The Deconstruction And Reconstruction of a Thrifted Chair

So I was shopping at one of my many thrift stores that I go to, and came accross a chair. a chair that I need for my sewing room.

This chair was ugly,used and…did I say ugly.

But wait the price says $1.99 on sale from $3.99…now thats a deal!

Thrifted Chair

I new I could do something with this chair, so I took it home for a brand new start at life!!

This is what the cushion looked like..dirty and all…it maybe even smelled but I was NOT putting MY nose there…;)

Funny the picture does not show its true color…it is really a dark green.

yucky chair cushion

Now its time to take off the old yucky fabric…YUCK!!

And now this is what I am left with.

Base of Chair

Lets compare the old yucky fabric next to the new fabric I had left over from another project…WAIT…I cant find it…hmmm..lets use this one.

Old fabric-New fabric

What I did was use the base of the chair as an outline for my fabric,only I made sure the fabric was larger than the base. I added new foam to the seat base and after MANY staples it was done…lets take a peek!

Fabric Covered Chair Base

Now I have to put it back together…ok done!! here is the finished project that cost me around 5.00 to make…;)

Recovered Chair

Recovered Chair

I see that the chair cover looks blueish in the pictures..it really is not, it is more of a green color.
Now to put it in my sewing room…;)

Smiles,

Tina

Blankets for spring??

I might be ahead of myself by..oh…a month or two, but hey I have Spring fever!

Truth is,I am getting pretty darn upset with this COLD COLD weather…enough is enough all ready.

Mother nature PLEASE bring some warm weather my way…please…;)

I love spring, the smell is so much more inviting than that harsh cold air.

But it does have its draw back…like the potent smell of melting dog crap..I could go without that!

I can see little buds on my tree out front of my house and every morning like clockwork I hear the birds chirping away.

How nice it will be to lose a layer or two of clothing. You will see people walking their dogs and moms pushing their baby’s in strollers…of course you might want to pick up a blanket or two as it still might be a little chilly.

Smiles,

Tina

New-Just in-Tile Pendants with Hemp Necklace

I thought I would take a go at making those Scrabble tile pendants that seem to be sooo popular right now.

I must say they are rather fun to make and easy peasy too!

I have only made ones with a black image so far, I think they look pretty sharp against the light oak color of the tile.

I was going to add a silver bail to them and a silver chain , but for some reason I did not like the way it looked…to me it kinda looked fake…does that make any sense??

Instead I went for the  natural feeling of  hemp. Drilled a hole just big enough to fit the hemp cording into.

I really like the way these turned out…to me a feeling of natural…maybe kinda plain..and not so busy looking..but I like them…now lets see if the buying world does!

For more necklaces take a peek over here

Smiles,

Tina

My Brand New FLOWER Garden!

OK…I have been having sew much fun on Etsy with my bellaflower shop, That I went ahead and opened another shop…yeah I know crazy…but sew much fun….notice the pun??

Anyways…its all about the FLOWER! I love flowers,almost any kind really, just not dead ones.

I want flowers sooo bad in my house…but my cats WONT have it…I mean, sure they love them…TO DEATH!! They always seem to eat them…and get to them no matter where I put them.

So I have to wait till summer to tend to my garden…oh and by the eay I live in MANITOBA…and it is a LOOOONG time to wait for summer to get here.

No biggie, I just had to get creative and come up with my own flowers, Ones that would last forever and not be tempting for my cats to kill.

Well along that route of flower creating I guess my OCD kicked in and I decided to GROW a batch of flowers…flower key-chains,flower brooch’s,flower magnets…flower…you get the point!

Oh and by the way…don’t think I am taking a stab at people that have OCD…don’t even go there with me….I might just start obsessing over you obsessing over me!!

Where were we…oh yeah the flowers, I think they look pretty fancy smancy but I will let you be the judge of that!

Please feel free to comment…about the flowers…not the OCD…oh here I go again…..

Smiles,

Tina

OH yeah…Valentine Crafts

OK so I forgot….forgot about Valentines day, and kinda jumped right into spring!

Maybe the fact that every store now has bathing suites and shorts and sandals for sale might be the reason why I forgot. I mean it is only minus 36 here in Manitoba.

Oh how I long for Spring…WAIT…OH how I long for Summer…this time I will try my best not to blink, that is what happened to me last year. I was just getting used to the hot summer days and BANG…I blinked and it was over!

There I go again rambling about Spring and Summer and forgetting about Valentines Day.

Why such the big hype anyways? When you are little, in school they MAKE you give out Valentines to your class mates, Praying that you get more than two cards and one of them ends up being from the teacher!

