Curbside Chair Makeover

How to reupholster a chair

Who doesn’t love a good curbside rescue?!  A friend and I were driving to have dinner when I saw this dumpy chair in my periphery, pulled over and heaved it into the back seat.  I knew it was a good find by how heavy and solid it felt.  With a little love and a lot of hot pink, it has been transformed into the perfect accent for my stepdaughter’s recently made over bedroom.  Check out my first rendezvous with chair reupholstering!

Supplies:

  • Old chair
  • Primer
  • Acrylic paint in color of your choice for chair frame and cushion stenciling
  • sand paper medium grit
  • canvas drop cloth
  • stencil
  • stencil brush
  • paintbrush

How to reupholster a chair

Chair Makeover

Instructions:

  • Turn chair over and remove screws holding the seat down.  Remove seat from frame and take off fabric and padding.  Depending on the condition of the padding, you can either replace it or reuse it under the new fabric.  Here it is after I took off the fabric.

Chair reupholstering

  • Lightly sand the chair and wipe away the debris with a damp, lint free cloth
  • Primer and let dry per instructions.  I left mine to dry overnight.  You could just spray paint and skip the primer step, but I wanted to take my time with this one.  It was worth waiting.

Paint wood with primer

  • While that was drying, I cut the fabric from a canvas drop cloth I picked up at Lowe’s for $5.  I just put the seat form on top of the fabric and traced around it, allowing about 5 inches all around to account for the padding.

Chair reupholstering

  • Using a plaid stencil I picked up at Michaels, I stenciled the cut piece of fabric.  I used spray adhesive and a stippling brush.

Chair reupholstering

  • I painted the frame with Martha Stewart’s new craft paint in Raspberry Ice and sealed with Krylon spray matte finish.
  • Cover the seat with the newly stenciled fabric by stapling one side over the padding and seat form, then pull it tight and staple the other side.  Finish by stapling all around , tucking in the corners like you are wrapping a present.  That is it!

How to reupholster chair

Chair reupholstering

How to reupholster chair

What do you think?  Not bad for a curbside find!  I can’t wait to submit it to the new site, Roadkill Rescue!

Wood Pallet Headboard DIY

Wood Pallet Headboard

 

If you read yesterday’s post, this wood pallet headboard project is no surprise to you!  I am so very excited about this.  I have never done anything like it, and I am plain proud.  There is a rustic, shabby look with an interesting texture for a unique feel, and a price tag that can’t be beat.  The inspritation came from the Sprig by Mia post I showed you previously, here.  Get ready for a quick, easy, cheap DIY headboard tutorial from a happy crafter.

Supplies:

  • Wooden shipping pallets; I nabbed mine from a dumpster behind a local home improvement store.  I grabbed 2 of them, as each one was 48 inches wide, and I needed 60 inches (the width of my queen size bed).
  • Saber saw or hand saw if you need to cut one of your pallets to get the exact size you want.
  • Krylon Dual Spray Paint Black Flat and White Flat
  • Wood Screws
  • Hammer
  • Krylon clear coat or sealant of your choiceDIY Headboard Ideas

Instructions:

  • Clean your pallets with hot water and let dry.
  • Determine your desired headboard width.  If one pallet is not wide enough, cut the needed width from the second pallet using a saber saw or hand saw.  See picture.  Loving some power tools…DIY Headboard Ideas

DIY Headboard Ideas

 

    • I used a three  pieces of board from the leftover segment of pallet to scab the two pallet pieces together, attaching them with wood screws.  In the Sprig post, she used 2x4s, which is great too.  I just didn’t want to go to the hardware store, and I wanted this to be all free (except for the spray paint later).  No pics of this.  I was too excited.  I drew it in to show you what I did…

Frugal Headboard Ideas

 

  • Flip it over and spray paint your base coat.  I did flat black Krylon Dual, which has primer built in and is amazing.  Such great coverage.  I let the black coat dry, then went over that with flat white Krylon Dual.  I also screwed three shelves from a previous  project along the top edge of the headboard to give a finished look and to have a ledge to decorate if I want.  Really I just did it because I was so thrilled that they fit perfectly along the width of the piece!DIY Headboard Tutorial

 

DIY Headboard Tutorial

DIY Headboard Tutorial

  • I distressed the edges by lightly sanding with medium grit sand paper to bring out the black base layer.  Then coat with finish of your choice.  I used Krylon clear coat (and no, they are not reimbursing me for this post)!

