Bird Theme Wall Art

Decorating the walls of of one's home can be really expensive. Even a lot of DIY ideas out there require much $$$$ to be spent on the materials! I want to decorate my home at a lower cost, so I've got some ideas. Here's one.

I was at a garage sale a few weeks ago and found these frames. They cost me $1 for all of them. Some had glass, some didn't. It didn't matter for this project if any of them did.

I lined them all up outside on a rare sunny day for painting.

I used my favorite lilac spray paint to coat all the edges.

I found some bird images online and used scrapbook paper and cardstock to create the bird images and backgrounds. I stuck with the lilac/purple theme. I used rubber cement to attach the birds to the backgrounds.

Note: For my first attempt, I used Mod Podge but that was a giant fail. Rubber cement is absolutely necessary for this project!

I just popped the pictures in the frames and cut some cardboard for the frames that were missing backs and used hot glue to keep everything together. Can't wait to move into our house so I can put them up!

Rocking Chair Reupholstery Part II

So far, the chair looks good from the front.

But the back is not finished.

Finishing things up proved to be the most challenging part so far.

The first challenge was that I was using a manual staple gun and not getting the staples all the way into the wood. I debated buying a 'real' upholstery staple gun (pneumatic or electric) but that would cost $150+ dollars. Not very frugal!

So I put off finishing the chair for about 5 months!

My dad suggested trying to hammer in tacks to the wood. I tried that and it worked well! It took forever, but it was worth saving money.

The first thing I hammered in was the trim for the back.

The next thing I used was ply-grip. Here's a great how-to video about ply-grip. Ply-grip is the metal stuff at the edge that allows you to finish an upholstery project without any staples showing and with all raw edges tucked in.

You need ply-grip on three sides. On the fourth side, you can tack (or staple) the fabric down.

This is how you'd tack it down:

Then the opposite side should get tucked into the ply-grip. I waited until the very end to use the mallet to bump it into place (see the video, I can't quite get the point across in pictures).

This is what the back looks like after pulling all four sides tight under the ply-grip:

Closer view of the back:

This is the bottom. I used the same technique to attach the solid navy fabric to the bottom. However, I did have to fold it a bit around the legs of the chair so it isn't as tight.

Rocking Chair Reupholstery Part I

Do you remember the rocking chair I posted about awhile ago? It was my mom's that I found in the attic. Well, I finally got around to reupholustring it! It was my first true reupholustery project. Here's how I went about it:

First, I stripped the chair of the fabric and padding. I carefully saved the fabric and labeled it in order. Mine only had three pieces, which made it a simple first project.

Then I ironed the original fabric flat so I could trace it onto the new fabric.

Here's the chair:

I had removed the burlap from the back, so I added a new piece. I think it keeps the foam in place and from sliding out between the rungs on the chair's ladder back.

I cut foam to fit the back of the chair. I used an electric knife straight out of the kitchen!

Then I just went for it! I started stapling (using a manual staple gun; I've read it is better to use a hydraulic gun but I do not have one.) I started at the bottom of the fabric. I also read it is important to keep the fabric pulled very tight while stapling.

I needed more hands, so I had to get my hubby to help me hold the fabric taught. I was excited at how the back turned out!

I did have to hammer some of the staples flat b/c they didn't quite make it into the old wood. My dad says wood dries and hardens with age.

Here's what the back looks like so far. Don't worry; I'm going to cover it up soon!

We did the seat's bottom next. Here's how it turned out!

All that is left now is the bottom and back of the chair. Stay tuned for Part II of this post to see how it turns out!

Butter Chicken Recipe

I highly recommend this recipe for butter chicken. We went out for Indian food last Friday and ordered this for our son to eat--I ended up eating most of it and just HAD to have it again! I made it last night and it was fabulous.

Try it!

Vintage File Drawer Repainted

I rescued this drawer from my parents' barn. It had rusted (it was from a 1960's style office) and was dark green with a brass colored handle and various scratches and chips. Unfortunately, I was in such a hurry to sand, prime and paint it the other day I neglected to take a 'before' picture.

But here is the after picture:

I really love how it turned out. I think I might use it for recipe organization. It's for 3x5" cards.