Revamped Bench from Drabby to Shabby (Chic) to Photography Prop Bench, using homemade chalk paint

I purchased this plain jane bench on Friday at a garage sale for only $2.

Eeek! When he told me how much it was, I couldn't get my money out fast enough to buy it!

I was so excited to turn it into a photography prop!

How cute will that be??? I knew I would want to paint in chalk paint!

I went out Saturday, bought some paint, wax, and Plaster of Paris. Amazon sells it the cheapest so far that I've seen.

Mix 2 1/2 tablespoons of Plaster of Paris with 2 tablespoons of water. Mix it with a plastic fork to make it a nice consistency.  Then add it to 8 oz of paint.

I love samplers! I buy mine at Home Depot for only $3. They are perfect for small furniture projects. They come in 8 oz containers. You pick the color out an they mix it for you. This color is called Surfer. However, I wanted it to be more Turquoise, so after realizing it was lighter than I wanted I added some blue paint to make it darker and richer.

So, my advice is if you like the end result of the bench, then I would go with a shade darker than Surfer.

  I first added some wood filler glue, to the seating part. It had a rusted nail poking through, which is Nooo Bueno! I let that dry over a 6 hour period. Then I began painting it with just a plain ole sponge brush. The great thing about chalk paint is it doesn't leave streaks. I don't know why, but it doesn't. I painted the first coat on Saturday night, and then another coat Sunday night. 

Then today I lightly sanded it.

 After sanding it I then began rubbing on this wax by MiniWax.

I rubbed it on with an old t shirt, however if you have a fancy waxing brush or machine, by all means go with the good stuff. I am too frugal to buy the nice stuff, lol.

Maybe one day I will find one at a thrift store or Goodwill. Ha, highly unlikely!

I rubbed it all over the bench except on the edges. On the edges I drizzled of blackish brown paint (that I already have for a future project) and mixed it with about a table spoon of wax.

By the way these little mixing tray you keep seeing are Lean Cuisine frozen dinner tray. I wash mine out after I am done and use them for everything from painting, to mixing stuff to holding decoupage. They work great! And I am not having to waste a paper plate or plastic cup., and they are better because its more like a bowl.

Then, you rub it on the edges or anywhere you want it to become darker. It just really brings out the depth and makes it look more antiqued. 

I am not in love with the final product :( I really wished I would have put Vaseline around certain spots of the bench before I painted it, so it would just chip instead of me having to sand it. I feel like it doesn't look naturally shabby chic. 

But... I still think it will be Super Cute in my kid photo shoots!

Thanks for tuning in!

Vintage chair made beautiful! (How to Redye a Chair)

I love, love redo's. I mean if you haven't already picked up on that from my blog. And will continue to do more I promise!

 When I found this chair it was a hot mess. I mean an off white/cream, color stained, mess. I saw the beauty in it, and... fell in love with its $2 price tag!

Oh yeah baby, you read that right. If you haven't already visited your county's Goodwill Discount Center, then by God, hop up right Now and GO! Just wait till its open, or not, I am sure they have campers. You can be like the old Mervyn's commercial... "Open, Open", with your nose pressed against the window. 

They sell everything by the pound usually $1, but their furniture is anywhere fro $2 to $10. I see a lot of furniture redo projects in my future!

Oh, and Tuesday's are the best day. They get a lot of stuff donated over the weekend and they process it all on Monday, and put it out Monday night for Tuesday :)

Ok, enough of all that clearance stuff. I could do a whole post on that, bargains are a high for me!

Onto the good stuff! 

I read a lot of posts before doing this. I really, really wanted to do the fabric spray paint (Simply Spray Fabric Upholstery Spray), but that stuff is like $12 a can. I mean it could be worse... but I read you have to usually do about 3 coats, and 1 coat is 1 can. Now its still so much cheaper to go that route than having it professionally recovered, but I am a frugal gal. I got this for $2 and I want to be able to say to myself "Hey this only costs $20 or less to redo" I couldn't say that with the spray. So I did some more research, and some more, and some more. Then I found this tutorial on dying furniture with Rit at Vivaciously Vintage, and I was like ok, lets try it!

So I got Scarlet Red liquid Rit.

