The North End Loft

Aug 24, 2012

Friday Finds

I fell behind on my Friday Finds posts recently, and thinking they weren't too popular anyway, had decided to scrap them completely. Then last week while visiting with my amazing cool and very dear sister in law, I found out that she actually reads them each week! I was so touched by her support, and her interest has inspired me to continue them. So, this week's Friday Finds are dedicated to Caroline, the nicest and sweetest sister in law a girl could ask for.

When Rosemary over at Villabarnes decides to stay inside and play around with scraps on a hot day, beautiful things happen. Rosemary shares how she painted and decoupaged a plain basket with what she calls "an old grungy look." I call it charming!

Villabarnes

This gorgeous French Country Hutch was refinished and styled to perfection by Pamela at From My Front Porch to Yours.

From My Front Porch to Yours

I found another beautifully styled hutch over at Kate's Place. I absolutely love Kathy's opulent hydrangea-filled box.

Kate's Place

Sarah from The Winthrop Chronicles shares a wonderful tutorial for making her Rosette Pillow Cover. I really like the shape and proportions of this pretty little pillow.

The Winthrop Chronicles

I love chunky letters and almost anything made out of burlap, so these letters shared in a tutorial by Jillian at The Virginia House are right up at the top of my to-do list. I'm thinking of making some that spell out F-A-L-L.

The Virginia House

Another chunky letter tutorial! I'm head over heels for Jamie's Nursery Rhyme Letter at Domestically Speaking. Is this not the cutest personalized baby gift for the nursery you've ever seen?

Domestically Speaking

I think I like these adorable suitcase tables so much because of the tapered turquoise legs. Happily, Good Housekeeping tells us where to buy them and how to attach them.

Good Housekeeping

You know how I love garden art. These pretty garden plate flowers are made from dishes and brooches by Tuula at The Thrifty Rebel. (Oh goodie, more thrift store/yard sale items to look for!)

The Thrifty Rebel

Do you shop on Craigslist? It's one of my favorite online sources for local used furniture and yard sales. Kelly from View Along the Way has shared some great tips for making the best of Craigslist shopping.

View Along the Way

I have more organic tomatoes coming from my garden now than my family can possibly eat fresh, so I tried making my first tomato sauce this week. YUM! I used this basic recipe from Becky at The Vintage Mixer (without the sugar and with only fresh herbs), then I added some Italian sausage for the best spaghetti sauce ever. Bye-bye, Prego. I'll be making and freezing my own sauce from now on for the healthy taste of summer all winter long.

The Vintage Mixer

As usual, my Friday Finds are here and there and all over the place (just like me!) I love so many things I find online, and as I finish writing this post, I find I really am happy to be sharing them with all of you. Thanks for the inspiration, Caroline!

And thank you to all who have stopped by today. I hope something you see will spark your interest, too.

Happy Friday!

Aug 20, 2012

Painted Upholstery

Last spring my husband brought home this chair that once belonged to his late grandfather. I posted it on my facebook the day I started painting it and thought I'd be sharing it soon after. It ended up taking far longer than I anticipated, and a whole month later, I finally have it finished.

The colors of the upholstery were outdated and didn't match any of our decor. We couldn't afford to have it recovered, so I decided to sew a slipcover for it. Before I had a chance to pick out the fabric I saw an upholstery painting technique online, and I thought, "Why not?" I figured if painting didn't turn out well, I could still sew a slipcover to hide it.

I started by brightening up the wood with some white paint using my new paint sprayer and the new painting tent I rigged up on the unused side of my house. I thought this would be a one hour job, but tweaking my homemade chalk paint recipe for my sprayer at the same time I was learning how to use one for the first time was a real challenge. Also, the chair had so much wax on it that even the chalk paint that usually sticks to anything, wouldn't adhere. I had to rub the first coat off with wet towels, sand, and repaint. I spent many days and learned many hard lessons on this innocent looking little chair!

After spray painting the frame, I applied two coats of clear finishing paste wax and taped off the wood before painting the upholstery. I followed Kristy Swain's great tutorial for painting upholstery at Hyphen Interiors found here.

These are my results:

Click on photo to enlarge.

The third coat of latex paint mixed with the fabric medium covered the original colors and pattern completely. The only thing I did differently than the tutorial was to use flat paint (by mistake) instead of satin, so there is no sheen to my chair's finish. The fabric now feels like canvas, and the chair is still comfortable.

Click on photo to enlarge.

My daughter picked the color for the chair and is using it in her study/sitting room with darker grey walls and bright orange, yellow, and green accents.

When she moves out on her own next year, I'll use the chair in this pale turquoise and white guest room.

This chair is now versatile enough to use in many different rooms, and I like the sleek contemporary look of the painted upholstery. I'm glad I tried out this new technique, and I'm really glad I'm finally able to share it with you!

Thanks so much for dropping by to see my chair.

Have a fantastic day!

Aug 12, 2012

Out of Town

I've missed a couple of my Friday Finds posts and link party contributions lately.

I've been in Red Lodge, Montana where my dear father in-law has recently passed away.

I will be back online again soon.

Wishing you all a good week.

Aug 2, 2012

Bird Tray

Debbiedoo's is having a Copycat Challenge Link Party, and you know how I just can't pass up a good ~~party~~ challenge!

Debbiedoo's

Debbiedoo's added Blogs to her challenge this time around, so my copycat project is the tray part of this beautiful table made by Deanna from the blog It's Just Me. I fell in love with these little birds the moment I saw them and knew immediately I just had to make a charming tray like this of my own.

It's Just Me

So I copied it!

I made a black and white print of the free Graphics Fairy image on my deskjet printer and then took it to my local library to make a waterproof copy on one of their toner based copiers.

The Graphics Fairy

I repainted my wood thrift store tray white and while waiting for it to dry, I used my sharpest scissors with a pointed tip to cut out the birds and branches in several pieces.

When the tray was dry, I decoupaged on the pieces. I fit the edges of each piece together while looking at the image on my computer for the proper placement.

After it dried again I glazed the whole tray to "age" it.

And here are my sweet birds where they've been perching on the hutch...

They make me smile each time I come in the door and pass them by.

I'm so glad you dropped in to see my Bird Tray,
and I hope you have a great day!

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