Reloved Rubbish: linen

Showing posts with label linen. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Linen and Tulle Lampshade

I know it seems like all I do is paint furniture, but there was a time when sewing and lampshade making occupied a lot of my time. You may remember the pair of linen shades I recovered for twin, vintage lamps or this basic lamp shade tutorial I posted on my blog in 2010. Don't forget about these two, linen lamp shades I recovered in 2011. Now, taking you all the way back to my very first blog post with the mini burlap shades I made for a plain little chandelier. It is nice to take time out from painting and focus on other creative projects.

One of my regular Loot customers brought me a lamp to consign for her. She also left an old lamp shade and a vintage bridal veil and said I could use the veil to make some kind of shade for the lamp.

I ripped off the old shade covering, exposing the bare, metal frame. Then, I cut the veil and some pretty, white linen fabric into strips and tied them to the top and bottom of the metal frame.

This was such an easy way to create a new lampshade!

This shade sold right off the lamp the first weekend I put it for sale at Loot. Now, I am back to where I started and need to make another shade for this lovely lamp.

This post is linked to the parties on my sidebar.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Upholstered French Side Chair

Nancy had this chair for a long time and I offered to reupholster it for her. It had been sitting in the corner of Loot, since we opened with just the stuffing, since she had removed the previous fabric. I love the lines of this French chair with the round back and curved legs. Unfortunately, I do not have a before picture.

Nancy painted the frame of the chair with French Linen Chalk Paint and then I applied clear and dark wax before upholstering.

Nancy and I went to our local fabric store and picked out this fun, linen, zebra-striped fabric.

I cut the fabric pieces for the front, back, and seat and then I procrastinated upholstering it for over a month. I am not always confident with my upholstering skills and sometimes I put off working on projects that intimidate me. I would love to find the time to take an upholstery class to learn more. I do not know how to make double welting yet, so for now I used natural, linen-colored gimp to cover up the upholstery staples.

Upholstering this chair was easier than I anticipated and my mom's pneumatic staple gun, no doubt, helped immensely.

This post is linked to the parties on my sidebar.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

French Linen Night Stand

Over the holidays, while I was going to yard sales with my two sisters in San Diego, I found the perfect night stand for my bedroom. We just moved and I finally have a bedroom with tall ceilings again, so I pulled my antique, iron bed out of storage. In our new room, we only have a narrow space between the bed and the wall next to it, so I needed a night stand that would not take up too much space.

I love the shape of this vintage night stand and it only cost me $10. The glazed mustard paint was chipped and dirty, but that was an easy fix.

I used one of the newer colors of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint called french linen. It is a gorgeous gray with brown undertones.

The drawer pulls had been painted over a couple of times and even Mr. Rubbish could not remove them. I originally wanted to spray paint the hardware black or oil-rubbed bronze. Considering I could not remove them from the drawers, I just painted over them again. I brushed them with dark wax, so they would stand out a little. Then, I accented the trim on the night stand with bright white to match the bedding. I used my wax brush to apply a coat of Annie Sloan clear wax over the entire piece for a beautiful, subtle sheen.

I just brought this becrystaled candelabra light home from a barn sale and I am looking forward to re-wiring and fixing it up.

This post is linked to the parties on my sidebar.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Python Piano Bench

My mechanic, who happens to be more obsessive about yard saling than me, if that is possible, gave me this lovely, vintage piano bench, free of charge. It had an outdated finish, but the bench is nice and sturdy with a hinged top for storage.

I am naturally drawn to earthy colors and I tend to paint most of my pieces of furniture with a neutral color pallette. With this bench, however, I decided to take a risk with some bold colors and patterns.

I have been hearing that orange is the new "IT" color of 2012, so I picked out a pretty shade of orange for the legs. Annie Sloan Chalk Paint just came out with a similar shade, called Barcelona Orange, that I hope to try on some future projects.

I padded the seat with a thick layer of foam and found this fabulous, turquoise and flax, linen fabric to cover the new seat cushion. I waxed the entire surface with Annie Sloan clear wax and then added some dark wax to tone down the orange just a bit.

