Moviehole-katietreasures: March 2012

Chair Redone In An Hour

Posted by Unknown at 4:45 PM Thursday, March 29, 2012 Labels: DIYing, Drop Cloths, Sewing, Upholstery 0 comments

Mr. Bill and I love to have date nights at Home Depot or Lowes. It was on one of those nights that I saw these drop cloths.

I looked at them and thought it would be great for a table cloth or upholstery.

But... no... I thought, that is crazy, it's a drop cloth. Nobody makes stuff out of drop cloths. So I walked away!

Well, low and behold, as I started getting deeper into the blogosphere, people do make stuff out of drop cloths, talented bloggers do.
I ran back to Lowes to get one for a table cloth and one for something else.
I spent a lot of time over Spring Break looking at this chair.

I knew I made a mistake shortly after I bought it. I loved it at the time when I was super into robin's egg blue and brown. As per my history, I should have known not to get a pattern. I thought I learned my lesson after my country blue couch fiasco. When I had to live with a couch I hated for years I knew I had to go more neutral with my upholstered pieces. I can layer in color and pattern with pillows and throws. But no, I had been in love with that particular shade of blue for about 10 years and was convinced I would love it forever.

But then I found this at an antique shop.

At first I was only going to bring purple, or lilac as I can hear my grandmother say, into the guest room. Read about it here. I loved that platter so much it never made it upstairs.
There was no way I could keep it contained in dining area and it spilled into the living room as well.
I finally found some pillows and a throw to add to the room.
Purple accents were scarce in 2010 for some reason.
(It made the hunt more exciting though.)
Anyway, as soon as I found some fabric pieces to layer in
the color just popped out of my art. I never even noticed it in these before.

Can you believe this painting came from a garage sale? It was $8.00 about 17 years ago. I have been in love with it ever since.

This painting I inherited from my Nana. It has little flecks of lilac sprinkled throughout. I love it.

Well I tried to find even the tiniest bit of a purply blue in the chair but it was hopeless. There was not an ounce I could see so the chair had to be recovered.

I knew that I could just make pillow cases for the cushions. I didn't do anything fancy. Why? Because I just don't know how long it will stay this way.
If I move it to a room that still has blue, I may pull it all off.
I sewed around three sides and boxed the corners. There are tutorials out there about how to box the corners. The fourth side is closed with hot glue!
I cut a piece for the back, hemmed it and tacked it in place with upholstery tacks. I know this is not the best wood because the tacks Bill rejected for his leather chair project went right in.

I tacked the inside back the same way.
The bottom needed a skirt I cut out the corners for the legs and hemmed.

Here she is. I love the casual rumpled feel of it.

The little needlepoint pillow came from the resale shop.

One of my darling students gave me the tulips.

I love that pup looks better next to it too.

I can't wait for more drop cloth inspiration.

Curtains next?

I can probably even get them in the width and length I need.

Now I am not sure it was exactly an hour. But I put in a movie and still had tons of time to lay on the couch while the movie finished.
I am so glad I learned to sew!
Sprinkled with drop cloths,
Katie

Linking with Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style

& White Wednesday @ Faded Charm

&Time Travel Thursday @ The Brambleberry Cottage
&Under 100 Link Party @ Beyond The Picket Fence
&Show Me What Ya Got @ Not Just A House Wife
&Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Easter Finery

Posted by Unknown at 7:19 PM Monday, March 26, 2012 Labels: Antiques, Decorating, Easter, Vintage 0 comments

I love Easter. Our house used to be the gathering place for a long time, but the last few years have been different. Two years ago we had Easter at Hillcrest Hospital in Waco because Dave had just had the stroke. Read about it here: Last year Easter fell on our anniversary so we didn't host.
I'm not sure what we are doing this year.
We have a huge hole in our ceiling above the stove. Somehow that's not very conducive to entertaining.

Most of my decorations have not been seen in a while.

Faux Dogwood blossoms in a Waterford vase in the dining room.

The dried status came from a bouquet my oldest gave me at Valentine's Day. The box came from my weekend in the country. Took me a bit to figure out what to do with it.

I am smitten by the burlap ribbon. I got this at Michael's.

I used in my wreath for the front door.

"The Lord is my Shepherd."

Of course I had to have antique postcards. You have seen these a few times if you have been around my blog.

Here:

I have used this little antique Easter basket off and on for years.

One of my favorite things is this antique candy dish.

My cute little nephew kept sneaking the jellybeans out of this when he was little. I have never seen another one with a rabbit like this.

Find a "hen on nest" from ebay sellers.

I hot glued these bunnies onto this sinuous spring that came from an old sofa. They came off of a craft project I found at the thrift store.

I still love the wonderful crustiness of this old tin cup. I used it with a gingerbread man at Christmas.

Okay I think I saved the best for last.

A couple of years ago I found these vintage nursery planters. How cute are these for Easter?

Here:

I will leave you with this.

I love this reprint of an antique Lord's Prayer. My brother found it at a garage sale. I think he paid $1.00.
I hope you are enjoying the change of the season!
Sprinkled with new life,
Katie

Linking with,

Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch
&Show Off Your Cottage Monday @ The house in the roses.
&Newbie Party @ Debbiedoo's
&Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style
&French Country Cottage and the Spring Blog Hop
Check out these super fun blogs. I love them.

Little Cutie Is Even Cuter!

Posted by Unknown at 3:04 PM Friday, March 23, 2012 Labels: Antiques, Painting, shabby, Thrifting 0 comments

I posted about this little cutie I found at my favorite thrift store.
We think it was made of old wood left over from other stuff, including old siding.

Here:

It was quite a bargain for $33.75. It seems that I either have a plethora of end tables or I need a few more. I was in need after 2 of my children moved out recently. So I snatched her up without really knowing what I would do with her.

I put it in the most logical spot.

The guest room/office was lacking a bedside table.

I should have loved it. The color matched our antique bed.

But, I really didn't care for it there.

Are you wondering about the gun?

We have woods behind our house that used to be part of a farm. My daughter found this gun in the creek. Are you hearing. "Mama, I found a gun."? Well, Miss Bek doesn't really talk like that. At first I thought it was a bb gun or something. The mom of one of my students said she lived behind our woods when she was little and the land where my neighborhood sits belonged to some sort of militia group. Rumor had it that they stockpiled weapons???

Turns out it's a real gun, but it was in the creek so long it is super crusty. No danger.

This is Mr. Bill's office so it goes on the wall as a memento.

Anyway...

I decided to give my little cutie a good coat of white paint.

The table not the gun.

She is in my living room, which is getting a bit of a shabying for spring.
I know that the blog world is all excited about chalk paint. I personally have enough stuff that looks old and chippy all on it's own that if I paint something I want a nice white finish. :)

When I took off the old knob I discovered it was actually a key hole. So I put this old escushion plate on instead. The plate was very 60's early American looking but I did some snipping with tin snips to get this. I stuck a cute antique key in it.

I love antique porcelain knobs and had this one from something else. The old spring latch is broken but still looks cute. A replacement spring latch was $20.00 at the salvage shop.

Umm.. no. I couldn't do it. Not when I only paid $33.00 for her.

Here is my $5.00 lamp from the Goodwill.

I love the crystals.

Here is my $5.00 chair from a garage sale. It was covered in this weird verdigris flecked spray paint. I was able to basically wash off the old finish..

This wall shelf came from my mother in law. I love it and the little vintage postcard in the Victorian frame.

I love this old painting. I got it from my nana. The family thought it came from an art festival in New York city. Very romantic. I don't know that is true but that's the story I go with. :)