Baby Clothes!

I am so thrilled that I am soon to be an aunt, I had to share my newest craft projects which have been baby focused. I took some plain white onesies and undershirts from my sister's pile of hand-me-down baby clothes and decided to get crafty with them.

I decided to do the first ones in a garden/little girl theme using embroidery and scrap fabric from my Pottery Barn Kids days. Not sure how the embroidery and hand stitching will hold up in the wash, but they look adorable for now.

I'm sure you'll recognize the bird stencils used in the second set of baby clothes. I thought these would look a little more sophisticated and less "girly", but still be very cute on a baby girl. I enjoy the contrast of the dark brown paint on the white fabric, and look forward to doing more stenciling on clothes, and to seeing my niece in these outfits.

Sewing Projects - Tablecloth

I was asked to make a tablecloth for the dining room of a recent staging. We normally do not use draped dining tables in staging, but this dining room called for some drama, and so we delivered the table and chairs shown above. This was an easy sewing project, but ended up having a lot of impact in the room.

Sewing Projects -Duvet Cover

I made a duvet cover for a design client at work recently. It was a pretty simple project of sewing together two flat sheets in order to make a custom duvet cover that would match the sheets on the bed. It was a significant project for me because they are cal-king sheets and I live in a small apartment with very little room to lay out fabric of that size. I also learned how to do buttonholes for this project, which was very exciting.

Once the duvet cover was on the bed at the client's house, my boss didn't even realize that I had made it, he assumed it was purchased for the house. What a great compliment!

Bird Chair

I loved the way my bird bench turned out, so I decided to try out the bird stencils on a chair. This chair was hardly ever used in stagings so I gave it some new life with a coat of paint and a new seat cushion. I used an old tablecloth to recover the seat and then used the black fabric paint and bird stencil from previous projects to make an updated cushion. We were able to use this "new" chair in a black and white bedroom almost immediately!

Updates! Furniture in stagings

I am pleased to show photos of some of the furniture I have recently refinished now being used in stagings. Check out the photos below to see the flokati bench, bird bench, and painted seat desk chair.

Fabric Paint

I've been working with fabric paint recently and really enjoying the multiple uses and looks that can be achieved with plain, black, screen printing fabric paint. I decided to work on some seat upholstery projects at work last week and took a few photos of the process and results. The base fabric for both cushions was the same, an old tablecloth with white on white stripes.

The first seat cushion is for a Danish mid century modern desk/side chair. For this funky chair I decided a funky seat was in order, so I used blue painter's tape to make random lines on the seat.

The next cushion was for a Chippendale style bench. The frame of the bench was recently painted glossy black (as you can tell, we are very into the glossy, black paint at my office right now). I like the sort of gothic look that this bench has now that it is black, and thought that this would be a good opportunity to pull out my bird stencils. Next I really want to get a large scale stencil to use on seats, maybe of a chandelier?

Recent Staging

Here are some photos from a recent staging I did. This is the master bedroom shown in 2 shots - first of the sleeping area, second of the additional seating. I was excited to work in those chairs that I refinished, I think they look great!

Recent Stagings

I wanted to share a few photos of recent stagings I have done. This first photo is a corner of the guest bedroom. I love the simplicity and calmness of the colors (the bed was blue and white), plus it is featuring a chair that I redid (painted the frame and upholstery all white).

This next photo the "teen" bedroom from the same house that is shown above. I decided to use light wood furniture to help with the younger feel of the room. I think it looks pretty cute, especially the chair near the window.

This last one is an unfinished sitting area of the master bedroom that I was working on today. The bed is a blue and white with brown accents, which highlights the beautiful views of the bay that are out those windows. I think this room is really going to come together once the art is hung above the loveseat. Can't wait to see the final outcome -after I get back from vacation!

More Cane Chairs

The first set of refinished barrel chairs went over so well at work that my boss had us redo the second set! This time I had helpers to paint the chairs (I believe they used spray paint this time), and I made the new cushions. I was excited to do a graphic print this time for something a little more exciting. The fabric I picked is reversible, but I opted for the lighter gray background with darker gray graphic. I think I like this set even more than the first.

Flokati Bench

Today's project at work was reupholstering a weight bench using a flokati rug to turn it into a piece we might use in staging. The bench was given to us a few months ago by a client that was cleaning out a house, and since then it has been sitting in our warehouse. I liked the chrome legs and simple lines of the bench, but the old white vinyl seat was unpadded and looked cheap and dingy. While looking through a design magazine I came across this photo and decided the bench should be recovered in a flokati rug for a hip, new look:

I first gave the seat of the bench some extra padding with an old comforter, cutting it it to the right size and stapling it in place. I then cut the rug to size and did my best to staple it into place. Even the 9/16" staples I bought did not want to go through 2 layers of flokati (the rug was folded in half), a layer of comforter, and then the bench. I stapled in place where I could, and I stitched the rest with embroidery floss. I decided I liked the look of the flokati hanging down over the legs partway (as shown in my inspiration photo) instead of stapled up right underneath the seat.

Looking forward to the first job we can use it on. I'll be sure to take pictures of it in place!

home improvements

The counter space to the left of my stove is an area that has been cluttered and bothering me since the day we unpacked and set up our apartment. It has been a space collecting kitchen utensils, spices, and seasonings for years, but I put an end to that yesterday.

During a weekend trip to Ikea, I scoured the wall storage systems and shelves until the right combination of style, size, and price led me to my final decision: Asker.

The suspension rail was $7.99, but the real steal were those shelves which I bought for only $0.49 a piece!

Easy to install, and now I can breathe easier with my kitchen just a little more organized.

Today's Staging

Here's a little shot of the staging I was working on/finishing up today. I was in charge of the 2 guest rooms, and am very pleased with the end result. I love the simple and elegent feel of an all white bed , especially when accented with black details. The rest of the furniture in the room echoes the black and white theme (you get the idea with that side table and lamp). Hope you enjoy!

Ribbon Flower Headband

I've been really into wearing headbands these days, but the cheap, bargain hunter in me cannot bear to spring for the ones that I covet at Anthropologie or other pricey stores. Last night I made myself a pretty cute one, and it only cost me $0.67!

Yes, I did already own most of the necessary pieces, so all I had to spend money on was the headband itself. I purchased the headband for said $0.67 at Fabric Outlet (on Mission at 17th street). The fabric rosette was clipped off a dress I bought at H&M years ago -it looks much better on a headband than it did on the dress, and I already had the sparkly red ribbon, as I am an avid collector of ribbons. (I'll be sure to post my newly organized ribbon drawer sometime soon).

I simply wrapped the ribbon around the headband, secured the ends to the headband with my trusty hot glue gun, then glued on the rosette and doubly secured with thread. I stitched down the petals so they are flush to the headband instead of sticking out all crazy on my head. Can't wait to wear it soon!

Cane Chairs

I thought I'd start my blog with a pair of chairs I recently redid for my work at a staging company. The cane barrel chairs have a great shape and are a great size for small spaces, but they were pretty outdated in the honey wood color and floral patterned cushion. It was a quick fix with some Rust-Oleum glossy black oil paint -spray paint would have worked, but I like seeing hints of the honey wood coming through the brush strokes. I sewed a new cushion covers from a leftover cream silk drape, though I'm dying to make some graphic black and white print cushion covers for these chairs. I was really happy with the end result, and they went out on a staging job the day I finished the cushion covers. They now have a much more contemporary feel, and I'm about to start working on 2 more of these chairs!