Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

DIY: How to Upholster a Chair

~ DIY DREAM HOUSE

This post is sponsored by Ace Hardware.
We have these chairs that were left at the house when we moved into our home a few years ago. They’re really old, outdated and worn-out and we’ve been wanting to upholster them for a while and we finally did it this past weekend! I’ve partnered with Ace for their $.99 Color Sample Pint promotion for this post.
These pint color samples are usually $4.99 and from 8/1-8/31, they’re only $0.99 which is an awesome deal. I went to my local Ace Hardware store and purchased an off-white paint color to upholster the chairs and then bought paint colors of my girls favorite colors so that we can just play around and have fun painting for later, The employee that mixed my colors for me was so helpful and nice, I love when you go to stores and they have excellent customer service! These color samples have primer in them so you don’t even need to put a primer on before putting on paint! Why don’t all paints have this? It’s ingenious!

 

BEFORE:

 

 

 

 

Pretty hideous right? The cloth is coming off and fraying everywhere, the paint is chipped all over the chair, it’s dirty and just so bad!
Before/After:

How to upholster a Chair
How to upholster a Chair
1. With sandpaper, sand away old stains and old paint. You don’t have to sand away the paint completely, just lightly sand it so the wood is fresh and ready for new paint.

 

2. Paint your chair. If your paint has primer in it, coat two layers of paint. If your paint doesn’t have primer in it, put a primer on and then coat two layers of paint. Wait between 30-45 mins. between each layer of prime/paint before adding on a new layer of paint.
3. Take out the old chair cloth by taking out the old staples. If the staples are hard to come off, just rip out the fabric, it’s not a big deal.
4. On your new fabric cloth, put the old chair cloth on top and use it as an estimate to cut out your square of fabric.

 

 

5. Put the seat cushion on top of the fabric with the bottom of the seat facing the top. Gather the fabric together and staple it to the seat cushion. It helps to staple the sides first and then the edges. Make sure your fabric is straight in line with the seat.

 

Ta-da!
AFTER:

 

 

What you’ll need:

 

-An outdated chair
-fabric(I got 1 1/4 yards of home decor fabric for 4 chairs)
-sand paper
-primer + paint
-a paint brush
-stapler
Estimated time:  1.5 hours
Budget: $5 per chair
Skill level: A beginner

Now go see what old chairs you can upholster, I had a lot of fun doing this project because it was simple, fast, inexpensive and I love my new chairs now!

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DIY: How to Upholster a Chair

 

 

 

DIY: XXL shirt into a little girls dress

~ REFASHION RUNWAY, SEWING

A XXL women’s shirt into a little girls dress w/ tulip pockets
XXL shirt into a girls dress

 

BEFORE:
XXL shirt into a girls dress
my son refused to move away so a picture with him it is! I’ve learned to choose my battles and also think to myself, “Will this matter in the end on my deathbed?” That is how I survive motherhood. 🙂
Right when I saw this XXL women’s shirt at a thrift store for $5(it still had the tags on, don’t you love when that happens?), I automatically had an image pop in my head so I started on the project hoping it would execute just the way I imagined.

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5-min. Alterations: tailor a bigger size dress in less than 5 mins.

~ Etc.

5 minute alterations: tailor a bigger size dress in less than 5 mins.

I am starting a series called “5-minute alterations” that are super quick and simple! I alter about 60% of my clothes to make it more flattering to my body shape and it’s usually done 30 minutes before I am about to wear that certain piece of clothing, so these are probably not what a seamstress would do if you were to take it to a tailoring shop but it’s more of a shortcut, and it works and looks great. A simple tailoring can make a huge difference and make the clothing look way more flattering but also way more expensive!
Before:

If you want the sleeves to look more finished, I would recommend cutting off the sleeves and hemming it. But if you only have 5 minutes to make the dress more flattering, just fold it! Plus, you can unfold and wear it as the original. 
After:
What you’ll need:
-An oversized  dress
-matching thread
-needle or sewing machine
-scissors
Directions:
1. Put on the dress to see how many inches you need to take in on both sides.
2. Turn the dress inside out. 
3. Starting at the seam right at the top of the side of the dress, take in however many inches you need, stopping at the waist.
4. Fold the sleeves once.
Estimated time: 5 minutes
Budget: FREE
Skill level: Very beginner
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DIY: Outdoor Serving Station

