Black and White Bergere Chair

My last project was reupholstering a Bergere Chair.  I guess I have been watching too many Nate Berkus shows.  He always talks about thrift store shopping.  I always thought shopping at a thrift store meant welfare.  Sorry if I have offended anyone.  But, watching the Nate Berkus Show I see there is more than clothes in these stores

One day I was all set to go to a local Salvation Army to look for a chair.  I went in with the notion I wouldn't find anything.  I walked past all the clothes and found myself in the furniture areas.  As I looked straight ahead what do I see.  Yes, the exact type of chair I was looking for.  Here she is before the "facelift".

After several hours over the course of 2-3 days, I think I took out hundreds of staples.  Not easy on the hands.  I sanded the chair down several times.  Then I primed the chair with two coats of primer.

Then came the black satin paint.  I loved it as soon I put the first coat on.

After the chair was dried I applied two coats of poly on it.  Let me say this is a project I honestly thought what the hell was I doing.  I had never sewn double-welt cording before.  I remember sitting in the living room with the fabric rolled out thinking how in the world amy I going to make the pattern flow once the chair is completed.  Oiy, my head was spinning.  Then on night it came to me.  I knew how I was going to do it.  I got up the next morning, rolled the fabric back out and got to cutting.  I stared with the pieces that I had to staple down.  How much could I screw that up, I thought.  I bought new foam for the cushions, layed that down and stared stapling.  Once I had the first piece stapled I knew I liked it.  My confidence went from "what the hell was I doing" to "yes, I can do this."  I managed to figure out the double-welts and the piping.  With all that hard work behind me I can honestly say I loved how my chair came out.  I am currently looking for another one.

My modern Black & White Bergere Chair.

Quilting???

The last time I ever tried quilting it was awful.  I am not a quilter, although I do sew my own window valances, bags and a few costumes in the past. 

As I was talking to my best friend Melissa, she mentioned she was getting back into quilting.  She had signed up for some quilt-alongs.  I thought that sounded like fun.  Even thought I didn't sign up for any quilt-alongs I wanted to try something "easy".  I found several free block patterns online and decided on the Disappearing Nine Patch. 

Another thing I wanted to do was use up some of my fabric I had stored away.  The colors I had the most of were black, white and turquoise.  One thing I found not easy was cutting the fabric the traditional quilters way, using the rotary cutter and ruler.  I went with the non-traditional way and made a pattern to reuse.  Hey, that is the way I feel most comfortable doing it. 

The following is a picture of my 9 squares sewn together.  Then you cut then in half horizontally and vertically. 

Next, you take the four squares and turn them until get a pattern you like. Then sew those squares together.

This is my quilt about two-thirds of the way done.

Anyway, this is my quilt (well wall hanging). I will post a picture later.

New Project - Non cardmaking or scrapbooking involved

Lately, I have been trying to stay active and not sitting for too long.  My knees are still a work in progress. I find if I am sitting at the computer or at the desk to craft for too long, my knees tend to get sore.

My husband and I had built a wall shelf for the area above my computer desk.  I decided I needed another one.  This time I cut the wood out, sanded and painted it.  He helped me put it together and up on the wall.  This smaller shelf holds my Cricut Cartridges.  (who knew I had so many). lol  I really like the way it came out.

Happy Valentines Day Honey!!!

For this past Valentines Day, I wanted to give my husband a different kind of card.  You know, the non-typical type you wouldn't find at the store. 

One day I sat down at the computer and logged into my trusty, go-to craft website - aka Splitcoast Stampers.  I found a thread where someone was looking for sexiest valentine images.  BINGO, I thought.  One of the ladies had suggested Kenny K. Downloads.  I knew I had to order a couple of those images.   I decided to use Allure Von D on my card.

Here is my "sexy valentine card for my darling husband.

No Mojo

It seems like it has been forever since I my last card/scrapbook/project. 

My husband bought me a Cricut Expression in Teal for Christmas.  So I had been playing around with the Expression and my Design Studio.  I have been to several Creating Keepsakes Conventions over the past years.  One of the booths in the Vendor Faire had laser cut pages.  They are wonderful pages but I didn't was to pay the $5 per page.  So I looked around the internet and found Scrappin' My Stress Away Blog.  She made exactly what I had been looking for.  After several hours over the course of a few days and a bunch of cheap paper I finally made something I liked and could use.

This is a double page spread I made for a trip to the beach.  All I have to do is take the pictures, add them to the page and do some journaling.