This post is linked to the parties on my sidebar.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Happy New Year and My Favorite Projects from 2011

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year! I love the beginning of a new year because I feel so fresh, like I can accomplish anything. I have taken a long holiday vacation in sunny San Diego and I am sure that helps too. I know 2012 will be a busy year starting right when I return home, but for now I am still enjoying the last day or two of my escape from real life.

When I look at all the projects I finished last year, it gives me motivation for the coming year, especially when I feel like I can't possibly squeeze everything I need to get done into one year. I enjoy looking back at everything I accomplished last year and picking out my favorite projects, starting with this old world chandelier that I finished last March.

My next favorite project from 2011 is the full set of cane back dining chairs. I am starting to see a pattern here...both the chandelier and these chairs were extremely labor intensive. I guess they were labors of love! When I put so much elbow grease into a piece, I can't help but love it when it is done. I used a lot of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint last year and this set of chairs was one of my first Chalk Paint projects.

If the amount of energy I put in influences my choices for my favorites, then these parson chair slipcovers are no exception. I had never made slipcovers for chairs before, so these were quite the feat for me.

My next favorite is this Country Gray and Old White Chalk Paint armoire. I loved this piece at first sight and it was not hard to make it beautiful. I also really like the complex, yet neutral, shade of Chalk Paint.

My last, favorite of 2011 is this two-toned, vintage hutch. I painted it with Pure White and Duck Egg Blue Chalk Paint and it made quite a transformation for this, once outdated, dining hutch.

Thanks for joining me for my highlights of 2011. I hope that I can accomplish this much and more in 2012. I wish you all the best for a happy, fulfilled and productive new year!

Friday, October 7, 2011

Paris Script Bench

I love to redo benches and I was happy to find this vintage one at the Santa Cruz Flea Market a few weeks ago.

The old finish was scuffed up and, as you can see, the seat cushion was pretty disgusting. The man I bought it from told me that the night before he had a dream that his old bench had become beautiful. Well, I suppose his dream was about to come true.

I removed the old fabric and cushion first and then painted the bench. I painted it with a gorgeous grayish-brown color that Nancy made by combining paints.

I bought new foam for the seat and I used some leftover Paris Script fabric, from another bench I fixed up, to recover the cushion.

I wish the man from the flea market could see his old, ugly bench now.

This post is linked to the amazing parties on my sidebar.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Stenciled Slipcovers for Parsons Chairs and Stencil Giveaway!

I had a pair of Parsons Dining Chairs from my old house that I wanted to get rid of. I decided to make slipcovers for them and sell them at Loot. Laura from Maison De Stencils sent me a stencil as a gift and this seemed like the perfect project for my new stencil. Maison De Stencils have the most unique and stylish stencil designs. Laura is also offering one of my reader's a 12 x 12 stencil of their choice. Keep reading for all the details!

Luckily I had the old slipcovers, so I disassembled them to use as a pattern for my new slipcovers. I used painter's drop cloth as the fabric. Once I cut out the pieces, I pinned the top, back and seat pieces together.

I folded the corners and pinned them in place before sewing.

I sewed the front and back pieces together first and then sewed the seat on. Last, I pinned and sewed the skirt, pleated at each corner.

Next came the fun part; using my new stencil! I mixed my brown fabric paint with white to tone it down a little. The stencils from Maison De Stencils are so easy to use and the designs came out perfect and clear.

Isn't this stencil beautiful? The stencil really dresses up these, otherwise plain, slipcovers.

These parsons chairs look fabulous on either side of a buffet.

They also work perfectly as two end chairs at a dining table.

I have never made a slipcover for a chair before and they were definitely a challenge for me to sew. I even broke my seam ripper at one point and had to run out and buy another one half-way through this project. The second chair was easier than the first because I avoided all the mistakes I made the first time. I can tell you that it was a big relief when I finally finished them and took them to the shop.

To see other projects I have done with stencils from Maison De Stencils click on the links below:

Paris Side Table

German Grain Sack Ottoman

Pedestal Side Table

Now, on to the giveaway, so you can make your own lovely, stenciled project!

Please follow these rules to enter the stencil giveaway.

1. Become a follower of my blog

2. Go to Maison De Stencil's website and pick out your favorite 12 x 12 stencil.

3. Leave me a comment telling me which 12 x 12 stencil you want, if you win.

4. For a second entry, post this giveaway on your blog. Leave me another comment letting me know you did this.

5. For a third entry, post this giveaway on your facebook page. Leave me separate comment for this too.

Good luck, lovely blog readers! I will be picking a winner, using the random number generator, on Oct. 10th.

