GIVEAWAY! Brett Bara's Sewing In A Straight Line Book

This is my first giveaway and I think it's a great one. I am happy to be giving away a copy of Brett Bara's Sewing In A Straight Line. Her book gives quick and easy projects that can be made with simple straight lines. For those of you with a sewing machine and the crafty spirit, then this is your book. To score the new book, please post a comment and tell me something about yourself. I don't care what you tell me, you have a dog named Dougie or you like Starbucks. Or, you could offer blog topic suggestions but if nothing comes to mind a simple comment will work.

Entry into the drawing will end on Wednesday, October 19th at 8:00pmEST. One entry per person. GOOD LUCK!!!

Lesson Learned, Zippers!!!

Thank you to the FABULOUS BRETT BARA! I found this fantastic crafter, blogger and writer from Twitter. Check her out here at www.brettbara.com. On here she has great hot-to videos including a video on a simple zippered pillow.

Zippers are on thing I have always been intimidated to try. Earlier this month when my mother came to visit we discovered that she also had never attempted a zipper. With the help of her online video, my mother and I completed the pillow in under 30 minutes. It's actually not hard! I scored some vintage zippers for $.25 and used leftover fabric from my Ms. Pac Man chairs and made a small pillow for my office chair.

I highly recommend her book, Sewing In A Straight Line. The projects are well designed, modern and make great tutorials for the beginner sewer.

Second Life Makes Statement Look

After 8 long weeks I have a great makeover to share with everyone. This was a very special project because so much love went into every decision about what to do with this family heriloom. My friend, client, and fellow KD alum asked me to help her give her life to a chair she cherished. We did just about everything you could do to this chair without changing the shape. We reglued, refinished the wood, painted the back, polished the brass and reupholstered the cushion. It was worth every minute though! I just adore the finished project and it looks great in her home and matches her house perfectly.

Indulging in Chevron Decor

Sometimes I just have to give in to my temptations. I am giving it to my obesession with Chevron and letting the world know that I have a problem, For those who follow me on Pinterest, they already know my addiction to the pattern. I have subtly incorporating the pattern into my house with throw pillows on my bed, not over doing the pattern. Here are some great inspirations of how this pattern makes the ultimate bold statement. Dresser: mysimplehomelife.com

Duvet: Aura Home



Curtains: happyasannie.com

Rug: peacockfeatherblog.com

Tile: Casamidy.com

Online DIY Upholstery Videos

I get asked by a lot of people where I learned to reupholster and refinish furniture. The number one thing that worked for me was just trying it. To be able to have the confidence to try a project I watched a lot of online videos. I read a lot books that included directions and photos but seeing someone do something step-by-step on video made me feel comfortable to try it by myself at home and from doing it I learned my own tips and tricks. I recently found some great videos about building and upholstering ottomans; this is my next project.

 

This Todd Oldham video is great but even the boring homemade videos are very helpful. You can type just about anything into YouTube and get various results of helpful videos. I can't even imagine living with the internet and technology- it's fast and free!!

Quick and Simple Art Display Project

We have a great collection of concert posters since that is Bryan's industry. We have a few framed but needed a more affordable and easy way to display a cluster of posters. for about $5 I was able to create this display from picture wire, picture hang tabs and shower curtain clips. It also only took about 5 minutes to create, my type of project!

Upholstery Tool Kit

1. Sandpaper (always keep various grits on hand)

2. Nailhead hammer (for decorative nailheads)

3. Electric Turkey Cuter (for cutting foam)

4. Wood stain

5. Wood filler (for scratches and holes)

6. Decorative nailheads

7. Glue (Fabric, wood and all purpose)

8. Nailhead Trim (on a roll)

9. Spray Primer

10. Spray Paint

11. Small Roller Brushes

12. Nailhead gun
1. Measuring Tape- I use a seamstress pink tape.

2. Pilers

3. Marker- (pen or pencil will also work)

4. Phillips Screwdriver

5. Needlenose Pliers

6. Scissors

7. Flathead screwdriver

8. Staples

9. Staple gun