well, I’ve decided that it’s a little boring… it needs just a touch of something…  maybe a touch of pink?

So, I took a few minutes and recovered it!

For those of you who have never recovered a chair like this before, it is actually rather simple…

You start by flipping the chair over…

Those 4 screws hold the seat onto the chair… unscrew those, and the seat falls right off!

Now, you CAN  usually just put the new fabric right over the old…  but since my old fabric had a distinctive texture to it… and my new fabric is kinda thin…  I decided it was better to remove the old fabric and start from scratch.

The fabric is attached with staples… to remove them, just push a flathead screwdriver under the staple and pry it up.

Be sure to keep track of those staples!  (stepping on them in bare feet later is BAD!)

Once you have removed the old fabric, you can use it as a pattern to cut out the new!

Just lay it on top of your new fabric, and cut!

Now, lay the seat down (upside down) on the fabric.

And pull out your stapler!

I like putting a staple in the center of each side to start.  Just be sure to pull the fabric tight!

And then start working your way around the edge… leave room near the corners so you will have fabric to loose enough to fold…

And now to take the mystery out of corners…

Start by pulling the center of the corner down and stapling it…

Then pull each side down (one at a time) and staple them…

If you worry about the tail showing, then just pull it back and staple it again…

Once the 4 corners are down, flip it over and see how you did!

Now just attach it to your chair the same way you removed it!

Isn’t it cute!?  I love how my craft room is coming together!

But I was hoping to do something a little more “fun” with it…

Now, I recently got the Young House Love book…  and I have had a blast looking at all the things they’ve done…  but one of the things they did was a desk…  it was navy blue, with a yellow basket weave pattern on the drawers…  LOVED IT!!!

So, out came the frog tape!

I cut the tape into 3-1/2″ strips and placed it in the pattern on the drawers…

And then I cracked open the green paint (again, with the Annie Sloan chalk paint) and started painting!

And then I pulled off the tape…  And voila!

Isn’t it cute!?

It has some sentimental attachments (as do many of my pieces) but it was getting a bit on the worn side…  and with my fresh new look, I decided it was time for this to get a new look as well.

So, I picked up some Annie Sloan chalk paint.

I have never used this before, but I had heard a lot about it…  so I was eager to give it a try.

I had a little bit of trouble with some coverage at first….  the desk had originally been stained… and that stain was bleeding through the fresh paint.

My first instinct was just to do a second and third coat… but I eventually wised up and went to talk with my local Annie Sloan expert.  She informed me that there were 2 different tricks I could use to stop the bleeding…

1.  I could coat the problem areas with a Shellac, let it dry and then paint over that…  or…

2.  I could get some of the Annie Sloan wax, put on a coat of that, let it harden and then paint over it.

Since she offered to let me use her can of shellac… I went with that option.

It worked like a charm!

Such a fresh new look!

But I’m not done yet!  Just wait until my next post when I tell you what I did with that green paint!

So, when the temperature drops (by drops I mean that the high today is like 68 F)  I go into hibernation mode.

But being that I live in florida… there is no fireplace to light and warm myself by…

so I do the next best thing…  Candles!

I think I have at least a dozen candles currently lit in my little apartment!  hehee!

What little things do you do when it gets cold?

I had about 2 weeks to find a new place to live.   I wanted something close to everything, in my price range, smaller square footage, and nice and updated.  Oh yeah, and it had to be ready for IMMEDIATE move in.

What I found was 20 minutes away from everything, above my price range, larger than my house, and nice and new…  but it was ready for me to move in right then.

It was a nice place… but I hated it.  I hated having to drive 20 minutes to get everywhere.  (I’m a small town girl… i like being 5 minutes from everything!)

So I decided to start looking for a new place… and I found one!  It is EXACTLY in the area where I wanted to be…  it is in my price range…  it is smaller than my previous 2 places… and the kitchen and bathroom have been updated!  (and a bonus, I get a nice size patio with a great view of a park!  definitely an extra bonus in this area!)

I have also been blessed in that my previous rental company is allowing me out of my lease agreement early, without much of a penalty.  (cue excited cheers here!)

So welcome to my new home!

When you come up the stairs, this is your view…

Well, minus the paint can!  :)

As you can see, it is an open floor plan, with the kitchen opening right up to the living room.    The patio is also connected to the living room right thru that french door.  (It brings in a lot of light into the living room!)

This is my kitchen.  LOVE the granite countertops!

Here is bedroom #1.  This will become my bedroom… and yes, there is a exterior door in my bedroom.  This door leads out the back of the apartment and is a much closer walk to my parking place than the front door.

And here is bedroom #2.  This will be called a bedroom no more… it is from here on out, “My Craft Room”.

And finally, the bathroom.

Sorry that the pictures are so dark, but I had already packed my camera and only had my phone to take pictures!  (oops!)

Now it was time for the work to begin!

The walls had all been painted a gold color…  and the trim and doors were all painted kind of a peach color…  it was kinda hideous…  and dark, and dingy…

I was struggling to decide which sofa I was going to keep (I had a tan one and a green one)  I was worried that the tan one might clash with the walls…  but the green one was a little more worn.  Then my landlord said a marvelous thing, “you can paint if you want to…”

Paint?  Yes please!

Bonus, my parents had LOTS of left over paint from when they built their house.

Now I just have to explain to everyone why I’m painting “a rental”.

Here’s my explanation… Because it makes me happy.

Fresh paint makes me happy.  It gives new life to an old place… and it makes it feel like mine.

