low enough for her to hop over but she was wary of it... She's a deer.

Finally, on Saturday evening, we stood along the back fenceline as I fed and stroked Tabor.  I looked at the lowered fence, then at Tabor, and back at the fence.  Cabbage knew what I was thinking, and chuckled.  But I resisted the temptation to try to shove her over it, knowing she was very fast and strong, and my odds of success were about nil. 

I asked about putting a gate in, or cutting the fence, or... something... "Can't we just help her out?  She seems ready to come home."

Cabbage had obviously been thinking the same thing.  He ran through a few options that would allow us to create an opening in the fenceline without compromising the whole dang stretch of wire, and finally hit on an idea that made sense to him.

Sunday morning we headed to Lowes, got supplies, and he got busy sawing and drilling and clamping.  Beep and I napped, because I'm a good helper like that and on the weekends I have the sleep schedule of a toddler. 

When he was done, Cabbage had made a sturdy little braced frame just wide enough for a deer to walk through.  Once it was installed he cut the fence and bound it back to the frame.  The deer portal was ready.

Two hours later Tabor came up for her feeding and happily wandered through.  She was back on Cabbage Ranch.  She had, perhaps, been waiting for a gate all along.

We're a little slow, but we catch on eventually. 

Now we are just letting Tabor settle back in, get reacquainted with her two-year old daughter, Abby, and relax before she has her fawn(s).  We hope she'll stay and fall easily back into her old routines, but if she ever does need help getting back through the fenceline again, we now have her little doorway.  It's a fence built for Tabor.        

 Cabbage's fence brace along the back property line

The fence brace (closed with a piece of wire panel) after Tabor came home 

 Do you see our little deer in this picture?

 Beep is happy to have Tabor home, too

The End (for now)

A Whole Lot of Hay

Cabbage heard about some Timothy hay, which is the kind we both prefer to feed our horses.  It's so hard to find here in South Texas, though, that we haven't fed it since we moved here.  He went to check out his lead, bought a humongous bale, and drove home.

Once in our pasture, he was faced with unloading 1,500 pounds of hay without heavy machinery.  If it was up to me, I probably would have contemplated leaving the truck there for a few weeks until the horses ate the hay down. 

Fortunately, Cabbage is more ambitious than I, and he also possesses the uncanny ability to make anything a redneck adventure.  In his world, many problems are solved with a rope.

In this picture, the hay bale has roped the tree... or vice versa.

Goldie looked thoroughly embarrassed at this turn of events. 

But there was a method to Cabbage's madness.  The other end was looped around the front of the bale.

Then Cabbage hopped in the truck, inched it forward, crossed his fingers as the rope around the bale tightened and strained... Beep and I judiciously moved further out of the way.

Some creaking and rope-stretching later, the bale stayed put as the truck moved forward, and it flipped off the end of the bed.  Success!

Miss Nosy checked it out before the dust even settled.

Nice work, cowboy.  Coil up that rope!  And now it's even longer than it was, lucky you. 

Our hay ring helps keep big hay bales together and reduces waste, so Cabbage moved it over to the new Timothy hay.  But hay rings are made for round bales...  This quickly became a case of a square peg in a round hole.

Sooo...  It won't fit until the mares eat a little hay.  Two hundred pounds should do it.  Luckily for us, Goldie isn't scoring her dinner on presentation, and she also isn't shy.  She got started right away.

And that, my friends, is how one person unloads a 1,500 pound bale of hay.  It is also the start of how two mares eat 1,500 pounds of hay, AAAAnnnnnnd it's your tutorial on how to stretch out a rope.  This is a super informative multipurpose post.  You're welcome.

You guys have a great Monday. 

Mid-Century Penguins

Hello, my little friends.  Does your army work for forces of good or evil? 

Take me to your leader.

I love olive you.

Don't make a such a beak deal of it. 

Sorry. 

So anyway I made these black olive penguins for New Year's Eve, thanks to this recipe from Foodie With Family.  Ri.Di.Cu.Lous.  Seriously worth a few extra minutes... And that's coming from me, and I ne-e-e-e-e-ver make fussy food.

As in, I like to make peanut brittle at the holidays because instead of icing and decorating cookies, I whack a sheet of brittle with a knife and call it done.

Appetizers on a tray with toothpicks and olives and cream cheese?  I feel so 1950s.  Jello salad is calling me.

I don't know what came over me, but since I went to the trouble of acting all domestic-y and Little Susie Homemaker-y, I wanted to document it.


  

Last-Minute Christmas Goodies

Hi guys!  Everything is in full Christmas crazy mode around Cabbage Ranch, and I'm sure your life is the same.  I did want to share some fabulous little (free or cheap) Christmas things that have been lifesavers for me this year.

Living Locurto is one of my new favorite sites, especially during the holidays!  Amy has posted fabulous- and free!- downloads for gift tags, wish lists, last-minute letters to Santa, and even thank you cards.  So simple, and very pretty!

Givers Log is always chock full of great DIY ideas.  AmberLee has tons of ideas useful for mailing cute presents on the cheap, because they weigh thirteen ounces or less (which would also be great gifts or stocking stuffers).  Add to that her super cute ideas for ornaments wearing upcycled tights, and I'm practically giddy.  And that's not something people see every day.

Paint chip ornaments.  Free and easy, just like a hippie at Woodstock.  Thanks to Say Yes to Hoboken for this great idea, which is a perfect project to do with kids.

Table settings, anyone?  Young House Love is always an endless source of inspiration, and the holidays are no exception.  Oh- and if you never thought you'd get inspired by a tube of cheap-o plastic animal figurines, think again, because Sherry made them into super chic ornaments.  And that, my friends, is a true story.
 
Have a great day, eat some cookies, and godspeed.