The Latest Chair Project

First of all, I have to apologize for forgetting to take the before photo of this before and after project. Hopefully you can imagine what it was like by my description--trust me, it needed some TLC.

I found this chair at a yard sale. Still sturdy, but a well-worn finish, and a faded and worn out red seat. It had a caned back, but part of it had popped out of its frame and couldn't be repaired. First of all, this gave me a big fat excuse to buy some of Anna Maria Horner's fabric from her "Drawing Room" line. I love her eclectic and vibrant fabrics, and I thought this would be the perfect project.

So I painted the frame of the chair a slightly blue slate-grey, which was an accent color in the fabric.



Then I put the new fabric on the seat (standard staple gun procedure).



I then took a piece of 1/4" thick plywood (I used plywood because of the thinness and because I knew I would be covering it), traced the outline of the back panel on it and cut with a skil saw. Then I covered one side with bamboo batting and more fabric, cutting carefully so that the certain parts of the design showed. The next step was to cover what would be the back of the panel--no batting, just the fabric. I used a regular crayon and "traced" the shape of the panel, cut, then staple gunned.







The result:

Urban Craft Center

This has got to be great! I can't wait to try this place out. The Urban Craft Center is located in Santa Monica, and is a big studio space where you can go to use your creative mojo. Classes are offered on sewing, felting, spinning your own yarn, soap making, scrapbooking and more. Prices look quite reasonable, and you can pay for a one-time visit, or a variety of monthly packages. Just looking at photos of the place makes me want to leave in the middle of typing this....





I'm back! Just kidding, I haven't really gone yet. But my plan is to visit The Urban Craft Center and have a go at one of its amazing classes and report on it in an upcoming post. They also have a retail space where you can buy supplies for creating a variety of crafts as well. Take a look at their website, and see why I'm salivating.

At Last

I'm finally getting around to posting again--it's been a busy couple weeks! I've started a hallway mural at my daughter's preschool which will be fun. I'll have to be careful taking photos afterwards: since it is a hallway, I think I'll need to use a wide angle lens in order to get larger segments in one snap. The scene is an animal parade, with the animals playing various musical and percussion instruments. It will be fun to see the kids' faces when it done, too.

Also, I apologize for not posting local craft fairs lately--I do have a bunch that I will be posting to the blog very soon (hopefully before they sneak up on me)! Check back either later this evening or at least within the next day or two.

Make a great Tuesday for yourself!

Lola Baby

At the Pink Parlour Craft Fair I found this fabulous Lola Baby little wrap around skirt for my 3 1/2 yr old, and she loves it! I was immediately drawn to the fun fabric print. The maker is in Glendora, CA, and you can get there from here

Nice fabric and patterns and reasonably priced, especially for unique, handmade designs (the photo is straight from their website).

Pink-a-Licious

As promised here's a brief report:
So my sister-in-law and partner in crime extraordinaire Laurie hopped on over the The Pink Parlor Craft Fair (see previous post) that was held at the Santa Anita Rack Track in Arcadia, CA (suburb of L.A.). Not too large and not too small, it was a well-organized event with a great variety of wares and wearables. I love these fairs; everyone is so happy to tell you about their stuff, yet aren't pushy, either. They just LOVE their stuff and what they do! 7 great girl-fronted bands played and provided great entertainment. And as if entertainment and passionate crafters weren't enough for you--the was even more incentive to hang out longer to try to win raffles and other prizes. I would have loved to win the guitar giveaway, but it's probably best it goes to someone who actually knows how to play. There were a lot of great jewelry items, hand bags and totes, one-of-a-kind rockin' wearable art, felted work, doggie clothes and baby clothes. And the guy at the soda kiosk was pretty cool, too.
A very good day, full of inspiration!

Oooo--Ooo--Oooo!! (aka Woo Hoo)

I'm pretty excited: I just discovered a craft fair that is very close to my home, and just a day away.
Here: the Pink Parlourr It sounds like fun. I'll give a report and add photos to review it next week!

Another Chair

Okay, so here is the next "after" chair. I had bought it at the same time with a matching chair. The first chair was painted an aqua base color, and a vibrant red Dahlia on it. You can view it here, in my archives, and also on design*sponge archives. This chair was in the same sturdy but worn-looking condition. I didn't worry about matching it to the first chair, as I didn't really intend to sell them as a set. Some of the design is a bit less detailed, and I decided to use a less bold color combination--partly to see the feedback I would get. Comments are welcomed, if you feel so inclined.

Happy Thursday!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

So today is the day of things all Irish and green, in honor of St. Patrick. According to legend, St. Patrick chased all the snakes out of Ireland, among many other good deeds. (Spiders would have been my preferred banished critter. Ick.)

So the fun of St. Patrick's Day is wearing of the green, shamrocks, leprechauns, and eating and drinking green things. I like to think of it as another chance to bring out your cheerful side. And what a beautemous spring day to do so (at least here in the Los Angeles area). Hope you enjoy your day safely, and in your search to find the "pot of gold" at the end of a rainbow--may you always find the right end.

Once again, fabulous info

Here is a link to a post on design*sponge that caught my eye and perked up my ears. As a woman who is relatively new to the craft-as-a-business world, this list a refreshing motivator to keep me active and pursuing my goals, even during a sluggish economy.

http://www.designspongeonline.com/2009/03/biz-ladies-2009-whole-saling-through-tough-times.html/comment-page-1#comment-69519

Renegade Handmade Indie Craft Fair

I went to this L.A. one last year and loved it. A fun variety of vendors with unique items. If you can go, I would suggest it. If for some reason I can't get to the Los Angeles one, I hope to make it to the San Francisco one. Besides, it would give me an excuse for a getaway weekend with some friends!
Here's the link: http://renegadehandmade.com/blog/?p=66

Maybe I'll see you there!

Just in Case

Just in case I run out of projects to swamp my brain, I've bought a beginning resin kit, and some silver metal Art Clay to experiment with. The results will be posted with a play-by-play on how it was to work with these materials. I'm really excited especially for the metal clay--I'm already brewing up designs in my head of what I'l try. Wish me luck!

so close....

I am this -------> <---------close to being done with one of the chairs! Naturally, I neglected to take a "before photo" and there's no turning back now--it's painted. It's re-upholstered (mostly). The chair had a hexagonal-ish cane back weave that was damaged, and to replace it would have been, well, just stupid expensive. So I bought a sheet of wood that I'll have to cut to fit; but then I'll upholster it nicely, and the chair will actually look better than if I would have been able to salvage the cane-back. Photos will come when I'm finished. So until next time, happy waiting!