Chair Pair Gets An Update

This cute little duo needed an update.

I'm amping up this little upholstery business of mine, so to get started again I agreed to do a little update on a friend's cute little chairs.

One down and one to be finished today!  I'll be updating my blog and my website over the next few weeks so check back.  My plan is to really gear up after the first of the year, so if you're in the Kansas City area and have a project you need done send me an email at jenny@justneedselbowgrease.com.

Fun With Annie Sloan Paint

I've been wanting to try Annie Sloan's chalk paint for quite some time but just didn't have the right project to work on.  Last week our little town had its annual city wide garage sale and I picked up this little dresser for a song.

Unfortunately I got so excited that I forgot to take an official before shot of the dresser, but you can see from the top that it had a faux limed finish and that scrolled piece of trim laying in front is what I sawed off the front between the two legs.  Here are the drawers so you can see the fancy painted motif on the front.

The paints say that no sanding or priming is necessary, but in hindsight I think I would have given this thing a rough sanding only because it isn't real wood and it had that slick "plastic" finish.
I started with a coat of "Versailles" which is a really soft sage green.

Next came the second coat which I ending up combining "Duck Egg" with "Antibes Green" to get the color I wanted.

I finished up with a coat of "Graphite" and when it was completely dry came back and sanded through the finish in places to allow the other colors to come through.

Once I got it looking the way I wanted, I gave the whole thing a coat of Annie Sloan Clear Wax and buffed it to a shine.  Here is the finished product.

I may eventually change the original hardware, but for now I think it looks great in my entry!

Retro Redo Complete

My first reupholstery project is officially complete and at home in my sitting room. Except for the new front leg that I still need to stain.    I had a blast doing it and I'm ready for more.  Do you have a project for me to practice on?

Retro Redo Part 2

My upholstery project has been progressing nicely the last couple of class sessions.  You can see my chair's original state here.  I have to admit, I made some newbie mistakes and it was a little frustrating there for a bit, but I've learned some invaluable lessons and I'm back on track.  I've been really bad at taking step-by-step photos, but here's a look at the chair in its current condition.  I still have to finish the outside back, make the seat cushion, and stain and attach the new front leg.

I really like the way it is turning out and I'm having so much fun learning to upholster.  In fact, I bought myself a new tool so I can work on some projects outside of class...

She hasn't been around long enough to acquire a nickname, but she'll get one, I know she will!

Lamp Love

I recently purchased a couple of great lamps at Goodwill.  Although I didn't take step-by-step photos of the process.  I rewired this one because it was wired for the European electrical system.  It didn't have a shade, so I purchased a new one at Lowe's, and just like that my $2.99 Goodwill purchase looks like a gem on my counter!

The other one is a vintage beauty and I was disappointed the shade had water damage spots.

Although the lamp was in working condition, I was nervous that the old wiring may be a fire hazard.  The base of the lamp lit up too, but the plastic "hurricane" definitely made me nervous!  I took the whole thing apart and gave it a good scrub.

After everything had dried, I put it all back together using a new lamp kit.

I wanted to wire it so that the base would light up, but I had a difficult time finding a glass hurricane the right size to replace the plastic one, and I got tired of the torn-apart lamp sitting on my counter, so I just put it back together and if I find the right pieces later, I'll take it apart and fix it.  Here it is with a new shade and sitting pretty in its new spot in my house.

It really isn't difficult at all to rewire a lamp, so don't be scared of a great lamp at a garage sale or thrift shop.