~ DIY DREAM HOUSE

This post is sponsored by The Home Depot. As a second DIY project(the first being the paver planters), this project was faster and not as complicated. I am in love with white and gold so I painted the wood white and used gold chains and I am so proud of myself! #DIHWorkshop
Just like how I feel a sense of accomplishment when I finish a sewing project, I get quite proud of myself after finishing these DIY projects! It doesn’t mean I enjoy every single step of it however; there were some tools that I was scared to use such as the nail gun(that thing is so loud and powerful!), and this time there were bugs flying around the shed constantly, but it’s much like sewing where I mess up and I have to start over or I get frustrated and just want to be done.  But when I’m all done and I look back at what I had just made, the sense of accomplishment and the confidence I feel makes it all worth it! I do have to give a shout out to my husband who guided me every step of the way, thank you Jay!
And guess what? You can go to Home Depot’s DIH workshop and learn to make an outdoor serving station too! Every third Thursday of the month the Home Depot offers workshops for women where they’ll have all the supplies ready for you and you can start making your own DIY project to take home. There is a class this Thursday, June 18th at a local Home Depot near you so grab your girlfriends and make it a girls night out! You can register for the class here. You can also ask for tips and advice from the pros for all of your home improvement projects. I did take my girlfriends to Home Depot in April to make the paver planters but my local Home Depot didn’t have the workshop, so I would call your Home Depot store before the workshop to make sure the class will be held. I don’t want you to sign up for it because you heard it from me and show up and be disappointed! 😉

To cut down on time, I used a fan to make the paint dry faster.

And the result:

HOW TO MAKE A SERVING STATION

TOOLS

• Circular saw

• Level

• Drill with driving bits

• Safety goggles

MATERIALS

• A two-foot by two-foot, three-quarter-inch

 project panel

• A ten-foot long one-by-six pine board

• A nailer and one-and-a-quarter inch nails

• Wood glue

• Paint or stain

• Four 5⁄8 inch screws

• Tape measure

• Pencil

• Paint brush

• Gloves

NOTE: If using these projects outdoors where contact with water could occur,

use either pressure treated, cedar, or redwood boards depending on availability.

• A two-inch hook & eye kit

• A five-foot jack chain and pliers

• And a two-pack of three-inch utility hinges

• Four three-inch deck screws

• And two three-inch corner braces 2 ́x 4 ́ x 1⁄2 ̋

STEP 1

CUT THE BOARD AND PROJECT PANELS

Using a circular saw, cut the one-by-six into two 18 3 ⁄4 inch pieces, two 22 1 ⁄2 inch pieces, one 17 1⁄4 inch piece, and one 10 7 ⁄8 inch piece. Then cut the project panel into a 2-foot by 18-inch rectangle. This is also the optimal time to paint or stain the wood.

STEP 2

BUILD THE BOX

Next, create a box using the 22 1 ⁄2 inch pieces for the top and bottom and the 18 3 ⁄4 inch pieces for the sides. Check to make sure that the top and bottom pieces fit between the side pieces. Lastly, check that the outer measurements are 24 by 18 3 ⁄4 inches, then – being careful to keep the box square – glue and nail each corner together.

STEP 3

The next step is to attach the divider and shelf. Find the center of the box – 12 inches across the top and bottom – and insert the board measuring 17 ¼ inches. Glue it and nail it in place. Now, do the same with the 10 7 ⁄8 inch board, positioning it horizontally at the 9 3 ⁄8 inch mark. Again, secure it with wood glue and nails.

STEP 4

ATTACH THE TABLE TOP

Now it’s time to attach the folding top. Stand the box upright, and butt the table top up against the bottom. From there, pull it back about an eighth of an inch, leaving just enough of a gap to then attach the two three-inch utility hinges.

STEP 5

ATTACH THE CHAIN AND HOOK & EYE

Next up is the drawbridge-style chain; this is the part that supports the table once it’s mounted. With the box and table top still resting on the workbench, cut the chain in half. From the outer corners of the table top, measure back two inches and in one inch.

Then use two of the 5 ⁄8 inch screws to attach the chain. Stretch one side of the chain upward. Make sure it’s nice and taught before attaching it to the inside of the box with another 5 ⁄8˝ screw. You may need to cut off some of the excess chain with your pliers. Repeat the process on the other side.

When the chain is securely fastened, it’s time to attach the hook & eye. Close the table top against the box, then screw the eye into the side of the table top, and screw the hook into the outside of the box. Measure carefully; you’ll want to make sure the hook and eye are close enough to latch.

STEP 6

ATTACH MOUNTING PLATES AND HANG

Now, attach the two three-inch corner braces to the inside of the top two corners of the box, and use the deck screws to mount it to the wall. Of course, a full bar can be pretty heavy, so be sure to find a stud or hang it on another strong structure.

STEP 7

STOCK, SERVE, AND ENJOY

That’s it. You’re ready to stock your serving station and raise a glass to a job well done.