DIY Headboard Tutorial

That is all.  SO gratifying.  I just set it against the wall and put the bed in place.  What do you think, dear readers?

DIY Headboard Tutorial

 

Wood Pallet Headboard
I am linking to: Home Stories A to Z

BookcaseTurned Jewelry Display

Bookcase Revamp

A recent craft show taught me that I need step up my jewelry display means.  In this project, I took an old bookcase I picked up at a garage sale for $5 and some pegboard I nabbed from someone’s trash, combining them to make a display case.  All it took was a little spray paint, and my trusty jigsaw ($4 garage sale find) – Yay power tools!  Follow along and watch it unfold.

You guys remember this post, where I revamped a bookcase?  Here are the before and after…

Book shelf revamp

Book shelf revamp

Not that I didn’t love the funky, groovy, flower shelf look, but it really kinda stood out amongst my decor.  I had been wanting to do something with it for awhile.  It occurred to me that the piece of peg board I harvested from someone’s curbside trash would make the perfect backing for this case, once I painted it, of course.

I traced the bookcase backing outline onto the pegboard, then cut it with my jigsaw!  I cut on the inside of the lines, to ensure my peg board would not stick out from the back of the case.

Book shelf makeover

Book shelf revamp

Book shelf revamp

Next, I removed the plywood backing from the book case.  After spray painting the book case and pegboard (black and “periwinkle”, respectively) with Krylon Fusion and allowing that to dry, I nailed the pegboard in place.  I sealed with 2 coats of Minwax Polycrylic and that is it.   Who says you can’t revamp a revamp!

Jewelry Display Ideas

 

Thrifty Lamp and Stand Revamp

Painted lamp makeoverSo excited about this project.  Love how it turned out, and it cost me a grand total of $3.oo (not including paint and primer, which I had on hand).  The lamp, the shade  and the little stand are all separate garage sale scores.  None of them had anything going for them, except for the fact that they were dirt cheap.  I have a hard time passing up home decor items that are $1 or less.   I have learned what a difference some paint can make.  Follow along as I show you the process…

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Side Table Revamp

Side table spray paint and stencil tutorialI inherited these oak side tables as a part of the package that came with my husband.  I finally got at them with some spray paint and stenciling to help them fit right in to their surroundings.  Here is what i did…

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Garage Sale Table Revamp

Garage Sale Table Revamp
I scored this three tiered plastic table at a garage sale for $2.  I knew it had great potential.  I always take a measuring tape with me when I am scavenging for thrifty pieces to beautify.  I measured the diameter of the inner circle on the tiers, and was thrilled to learn it was just under 12 inches in diameter – scrapbook paper and mod podge, you know it!

Flea Market Coffee Table Revamp

I found the above coffee table at a local flea market for $3.  I knew I wanted to move the current family room coffee table into the craft room as part of my complete craft space reorganization (whole other post, that one is).    The whole thing was the orange color you see on top.  I sanded it and sprayed the whole table with Krylon fusion Cream.  Once that dried, I used home accents black acrylic paint with some glaze and iridescent gold acrylic paint from Golden’s to create a marbled effect, mainly golden with dark undertones.
After that was dry, I arranged little 2.75 inch origami paper squares to my liking, and adhered them with Matte gel Medium.  I then covered the entire top with a layer of the Matte Gel Medium.  After all that dried, I covered the table with 3 layers of Minwax Polycrylic for shine and durability.  I love how it looks tiled.  Easy project, and frugal too.  Bliss.

Garage Sale Bookshelf Makeover; Frugal, Flowery, Fabulous




I found this bookshelf for $5 at a garage sale (the same day I won a radio contest, and a blog giveaway… should have bought a lottery ticket). I think it is actually a media CD/DVD shelf, and it is the perfect size for this narrow hallway wall. I didn’t have a plan, but I knew beauty was in the near future for this five dollar find.