Mix one cap full to 1 1/2 cup water.

I at first used a paint brush as I read to do in another blog, but after about 45 minutes of doing that, I was like screw this, and got out the spray bottle to test it out. And it worked so much better. I mean very quick!

This is the after one coat, but unfortunately after it dried it looked a mauve color. So I did it all over again, once it was completely dried. And at first it wouldn't stain darker, so I used less water and more dye. And it finally worked.

I then spray painted the legs a flat black. Don't you just love my tape job? Hey it worked!

Here it is all vibrant and RED, and I LOVE IT!

And all for Only $6!

$2 Chair

$2.85 for the Rit

$1 for the spray paint

add a couple more cents in there for tax :)

It will be great for my photography!

Thanks for tuning in! 

By the way, if you would like to see my photography Face Book page, here it is...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Andylizzy-Photography/146300828872310

Bean Bag Makeover! Revamped old bean bag chair!

I might be the world's worst mother! Ok, well maybe that's an exaggeration, and hopefully I made up for my slacking tendencies today. 

Back in October I redid my son's room in Army/Camo decor. I recovered his bean bag (quite badly I might add), and ever since then my daughter has been begging me like every week to recover hers in zebra print. I bought the fabric back in October to do hers, and oopsie, its taking me this long to do it. Hey, I have had a lot of projects; hers was on the bottom of my priority list.

Ok, so this fabric is fleece, its actually two blankets from Walmart. I got them for only $2.88. When I saw them, I did a happy dance, because I knew I had just saved my self about $20. Fleece is usually $10 a yard. 

Now this is not super thick, but I am ok with that! Its to cover up her old bean bag, not to be used as a blanket. With that I might add, if you ever see a cute pattern on a blanket at Walmart or any store for that matter, and its really cheap, get it. Even if you don't have a project in mind, snag it!

I have done a few projects from blankets. It doesn't have to be fleece. I love it too when they clearance their patterned bed sheets. Sheets are a lot of yards, and that = saving money.

Ok, moving on...

First, if you have a piece of card board or a poster board then free hand on one side of the board, a wedge shape. Then fold it in half and cut to make it equal.

As you can see by my photo, I didn't even cut it that straight, and that's ok. When I traced the pattern on the fabric, I tried cutting it straighter. But thats the wonder of sewing. You can correct your uneven lines. Ok well, at least you can in this project.

Then I put up my half surfboard looking pattern and traced it then flipped it over and made a mirror effect so it really does look like a surfboard pattern when you done. Ok, well a small surfboard, lol.

Then, cut 5 more just like this. I was able to make four wedges per blanket, leaving me with a half of blanket left for some other project. YAY!

Next sew each wedge together in 2 sets of 3's. Say what.. I know. Ok... sew one wedge to the other, making sure to sew only one side and right sides together. 

Then, take another wedge and sew it to the second wedge. One thing I should add is not to sew the tips. Start sewing on the top of the side. I made this mistake :(

After you have sewn 3, then make another set of three. Do not attach them all together. You want two sets of three wedges.

Now that you have your two sets you can sew them together. I found though I had to sew the top together first then sew one side, and then go back to sew the other side, because you do want to leave big hole on the bottom to feed the bean bag in. Now if your making your own bean bag, well then the hole doesn't have to be that big.

Getting the bean bag into the hole is a bit tricky. I didn't make a big enough hole, but had my husband help me get it in, by re-positioning the styrofoam beans in the bag. I can't even explain it to  you, but team work helped. Thanks Honey!

The hole was bigger than that, I promise (the photo just doesn't show it). 

Then I sewed it up on the bottom. Now, I could have gotten fancy and done a zipper, or snaps, or something, but hey I just didn't care! I mean its not like anyone will ever know. In fact, its quite a crappy sew job underneath. If I wanted to make it look nice I could have carefully pinned them under and then together so it had a nice finish. I will say though its not easy to sew it once its on the bean bag. You will for sure need plenty of room to put your bean bag up on the same level as the sewing machine, or just sew it by hand. Eew no, takes too long. No thanks!

I love the way it looks. It looks so much better than my son's. And of course now he wants me to redo his again. Ughh, I'd have to be really bored to do that. Maybe if I get snowed in, lol. Ya right, I'll be cuddled up in my flannel sheets if that happens!