This post is linked to the amazing parties in my sidebar.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Antique Piano Bench

I found this antique piano bench at a yard sale for only $3. Unfortunately, I forgot to take before pictures. When I found the bench, it had a dark reddish brown stain and a dirty needlepoint cushion cover. One of the sides had a crack in it too. My handy dad repaired the crack with a little wood glue and a long pony clamp.

I painted the bench with Old White Chalk Paint and applied clear and dark wax over the paint. When I started to paint the first coat of Chalk Paint, the original finish came off and was turning my brush pink. I had to stop and use primer before finishing it with Chalk Paint. I left the little brass feet as they were.

The original foam on the seat was old and disintegrating so much that when I first lifted the seat up, the storage compartment was filled with orange powder. I bought new foam and reupholstered the seat with fancy, Paris script fabric.

This is one of my items that sold at Loot this past weekend!

This post is linked to the parties on my sidebar.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

My Bedroom

I know I have been MIA lately, but that is because I am in Pittsburgh visiting my brother and his family. I have had a great time in this beautiful, lush and green part of the country. I am heading home in a few days and, while I have had a wonderful time here, there is nothing like being back in my own bed.

I took these pictures of my room a few weeks ago. I live in a small cabin in the redwoods and besides the giant trees blocking a lot of sun, the room also happens to very small, making it doubly hard to photograph. I captured as many angles as I could.

I found this vintage dresser on sale at an antique shop a few years ago. I love the crystal drawer pulls and the little keyhole in the top. I found the vintage, crystal lamp at an estate sale and recovered this lampshade.

The antlers, antique books and white pitcher all came from yards sales. I made the curtains with Michael Miller damask fabric and sewed pom pom trim to the edges.

Remember the cute, candle chandelier I fixed up earlier this summer? I decided to hang it over my bed.

My favorite part of the room is the exposed wood ceiling and the large picture window overlooking the deck. When we sleep with the window open, we are lulled to sleep by the sound of the creek below.

I made the dream banner with some left over burlap and my vintage brass stencil letters. And remember this antique foot board I fixed up a while ago? It works great as my head board now.

I am looking forward to being back home and sleeping in my own bed in a couple of days!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Tutorial Tuesday: Faux German Grain Sack Slipcover

I love antique German grain sacks with the fancy scripts, but they are too expensive for me. One German grain sack can cost $150! My youngest brother just left for Germany on a mission for his church. I told him to be on the lookout for some antique grain sacks for me. In the meantime, I decided to make a German grain sack inspired slipcover for an ottoman I picked up at an estate sale.

The ottoman's finish and fabric were in flawless condition, so I decided on a slipcover, rather than reupholstering. I used a painter's drop cloth from home depot and dug through them to find one that was not gray. The one I found was a pretty, warm color and I did not have to use any bleach. I just washed it with regular detergent on warm and then dried it to pre-shink the fabric, before making the slipcover.

This is actually my first slipcover and it really was not as difficult as I expected it to be.

I started by measuring the top and sides of the ottoman, cutting out the sections and pinning them together over the ottoman. Once I had the pins in place, I removed the cover and sewed all the seams together, sewing the corners last.

After sewing all the edges together, I tried the new slipcover on the ottoman. I did not want the fabric to cover the whole top portion because I wanted to add a ruffle to the bottom.

I found a German grain sack stencil from Masion de Stencils. I know that stencils can be expensive and I have successfully cut my own before, like this one, using a craft knife and freezer paper. If you have an editing program, you could design your own grain sack and cut your own stencil too.

I mixed my red, white and black fabric paints together to come up with a charcoal gray color and then stenciled the grain sack design on the top, making sure I located the center first.

The trick to getting a really clean looking stenciled design is to go over the stencil several times using very little paint. This keeps the paint nicely within the lines.

After letting the paint dry, I cut strips of fabric and made the ruffle to attach along the bottom edge of the slipcover.

I left the bottom edge of the ruffle raw to go with the rustic quality of my faux grain sack. I also left the wrinkles in the drop cloth for a more relaxed look.