Luck of the Irish at my door!

Because I need yet another wreath...I made one for St. Patrick's Day!  I would also love a little Luck of the Irish at my door.  I've used tulle quite a bit lately and decided to return to good ol' ribbon! 

I used two different patterns in similar greens.  I started by pinning in an end (folded over) of one spool into place.  Then I wrapped around the entire 3 yard spool.

I pinned the ends, then continued with the next spool of ribbon.  This is what the wreath looked like once the wrapping was complete.   

I added a tulle ribbon bow and hanger for the door.  I found some beads with a beer mug at the end at Target.  I found little gold coins at Michael's which I glued on in scatters around the wreath.

Here's the finished product:

Super fun for St. Patrick's Day! :) 

A Chair Facelift

I've hosted a few people over recently and it became (painfully) obvious that I don't have enough seating.  Guess a love seat doesn't cut it for more than 2 small people.  A few years ago I visited the super chic @mollytics new (then) place and she had 2 beautifully reupholstered chairs in her living room.  

I've been wanting to try reupholstering for a while but am scared of a big projects. Chairs seemed feasible with my limited furniture skills and would give me a little more seating.  This would also be a chance to add some character to my living room which was in serious need up a facelift!So I started scanning Craigslist for free chairs...and found nothing.  Then one day I came home from work and found this by the dumpster:

I loved the design on the back of the chair.  There was only one chair, but it seemed like a good start.  How hard can this be right? ha! 

I started by removing the seat.  It had a few old screws holding it in place but was easy to take off. 

Now here come the "easy" part...the sanding.  I found sandpaper that was made for removing old paint, so it was a little more coarse than a standard paper.  I started sanding...and sanding...and sanding... I wanted to get as much of the old paint off as possible.  The sanding also allowed me to smooth out a few chips in the chair.  Then (as I had learned via Pinterest) I washed the chair down with soap and water.  

While the chair dried, I moved onto the seat.  It looked to be in good shape but I didn't like the fabric which smelled like the previous owner's home...

I started by removing the staples holding the fabric into place.  This took a while as I had to be careful (it's been a while since I've had a tetanus shot).  To my surprise this chair was about to get it's second makeover!  Underneath the first layer of fabric was the original fabric.  

Once the old fabric was removed, I replaced the old batting and cushion with fresh ones.  Then I wrapped my new fabric over that and began stapling it into place, making sure to pull it tight.  

Here's what the seat looks like:

Once the chair was dry it was time to start spraying paint. Easy! right?  Well it is pretty easy but a few lessons learned: 1. don't over spray at too close of a range or the paint will bubble, 2. the mist of the spray flies so put down way more tarp all around (see orange colored patio tiles in picture below), and 3. follow the instructions for 48 hours to dry (I followed that rule!). 

Spray painting took a few days because I waited the 48 hours (per the can's instructions) in between for it to dry and really wanted to make sure that I got all of the nooks and crannies in the chair's design.  

By Saturday the chair was dry and it was time to put everything together.  Here's the finished result compared to the original: 

I am really happy with the finished result!  During the drying time I had been working on pillows for the couch which coordinate with the chair.  Once the full living room is complete I will post a picture.  If you're interested in redoing a chair I strongly encourage it. It was fun and easy! 

Lego Legacy: a Gift for Rick

I really wanted to give my brother a unique gift this year.  He's not one for decorating and I wanted something he could put up.  I saw an idea on Pinterest and it seemed perfect.

Growing up Rick LOVED his Legos...enough so that my mom still has this bin of them.  (The green landscape piece is blocking most of the Legos, but you get the point!)

This project required digging through that bin and finding the best of the best.  Here's a glimpse of what we came across: 

There were lots of options, so we had to narrow it down by making scenes to fit into the shadow box that I found:

 

Here are the scenes we came up with:

 

 

 

 

Starting from the bottom I glued the scenes into place.  Important sidenote: I used a block base to put the Lego people on.  I glued the blocks.  Then the Lego people just stand on those.

 

Here's the finished product:

 

It was a fun project.  Momma and I had a great time playing with the Legos and walking down memory lane.    More importantly, Rick loved it!

Tie it up...with a Bow!

Just in time for Christmas, I finished Jimmy's gift.  Jimmy is one of the remaining Southern gentlemen who wears a bowtie and ROCKS it!  He is also the proud dad of two wonderful pups named Winston and Franklin.

Half-joking he mentioned wanting a photo shoot of him and the boys wearing matching bowties.  I gladly accepted the challenge! I went to JoAnn's and found the perfect print to match the pups!

Then I set to work...and here they are: 

One of the pup bowties:

 
The dad bowtie:


The finished set.

  I think these are sale worthy, so get ready for more in the making.  I will make collegiate print and school color versions.  Look back here as I get more prints and put up final products for sale.  If you want to pre-order send me your preferred colors/print and how many pup/kitty bows to RebeccaLGuerra@gmail.com.  

the GREAT bed makeover

For years, I have had a mixed match set of linens.  Sheets from Target, shams (that match my duvet cover) from a department store, and a lighter blanket from Ikea.  I never could make them match. 

One thing about work travel is being spoiled with nice big beds, plush linens, and many many pillows.  Oh and the fact that everything usually matches or ties together to look great.  Unfortunately, my bed did not look great.  A random trip to JoAnn's and I found this fabric(!): 

A few months ago (read maybe 8 months ago), on another shopping trip to JoAnn's, I had purchased several throw pillows.  On another similar visit to Target, I had purchased some dish towels I though might help bring my bed linens together.  They were close, but not enough.  The new pattern FINALLY brought everything all together.  So I set out to make some throw pillows!

The first pillow was simple: cut fabric, stitch together 3 sides, sew on snaps on the 4th end to make the pillow case easy to remove for washing (as needed).

Now I needed to tie the dish towels into the mix.  Pulling from the design of the new fabric.  I came up with some diagonal patterns and a spiral pattern.  Using a pencil, I sketched the designs right onto the (clean and ironed) towels.  I used embroidery floss to create the designs.  

Here's the finished result of all of the pillows combined with the mismatched sets:  

A now that the bed is complete and I have hung my Martini girls my bedroom feels complete :)