I cleaned it with soap and water, then spray painted with Krylon Fusion Cocoa Brown Shimmer textured paint. Since I used Fusion, I didn’t have to sand or prime. Sweet. I chose this color so it would coordinate with this side table I posted previously.
I removed the shelves, cut scrapbook paper to size and adhered it to the shelves using matte gel medium, smoothing out the air bubbles with a brayer. To finish, I applied polycrylic to the shelves to seal the paper and waterproof. That is it. Simple, cute, under $10 and 1 hour of my time. Score. Spray paint and scrapbook paper have changed the way I decorate vastly!
Tuesday Blog Hops…

Tuesday Tag-Along
To-the-TOP Tuesday

My $6 Kitchen Table and Chairs; Spray painted furniture from Odd to Mod

We needed a dinette set for our new place, since the dining room in our last place doubled as my craft space and now that table is fully dedicated to clay, paint, stamping… messiness! I kept my eyes peeled for a couple of weeks while we were busy painting the various rooms. I wound up with 4 chairs for $0.25 each, and a $5 table. Yep, that would be $6. Total. For a table and chairs. Here is the finished project. Unfortunately, my camera was dead when I got to work on the table, so no before pics of it. I have pics of the chair and a full tutorial…


I washed the chairs with soap and water. They were pretty icky.
I made sure they were dry and free of dust and other debris.
Next, I primed the legs with rustoleum primer for metal, and for the bucket seats, I used valspar primer in a gallon can that I found in my garage (painted on with a 1 inch paint brush).

I let the primer dry as per can instructions, and sprayed the legs with Krylon brushed metallic nickle spray paint. I love this paint. It is so easy to use, my fingers don’t get those blisters from spraying, coverage is awesome, short dry time. They aren’t paying me to say that. Not that I would object if they wanted too, I am just saying.
It was at this point that my genius husband realized that freeing 4 screws from each chair is all it would take for the legs and seat to be separated (after I had taped off two of the leg sets in preparation to primer the seats; ok, not to smart, but you can bet I won’t make that mistake again. The first thing I did with the table is take the legs of since I knew I wanted them a different color than the top; See, I learn)! This project became much simpler after the legs and bucket seat were no longer attached.
I sprayed the chairs front and back with Ocean Breeze Krylon Outdoor after the primer dried.
Next I painted them with a mix of blues and yellows from my acrylic paint selection that I made to a green of my liking, using a 1 inch paint brush. I painted just the front, leaving the backs blue for a two tone effect. I took sand paper to the edges once the green dried, to reveal the blue underneath, giving a distressed effect. Once that was all dry, I applied minwax polycrylic for shine and protection. I did 2 coats of polycrylic, allowing dry time between each.


I am loving the look. I found the place mats at Wal-Mart and couldn’t resist because they matched so perfectly. They almost cost as much as the table and chairs together. Ha. The vase comes from the most awesome yard sale I have ever had the privilege of attending. You will be seeing more projects from that treasure hunt!

What have you done with thrifty furniture? I would love for you to share your ideas, questions, or comments!
We broke in the new kitchen get up with a wonderful homemade lasagna shared between my husband, step daughter Jenni, and her dorm roommate and best friend Abbey. Making memories frugal style!

Spray Paint Table Tutorial

GoodwillEndTable4This table was just waiting at Goodwill for me to find it. It was $5.99 and it happened to have a blue tag… AND the 50% off color was BLUE!!

I loved the shape and the shelves, and knew all it need was some scrubbing and spray paint.

I washed the table down with a soapy rag, and wiped it dry with a towel. I didn’t have to sand, or prime (YIPPIE) because I found a can of Krylon Fusion spray paint in just the color I wanted, amongst my supplies. Cocoa Brown Textured Shimmer… this stuff is great. It bonds to plastic takes minimal prep and dries super fast.

You can’t see the shimmer quality to well in this overexposed picture, but it is beautiful. I love frugal makeovers like this. Take some spray paint to that old piece of furniture that needs a bit of love! About the card on the table… stay tuned for a tutorial on handmade cards using a watercolor stamping technique!

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