Quick Slip

The couches in our living room are old.  I mean - Travis had them in his (gulp!) college house of dudes and his parents had them in their home before that, old.  They've done their time!  On the plus side, they're super comfy.  But on the other side of things - they're not looking so hot.  Have definitely seen some better days!

When we bought our home I bought some cheapo silpcovers from Bed, Bath and Beyond.  Why I bought cream I have no idea.  Not only do they look a lot like paint sheets covering the chairs - but they also pick up an insane amount of dog hair (chocolate lab, remember?!)

Anyhoo - before my sewing days Mum made us some throw pillows, and they break up the "paint sheet" look a little, but I still need to get on making some more to fill out the couch.

Since the slipcovers were cheap, awhile ago the ties fell victim to overuse and many of them ripped off.  My couches sat naked and yucky looking for months until finally, in a moment of clarity, I remembered that now that I can sew... I could fix this problem!

Mum had given me the extra fabric from the two year old pillows some time ago, so I cut, sewed and pressed some new ties, and sewed them onto the slipcovers.  Not only are the covers now functional again, but they've got just a tad more color to them!

Now... how hard do you think it would be to sew slipcovers from scratch?  In a non-cream color?  :)

Guest Post: Hair Bow Holder

I constantly find myself in awe of the wonderfully talented people I encounter daily - especially here in the land of blogging.  I share links to some of the fabulous projects I come across each weekend in my Week in Review posts, and now on (most) Wednesday's... at least for a awhile... I'm going to be going a step further and inviting one of those creative folks to guest blog here at Ready, Set, Craft! 

Today I'm super happy to welcome Carrie of Making Lemonade.  I love popping over to Carrie's to get decorating tips, hear sweet stories about her beautiful family, and so much more!  I had a great time guest-posting my appliqued onesies on her blog during her Stork Report project a couple of months back as well!  Enjoy!

  

Don't you just love Ready, Set, Craft?!  I was giddy at being asked to guest post here, and hope I can live up to the awesomeness that Joanne serves on a daily basis.  Since she's got paper crafts covered (and beautifully so), I decided to share one of my other passions: repurposing unloved items into something new and useful.  This can be tricky to post as a tutorial because you want the item to be easy to find and not just a lucky thrift store score.  I think I found the magic item-- something that is easy to find and versatile to boot: turning an old frame into a hairbow holder, message center, or photo collage-- you choose the outcome depending on your needs.  This tutorial shows how to create a hairbow holder with the other options explained at the end. 

The best part of this project is you can find frames everywhere.  I snagged mine at a thrift shop for $5.  It was marked so low because it was missing the glass and was fairly beat up (unfortunate for a frame, but PERFECT for this project).  Besides thrift stores, you can find similar frames at flea markets, estate sales, yard sales, discount stores, and even regular craft stores if you want a more polished look (use a coupon to score it for cheap)!  I also found several in this style for under $10 on eBay... just search for "old oval frame".  Etsy has some gems, too!  The only rule is to make sure it has a wood back.  Stapling metal would be mighty difficult. Truth be told, I don't have an actual "BEFORE" photo because I initially painted the frame years ago before I started blogging.  Here's a similar frame I found on Etsy to give you a general idea of what my frame started life as (picture mine much shabbier and in a duller gold color):

Here's my frame in the guest room as a collage frame, pre-hairbow holder:

Needless to say, it needed some fixing up.  Plus, my daughter needed a hairbow holder!  Here's how I made it happen... Materials: frame spray paint ribbon scissors glue glue staple gun optional: clips for photos or messages Step One: Clean your frame.  If it has glass, carefully remove it.  Remove old, unneeded hardware and other extraneous parts from the back. Step Two:  Spray paint it!  I chose to make mine a "shabby chic" style by not fixing up the missing gesso pieces and painting it white.  You might choose to paint it a bold color as an accent piece, or a neutral color to match your decor.  If you bought it new, you can keep it unpainted for a more modern look.  Here's a cool example from Etsy of a fun, bold color:

Step Three:  Cut ribbon strips larger than the opening of the frame (you can trim them later).  You can use one color or various colors as I have done below.  Then hot glue them to the back in the correct order to make stapling easier.  Trim the ends of the ribbon make the back look neat (make sure to leave room for the staples).

Step Four:  Now that your ribbon is ready, go ahead and staple them in place using the staple gun.  Be sure to keep them as tight as possible, because you don't want the weight of the hairbows to make the ribbon sag. 

 
Step Five:  Staple a ribbon hanger to the back, and go ahead and hang your beautiful NEW hairbow frame on the wall!

Step Six:  Here are a few additional options:

• Not a fan of the open back?  Staple fabric on the back, pattern-side facing forward for an extra pop of color.   
• Collage Frame or Message Board:  attach the items using various methods such as curly paper clips or jazzed up mini-clothespins.  To jazz up the clothespins, glue cutouts (made from paper, felt, or wood) onto the front or decoupage them.  Here's a few examples:

felt duck clips

(source)

felt heart clips

(source)

decoupaged clips

(source)

Spiral Paper Clips

(source)

Thanks for following along with the tutorial.  If you make this project I hope you'll visit my blog, Making Lemonade, and let me know.  Even if you don't make a hairbow holder, we'd love to have you stop on by for some freshly squeezed projects and a little slice of trying to live the lovely life (on a budget).  Happy Crafting!

Chairs with FLAIR!

This makes for two posts in very quick succession, but I'm so thrilled about these chairs that I just had to share - immediately! Because I tackled this project in the evening and HAD to post them RIGHT NOW, the photos aren't the best - the chairs are even MORE fabulous in good light I swear!

BEFORE (old, stained, plain-jane seatcovers)


AFTER (sassy, coordinating chairs with FLAIR!)



This was amazingly easy. All I did was unscrew the chair seats, and use a heavy-duty staple gun to wrap and staple new decorators fabric right over the existing fabric pulling tightly and tucking as I went around.

I found this Amy Butler print on super sale for just $9.95 a yard. One yard covered both chairs with a good amount left over to add to my stash.


I'm SO thrilled with the result, I'm off to see what else in my house needs a re-covering makeover!