If your more of a hands on video type, here is where my inspiration came from. Not my video, but it helped get a visual on how to cut and sew it all :)

Thanks for tuning in! 

Rangers (baseball) T Shirt Dress How-TO

Well, well, well, its that time again! Time for Baseball! 

I had a friend ask me to make her a dress from her over sized shirt, and of course I was up for the challenge.

So without further ado...

You will need:

Two t shirts ( one with the team you desire big enough to cut up and another one the same size for the bottom trim)

Elastic two sizes 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch

safety pin

ribbon

matching thread

The above list is probably obvious but hey, I sometimes decide to do a project and then forget I don't have the elastic, etc.

Anyway...

I first started by having my friend try it on. I measured how much on each side I needed to take in. On hers I needed to take it in about 1 inch on both sides.

I then measured how long the dress needed to be. We decided on 26 inches for her.

I then flipped the shirt inside out and began pinning it and marking where I needed to sew it...

As you can see I actually measured a little tiny more than 1 inch. I knew we had a lot of room though to work with. But accuracy is the best for sure.

Then sew both sides, and then cut it afterwards leaving about 1/8 inch hang over.

Then make a straight line across the top of the shirt as close to the collar as possible.

Then cut and fold down about 1/16 inch and sew. Then flip it down again about 3/4 and inch and sew again. Sorry I was tired and forgot to take pics of this process. 

The reason I say to sew 1/16 first is so that there will be a nice finish. Its hard to fold it under and have it stay put. Its easier and quicker to sew it and then go back and sew again. When you sew the 3/4 fold be sure to start at one of the side seams and when you make your way all the way back around stop about on the other side of the seam, leaving a pocket to insert the elastic in.

Once you have done that, get your safety pin and pin it to one of the 1/2 inch elastic. Feed it all the way through, making it as tight or loose as you desire. Then sew the two end pieces together and then sewing back the elastic opening.

Now put the top on you or on your model and decide where you breast end in the shirt. You should add your second elastic about 1/4 inch below that mark.

Then again at the same seam you started your top piece, began sewing in the elastic but immediately start tugging on it so that it will be tight and gathered.

Continue holding and tugging on the elastic the entire time you sew it on, don't let go at all while you foot is on that pedal.

After that measure the shirt, and when you make your bottom ruffles make sure you cut it accordingly to how long you want the total length of the dress to be. Based on that then cut your bottom piece. I did mine 6 inches. The dress was 22 inches long before the bottom part. And I cut an extra 2 inches to have room to make the ruffles and then sew it on.

If your using a t shirt material then you'll need to stretch it about twice the width of your dress, so that you it will be the correct width after ruffling it.

Then starting at the seam, (if there is one) go around using the highest stitch. I set mine on 9. And slowly go around about 1 1/2 inches down from the top. Remember when you start sewing not to back sew, you want to be able to pull on those threads. When you end it, then you should back sew so it won't unravel. Remember not to cut the beginning or the end threads after you sew it.

Then pull on the threads slowly pulling the ruffles down as you go, until the entire piece has been ruffled. Then take your threads from the beginning and then end and tie them together, this will keep your starting point from unraveling.

Then sew it onto the dress going above the stich but high enough to where you can't see the ruffle stitches. Then after that add your trim or ribbon to complete it. Sorry I wish I had taken more pictures. I was so tired when doing this

Here is the end result...

Looking at this picture it could have been ruffled a bit more at the ends and we should have cut the shirt more like 3/4 inch wide but likes it tight :)

 For kicks I took the left overs and made t shirt flowers out of it, and made a hair clip out of them These pics is not good though, as you can still see the hot glue before I picked it off. Oops.

And there ya have it, without interruptions this would take about 1 hour. I had two kid bothering me constantly, lol. All while trying to cook in between.

Thanks for tuning in! If you have any questions, just holla! Oh and don't forget to follow me ;)

10 Gift Ideas for Teacher's Appreciation Week

Yep this week is Teacher's Appreciation WEEK! Here are 10 ideas you and your child can make or give to your teacher...