Now they send you home a class list and tell you, you have to give to all of your class mates or don’t give at all…I can see why. Oh such a great feeling of love knowing that your classmates were forced in giving you those cards.

Oh and dont forget the little cupcakes!! Well this part I can handle, I dont mind doing this and the kids love to help.

But when do you draw the line….My oldest is in grade 7…and praying he does not have to give out cards this year..last year in grade six he did. how embarrassing, being twelve years old and having to give one of your guy buddies a “will you be mine” card….poor kids!

As for adults and Valentines Day…just give me the dam chocolate and everything will be OK.

Man I sound like a prude…I just think it is sooo over rated, and yes  before you ask, I am married and have a wonderful relationship….BUT I don’t need a special day to tell my hubby that I love him!

I am however looking forward to Valentines Day…when it is all over, I get to go out and buy all the yummy discounted chocolate the very next day…mmmm, I can hardly wait!

And to get you all in the mood here is a lasting flower bouquet I made out of buttons…to me this is worth more than dying flowers on Valentines Day.

CPSIA- How will it affect me and other handmade sellers??

I did not really want to touch on this subject but I cant seem to help it.

This new law that goes into affect on February 10-2009 is going to affect MILLIONS of small bussinesss around the world.

The quick low down on this:

On Feb.10th 2009, New requirements of the (CPSIA) will take effect. Manufactures,importers and retailers are expected to comply with the new Congressionally-mandated laws.

Beginning Feb.10th 2009, Childrens products cannot be sold if they contain more than 600 parts per million (ppm) total lead.

Certain Childrens products manufactured on or after Feb.10th 2009 cannot be sold if they contain more than 0.1% of certain specific phthalates or if they fail to meet new mandatory standards for toys.

The new law requires that domestic manufactures and importers certify that childrens products made after Feb.10 .2009 meet all the new safety standards and the lead ban.

I am an artist that would be impacted by this proposed legislation if it is enacted.

I am fearful that as a sole proprietor I will not be able to afford the stricter regulations of the act,the cost of testing and certification is likely well beyond my means and I will be forced to close shop.

An idea of what I would have to charge a customer for the cost of  material, labor , testing and shipping this two piece bib set would be around $4000.00 ( any takers)???

Further  info on the Act is available at the CPSC website HERE

Please Vote to save handmade on my side bar——>

Smiles,

Tina

Hot Or Cold Cup Cozys

I did it!!

And it really was super easy…too easy..;)

I went to the local coffee shop and asked for a  paper coffee sleeve , That my friend is my pattern!!

Two pieces of scrap fabric, some fleece batting to help insulate the cuff…some Velcro to close it up,thread and with the help of my sewing machine I think it took all of five mins to finish…;)

When I do decide to make some more I will however add to the pattern length.

They should fit Sm,med,lrg to go cups, as well as some mason jars.

Keeps your hands from getting to hot and also great for using with cold drinks to keep your hands from getting frosty!!

If you look at the cook book on the left hand side it is a recipe for a Canadian BLT…when I was done shooting these pictures I was craving one…lol, maybe for supper???

I’m A Little TeaPot Cozy….

I have been wanting to make a teapot cozy for awhile now, So I thought I would give it a try!!

Not to shabby looking I think..;)

It took a try or two, just to get it right.

Here is what the finished ones look like…

Of course you can always feel free to take a peek at my shop for more teapot cozys…;)

Next item to tackle…Tea cup and Coffee cup cozys!!

Holiday Sewing time!

So, its that time of year again,

Time to start my holiday sewing, in fact I have already started awhile back.

I would love to post some of the items I have been making,BUT friends and family just might be lurking around…;)

I will however post a picture of my new Patchwork Pincushions

They are a nice size, Just what I like…nothing bothers me more then when I have run out of room for all my pins!!

I have made a few of these, and have posted some at my shop to see how they do…;).

I would LOVE some comments on others holiday sewing.

Smiles,

Tina

Bad Hair Day??

It never seems to fail,

I wake up, have a shower and try to do something with my hair and well…lets just say my hair has other things in mind other then cooperating.

Winter ,even tho we don’t want to admit it,it soon be on its way, and with that in mind will come toque or hat season.

So for myself as well as my shop I have started to make some hair bands at a really great price!

I know I will NOT be having messy hair…;)

Fall Headbands

We also have a winner in my little puzzle I had going last week. The hidden word is FESTIVE.

Congrats to: Elizabeth! (USA)

Have a great week!!

Smiles,

Tina