Candlesticks Part 2

I'm really liking the way these turned out!

How Many Sides Does a Barrel Have?

  

Here's a short video about my progress with the riddles.

 Let the fun begin!

Spring Fair.

So I've decided to have a table at the Spring Fair during SXSW this year with a friend of mine, Stephanie, who has a great eye for vintage (see her site here). I'm planning on framing and painting more of the cute children's sketches (as seen in this post), using the same frames and sewing some of the little birds I love to do (see a much larger example here). I've also toyed with the idea of writing out some interesting poems or quotes. We'll see where that goes. So for the next month or so, with the exception of an update on the Candlesticks project,   I'm thinking  you'll get to see quite a bit of what I like to do best - create interesting and unique color combinations. 

Candlesticks

Just a little ditty I threw together about my next project. Check it out here.

Red Chair. Taking It to the Next Level.

When I was working on this chair (painting it red, adding batting and covering the seat with white fabric) I had a general idea of what I would do with the seat in mind. I was thinking of some kind of striped embroidery of sorts. (See before picture in my portfolio here)

So I started laying out which colors of embroidery floss I wanted to use. I've been experimenting with almost monochromatic schemes in my daily wardrobe and decided to try pinks with a pop of yellow.

I was planning on using the left line as a guide to sew next to, but ended up liking the effect if just the floss over the fabric. So I started adding more lines.

I tied the string on the back of the chair...

Trimmed the ends so they wouldn't hang down, and taped the floss so it would stay in place as I screwed the seat cushion back into the chair frame. 

And tadaa! 

A subtle accent to make this chair a bit more interesting. Yeah for a free garage sale find from my mom!

Framed Riddle.

{Before}

{After} 

So - what do you think about how it turned out? 

I'd initially chosen a different riddle to frame, but I accidentally cut my thumb and may or may not have dripped a bit of blood on it. I'm kinda happy I did - I think this one ended up pretty dang cute!

For Sale soon...

Lamps & Frames

So I went to IKEA with my boyfriend this weekend (see a video we made here) and got this lamp to help with the pictures & video I've been taking. Once I get a light bulb for it we'll be in business! I also picked up this raw wood frame I thought I could do a little something with to house one of the cute pages from the Riddles book (see post here).

Jade's Bookcase Fail.

Well, not all projects go as expected. 

This is one of those cases.

 I'm going to stick to what I know: unique color combinations, paint, and chairs. 

Sigh. 

I hope you enjoy watching me flounder...!

Note: Never fear. If commissioned, I would only take on pieces I have experience and confidence in doing. Experiments like this one will only happen on my own time with my own furniture.

Jade's Bookcase

My beautiful friend Jade was moving apartments a few months ago and decided to get rid of her red dresser and bookcase. Of course, I snagged them. 

The bookcase has seen better days - it's peeling red paint over laminated wood would be hard to cover with paint so I think I'm going to try my hand at covering it with the rest of my fabric. 

I'm not sure where to start, and it's pretty wobbly so I'll have to come up with quite the inventive solutions, but I'm looking forward to the challenge! Also, this piece will be going up for sale when it's done (hint hint...!). 

Okay, off  to put on a Lissie playlist and get to work! In the mean time, you should go to the right hand corner of my blog and follow me...

Fabric Table Top Update.

What do you think of fabric on a side table top?

A Tip.

I live in a very small small space and really don't like clutter. I'm amazed at how stacks of inspirational magazines, cups of paint brushes, and half used bottles of super glue tend to add up to one ridiculous drawer of mess. So recently I discovered that when buying paint, instead of buying a small tube of every conceivable color and have a box overflowing, that... 

...it makes a lot more sense to just buy the primary colors and white and black and mix my own. I don't know why it took me so long to figure this out - turns out I LOVE the specificity. Maybe everyone already knew this, but I'm excited as I'm working my way through small seemingly endless bottles of purples and greens to clean our my paint box. 

Also. I'm thinking about covering the top of this side table I got from Target my freshman year of college and have painted more colors that I can remember with my new fabric. Yes. That's how I'll be spending my evening. I sense a new video coming soon...!

I'm also planning a trip to IKEA this weekend to purchase a lamp - picture improvement coming soon...I hope...

New Project

So my dad was going to bring the piece of wood for the bottom of Ben's Chair, but can't come this weekend after all (my grandpa's in the hospital). Ssoooo...I may have to put this project on hold until I can connect with my pops. In the mean time, I've managed to find this amazing bed sheet ($4.99) at the Value Thrift store on E. Riverside that's just begging to be made into something:

...and this pretty darn cute children's book from 1964 ($0.10) that is brimming with possibilities of tables or canvases: 

Which do you think I should work on next? 

Reporting from the Couch

So I've stayed homes sick this week. Coughing and downing a constant stream of tea will kill creativity for sure. I'm waiting on a piece of wood from my Dad anyways before I can do any more work on Ben's Chair and he not coming to town until this weekend. 

I did, however, go to a couple local Thrift Stores (Thrift Land, Cheap, Cheap, and a third I can't think of the name with all the herbal mess I've managed to drink already this morning). I decided I was going to look for a dress or skirt that had a fabric I liked for the upholstery on the chair. My friend Sarah pulled out this fabulous Mexican MooMoo (or however you spell it) and thought I'd look lovely in it. I thought my chair would look lovely in it! I'm planning on using the middle bird as the top of the chair cushion. Oh, and the dress was only $4.99 AND it was 1/2 price. That's my kind of fabric price. Be watching for more pieces of this dress to show up in the future!