               1)

Ceramic Tile Coasters

Not the best paint job, but keep in my 7 year old helped do them. Considering that, I think they turned out quite well!

We already had the ceramic tiles, however you can get them very cheaply like less than 50 cents per tile at Home Depot or Walmart.

Then we used these stencils, I already had those as well but you can get them at Walmart in their craft section.

You could also use photo's, which we intend on doing for our Mother's day presents for our Grandmothers.

We used regular craft/acrylic paint to stencil it on, then after it dried we put on a total of 3 decoupage layers to seal in the paint. Then we cut 12 pieces of small black felt fabric. If you don't have this already you can buy the felt stick on's or buy a 39 cent sheet at Walmart. It also doesn't have to be black it can be any color, so if you have something like that you can cut up, then by all means do it and save money :)

 The we tacked it down to the bottom of the coasters using tacky glue. Really any super glue or hot glue would work, this is what I use for a lot of stuff though, and it seems to be the easiest and quickest. Plus you can get it cheap :), always a plus.

      

                    2)

Homemade Salsa


Really it can be anything homemade,  we just happen to be masters of salsa making. Plus this was a  gift for my son to bring to his teacher so we wanted to give something she would like but still had a masculine quality. We paired it with a bag of tortilla chips.

The jar is left over from some queso I believe, but we recycle around our house! The label was made on Print Works Paper, and just our regular ink jet printer. I have to say this label turned out too big and I am just to tired to redo it all. So it will do! But in the past we have made better labels for our hot sauce like this...

 

We made a new one since we knew the word Damn wasn't appropriate for school!

We put tack it down with decoupage and then layer 3 times on the top so it is water resistant.

               3)

Dollar Tree Coffee Mug with Hot Coffee

I thought about going and just getting Starbucks but you know I have 2 kids to buy teacher presents for. I also don't like Starbucks, and I hate the long lines in the morning. That's when I decided to just buy some disposable cups with lids and then I saw these. I was like Ohhh ya, Bingo. 

I haven't done it yet, but I plan on cutting the teacher's names out and putting them on the cup. On Wednesday morning, I'll pop in some French Vanilla Cappacino Coffee into my Keurig and then I'll go with the kids to drop them off to their teachers. I think I might make a tag like this to go on them too!

You can get one free here at Jasey's Crazy Designs

4)

These are only $1 of course duh, you see the ad above. The possibilities are endless with these. I think though I'll wait to use this idea till the last day of school teacher gift, fill it with come crystal light packets, and there ya go!

5)

I love that you can buy the pots and the pens, and the flowers at the dollar store, they may even have the floral tape. This is not my photo, but links back to the blog it belongs to.

I also like this idea if you have the patience and extra money for painting on chalkboard paint...

6)

Monogrammed letter of the teacher's last name.

I love, love this idea and hope to do it as one of our last day of school presents! Again not my idea, but you can click on her picture for a tutorial!

7)

A jar full of tea!

I love tea, and don't know a whole lot of women who don't. Spruce up and old jar with some material and a printable tag!
Hop on over to TOMKAT Studio for tons of free printables!

8)

Plants

Isn't it cute? I love the simplicity of it. You can get the plant at Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, and if your on budget like I always am, then head over to the good ole' Dollar tree for a holder for it!

9)

Swedish Fish Candy

OMG, I love this one, so cheap too! Again, the dollar store is calling my name, and you can again get a free printable here at eighteen25.

and last but not least...

10)

Yummy to my tummy muffins!

Don't those look to die for. It doesn't have to be that fancy, and you don't have to make yours from scratch. Heck if you burn water, then go and buy some from the bakery at your local grocery store. But for sure if you make them get some cup cake liners and when your done put them in a super cute container or box  or even some tissue paper and then with maybe something like this kind of tag.

I couldn't find a freebie, so I may just make this on my own. But if you want to buy it, you can from Making Life Whimsical on Etsy.

This year I lucked out and our last day of teacher appreciation week is on Field Day! So this will be perfect for our teachers that need to get their energy up with some breakfast muffins. I might have to do the coffee thing again too, or maybe milk, hmmm.

Thanks for tuning in Hope I gave you some great ideas for Teacher Appreciation Week!