Upstyle chair

Yay,  I finally finished it!   You just never know what you'll get into when redoing a piece of furniture.   Actually, the hardest part for me is picking out the fabric.  There are so many beautiful choices! 

Here's the before.  Straight from the thrift store, country and charming, right?  Even in my short experience with upholstery, I could tell this chair had previously been reupholstered by someone who did a very good job!   And I was about to take it apart.

I knew I wanted to go with a neutral color.  A flexible color that would go with a lot of other colors.  This way I could swap out pillows if I wanted to!  Here's my inspiration chair.

Let the deconstruction begin.  You never know what's underneath until you get there!

The wood was scratched up a little so I refinished it and updated the color to a dark walnut.

The fabric is linen and it won't be a heavily used chair, so we'll see how well it holds up.

I like the contrasting colors of the wood and fabric.

No skirt needed, let those legs show for a more updated look.  This was my first project using double welt cording and this chair had a lot of that! 

Even the armrest got a facelift.  There's no way I was putting that puffy thing back on that was originally there, ugh.  It does take some effort to get the folds to match the other arm but it can be done (ok, it can be close)! 

Then there's the cushion.  Cushions are my challenge.  Lots of lining up and matching here and there.

When I saw this Pottery Barn pillow cover on sale, I had the perfect place for it.

The linen and the pillow look like they were made for each other.  Awe! 

Now come on in and have a seat! 

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Take that spice aisle!

Growing herbs is one of those things that I never saw myself doing.   It sounds more outdoorsy and earthy than I am.  I don't have a garden and it seemed high maintenance to grow them.  Why would I grow herbs when I can get them so conveniently at the store?   I really enjoy dishes prepared with fresh herbs.  But they are pricey and I rarely ever used the entire package leaving the rest to eventually end up in the garbage can.  So after my Mom gave me an oregano plant a couple of years ago, I just had to try it.   

The plants are heartier and easier to grow than I thought.  I wrote about my herb pot survival back a few months ago.  They seem to do best in a pot that's at least 12".

To my surprise, the oregano has done so well!  

There's no way I can eat that much, so I guess it doesn't stop here.  I had to try and preserve that flavor by drying it.   After a few internet searches, I ran across this method.

Bundle a few of the branches and tie them together:

Place them in a paper bag with a few holes cut out of the bag.  I had to write the date on my bag because I knew I would never remember when I started this process!

Gather the bag around the stems and tie it closed.

My sunroom, warm and airy (gets very sleepy in there...zzZzz...), was the perfect place to leave the bags.

After about 2 weeks, it will be nice and dry.

Remove the leaves from the stems.

The oregano is ready to store.  The instructions say to store in a jar or ziploc bag.

I prepared another batch and changed the date on the bag.

Not bad at all!  

I'm currently freezing the fresh thyme, but now I'm going to try drying it, too.

So take that grocery store spice aisle!!

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Tasty Tuesday
  

Camera Critters #223

This green guy appeared from under the concrete while I was watering flowers.  

Who wouldn't want to play in the water hose with the triple digit temperatures outside!

 

Linking with Camera Critters

Kitchen Invasion

My kitchen was invaded!  

The college crowd around here likes to make cake mix cookies. 

And as you can see, they get pretty fired up about these cookies!

They will even go to the store and get the ingredients themselves because I usually don't have cake mix on hand. 

If I said the kitchen was invaded by the cookie monster would that be too preschool?  Nah.  Haha!

I asked for the recipe and this is the response I got.  I guess it's their secret recipe, but you can search for cake mix cookie recipe on the internet and find it if you're interested.

Who doesn't like raw cookie dough?  Me.  Ha ha!

Roll 'em up...

The cookies get two thumbs up!  

Now who's doing the dishes?

Linking with Imparting Grace

Blossoms and Bloomers

Thought I'd share my latest sewing project that I FINALLY finished.  After all, it is the middle of the summer and I did want the sweetie to get some wear out of it before the summer was gone or before she outgrew it!

My favorite fabric store is Thread.  It's a love/hate thing.  I love to go in there, but I hate having to decide which fabric to get!  These are the two I decided on.

This little dress pattern was so simple.

And it was made for several sizes.

Oh no, time to make the buttonhole here!  I hadn't made one yet with this sewing machine.  After some practice runs, it wasn't that bad.

The elastic casing for the bloomers required the most patience.

The bloomers are HUGE!  I know I chose the 6-12 month size, but I believe these would fit a 2 or 3 year old.

Finally, time to try it on.

I'm done, time to go play.

The end.