Luckily for me, my honey and my daddy get me, and came to help!  (sorry Dad!  apparently I dont have a picture of you painting the apartment!)

I decided to go with Sherwin Williams Dover White for the walls in a Satin finish… and Sherwin Williams Ultra White Semigloss for the trim and doors.

Oh, except for one wall…

Yup!  I’m painting one wall of my craft room PINK!

I LOVE it!

Now all we need is all of my stuff to clutter the place up!  hehee!

Have you ever painted an apartment?  Have you ever painted a feature wall?  If so, what color did you go with?

So, what do I do for Valentine’s Day?  Well, my tradition for years was to have an “anti-valentine’s day party”… we would wear black and watch Terminator movies!  But I eventually grew up and realized that I need to shower those I love with gifts and affection!

My first step…  Valentine’s Day surprises for their mailboxes!

I found these foam heart stickers in the $1 rack and Target and HAD to have them!

Aren’t they fun!?!?

Now all I had to do was add an address label, some stamps, and throw them in the mail!

I cant wait to get her reaction when she opens her mailbox!

What fun Valentine’s gifts have you thrown in the mail?

As some of you know, I got the title “Super Crafty Sister” from one of my sisters, “The Wannabe Athlete”.  So, when she comes up with a project idea… guess who she turns to to execute it….  ME! 

My sister had her baby girl on Thanksgiving Day…  but her nursery wasn’t quite finished…  It needed one more finishing touch.

Her name painted on the wall.

I love this idea, and I figure that some of you might as well, but might be stuck on how to achieve the look you want.

Ready to start?

1st step:  Pull out your computer, type the word (or words) you want to use, and then adjust the font until you find one you like.

2nd step:  Hook up your projector to your computer (for those of you who don’t own one, or know of anyone who owns one… check with your local library, sometimes they rent them out!) and project your words (or image) onto the wall in exactly the right size and position that you want the final image to be.

(Don’t you love how Grace is supervising?)

Next, trace the outlines of the words lightly in pencil.  Once your outline is in place, you can turn off your projector and start painting!

I like to just barely cover the pencil lines with the paint… but if you get done and have any left over pencil marks, just use a white eraser to get rid of them after the paint is dry.  (pink erasers sometimes leave a slightly pink hue on the wall)

Isn’t it adorable!?

I think it was the perfect “finishing touch” to her nursery!

Do you have any tricks or tips for painting images or words on walls?

Isn’t that aisle runner pretty?  That was the aisle runner at my sister’s wedding.  And yes, I made it.

At this point most people gush and tell me how they could never do something like that… but of course you can!  It was actually pretty simple.

1st you need to run to your local craft store and buy a simple aisle runner and some craft paint.

Next, and this step is VERY important… you will need to measure the actual aisle so you know where the monogram will fall on your runner.  Keep in mind that if you unroll the runner at the beginning of the ceremony, you usually start at the front of the church and walk it towards the back… so if you want the monogram to be at the church entry, it will need to be in the center of the already rolled aisle runner.

Now you measure that far down the aisle runner.  I suggest using an empty wrapping paper tube to roll the excess on so it doesn’t get creased or wrinkled (or stepped on).

Now for the design.  I just printed it out on my computer to the size I wanted.  Notice that I used multiple pieces of paper… but you could also do an enginneer print at Kinko’s for a few bucks which would all be on one piece of paper

Just lay it under your runner, and trace it out with a dull pencil.  Yup, trace.  It’s that simple.  Then just paint inside the lines that you traced!  I would recomment sticking a layer of wax paper under the runner before you start painting so it doesnt bleed thru onto your floor table.  (ok, yes, I tend to do projects on the floor… probably bad for my back…. but it’s what I do).

Give it plenty of time to dry, and then roll it back up and wait for wedding day!

Don’t you love projects that are way easier than they look!?

They are a little difficult to put into an arrangement because the flowers aren’t at the end of a stem, like they would be for a traditional flower arrangement…  they have lots of small flowers, instead, that make up the blooms!

So, instead of the traditional flower arrangement…  Sink em!

Grab a cylinder vase, “plant” one end of the stem in some stones at the bottom (to keep it from trying to float) and just add water!

I love fresh flowers! (especially when they’re free!)

Have you made any free fresh flower arrangements lately?

This is true, but it is for good reason…  as Super Crafty Sister, a lot of my Christmas gifts are homemade…  but most of my gift recipients read this blog!

Therefore, I can’t post a lot of what I’m making because it would spoil the surprises!

I did realize though, that not all of my projects are to be presents, so between now and Christmas, I will be posting some fun things that I have been working on that are non gifts!

Let us start with glitter shoes!

This pair of shoes belong to one of my students.  Aren’t they cute!  She decorated them this summer, and she wears them EVERY DAY! (and they are still holding up great!  I was impressed and thought you might be too!)

So, I asked her how she did it…

First you need to buy some Fabric Mod Podge

Yup, Mod Podge has several different types.  And yes, it is important that you use the Fabric version.

You will also need to purchase some glitter.  The finer the better.

Then mix glitter and mod podge.  I suggest making a bowl out of aluminum foil and mixing it in that.  That way, when you are done, you can just throw the entire thing away.  (Gotta love easy cleanup!  Especially when glitter is involved!)

Then you just paint the Mod Podge and glitter combo onto a pair of shoes!  I found these Converse Stars at Target…

And painted them with gold glitter…

Of course I forgot to take a picture of them completed…  but you get the picture!  So cute!  (though I gotta admit, I like Ashley’s rainbow ones better!)

Have you glittered anything lately?