Recovering chairs

In the midst of a busy season of life, I have kept busy recovering a few chairs.  I am not an expert in this area.  In fact, this was my second attempt at recovering the same rocking chair.  

Here is the end result, round 2 -

I love the blue and brown combination.  I used the fabric from my shower curtain collection.

This is the fabric I choose the first time....

Why in the world did I choose this fabric?  I have no idea.  So, I used one of my fabulous shower curtains and attempted round 2 of recovering the rocking chair.  I used this site to guide me.  I don't feel knowledgable at all in this area...so I have no recommendations other than choose fabric wisely.  That way you won't have to pull out millions of little nails - twice.

This is the same fabric I used on my mud room bench.  I love this color...and I am a sucker for tree and leaf patterns.  This rocking chair was a $20 find at a yard sale.  It is an antique "nursing" rocker.  With the new fabric, it looks bright and cheery in the guest room.

Next, I made a cushion for Abby's desk chair.  Lately I have fallen in love with It's a Hoot fabric by MoMo.  I don't know why, but I LOVE IT!  There are a bunch of fabrics, but this blue owl scene is one of my favorites.

Here is the chair.  Nothing fancy; yet.

I cut a piece of foam to fit the odd sized seat to my old Ikea chair.  I think we got these 9 years ago as newlyweds...these were the cheapest dining room chairs that we could find.

Next I cut two pieces of fabric aproximately 2 inches bigger then the shape of the foam.  I also sewed a nice hem all the way around each piece.

I layed the peices of fabric back to back, and sewed 3 sides.  Then I put it on the cushion, and placed a pin where my corners fell along the front of the new cover.  I removed the cover, and sewed a vertical line where I had placed my pin.  It creates a small triangle on the corner.

Then I slid the cover back on my cushion and viola...two nice corners!

 Once I knew that I had the sewing in place, I took my cushion and sprayed it with adhesive, and wrapped the entire cushion in batting.  It gives it a little bit more 'umph.

Next I worked on small ties for the back of the cushion to attach to the chair.  I used scrap fabric and made 2 10 inch strips, and attached them at the corner seam at 5 inches.






 Lastly, I dealt with the third side.  I wanted to create a pocket opening so that I could wash the cover when needed.  But I was too lasy to sew on a zipper.  So i folded it like a present and stiched it numerous times on each side.  The flap stays put *most* of the time.  If I were to take more time with the details, I would add snaps or buttons.

After spray painting the Ikea chair white, Abby's new desk chair is done!  She loves the fabric and she has declared blue her favorite color.  I love it!

Reflection

My life is busy.  I may have mentioned that once or twice...but I have been reflecting on our busy lives over this past week.  I know that my typical post is more practical than reflective, but this is where I am today.

When is busy too busy?  I have 3 kids, 2 of which are in school.  Life is supposed to be busy.  We have church commitments, soccer for the 2 older kids (practice and games weekly), martial arts for the big kids - twice a week, my weekly art class, and my husband's men's group, etc.  All of these things are good things.  And on a perfect week, I feel on top of this schedule.  But not this past week.  The baby was sick all week, Abby seemed to have an enormous amount of homework (Kindergarten???!!!), and we added doctor appointments and the HVAC cleaning to the list.  

How do people do this crazy life with 3 kids without family around?

I asked my friend this question on our way to pottery class.  I didn't even get dinner that night because I went straight from martial arts to my class.  I ate some Oreos at 9:30 when I got home.  So maybe I shouldn't complain about no dinner...they were pretty good.

She gave me a good answer - a lot of people don't do this.  The don't have the ability to be super involved at their church, and don't have the time for every kid to have an activity.  And then some people hire backup.  And Nashville seems to be the place for nannies.  I have been mistaken for one at our YMCA pool!

What if I really want all of these activities for my kids but I don't want to hire a nanny?  Where is the balance with my sanity?  I know some of my desires for my kids is what I like to call rebound parenting.  Each generation tries to change something that they did or did not have in their childhood.  I want my kids to have the chance to stick with one sport or activity and to do it well.  To find their niche and blossom.  I didn't have this chance until high school when I found music.  I moved a lot as a kid, and often missed soccer registration or just didn't have the chance to stick with one program and blossom.  I often think that I could have played soccer into college.  I played my eighth grade year, but ended up going to 3 high schools.  By the time I got to my last high school, I wasn't at the same skill level as the girls trying out for the team.

So am I creating a busy schedule for my kids out of my own regret or because of what is really best for each kid?  They love everything we are involved in...and I want them to learn from a team sport as well as individual sport/activity.  I think there are benefits to both.  But I didn't have both activities my entire childhood, and I turned out okay.  Well, most days I turned out okay.  

Balance has been on my mind this week.  I find myself encouraging my kids with all of the opportunities that I can give them - but trying to learn when to push them forward and when to get out of God's way.

The kid's bathroom - part 2

Whirlwind.  Fall means back to school, soccer and martial arts...with 3 kids.  It has been a little crazy in our household.  Fun...but crazy.


I have been meaning to write this post for a few weeks.  The kid's bathroom is done.  Or, I should say done for now.  One day I will do some upgrades that will take a little construction.  But the current bathroom is light and bright.

I started with this fun shower curtain and kept the "wood" theme going.

I built a shelf out of scrap wood.  It was fun having Abby help me "distress" it.  We beat it up with any tool we could find.

It took me a while to decide on an art piece for the bathroom wall.  I considered a stain glass piece, but never found anything I liked.  I finally made a framed bible verse for my kids...all about growing.  We have been talking a lot about growing in our house;  not getting everything right, but learning through God's grace.  Just growing.

The kids now have an easy place to keep their towels...and keep them organized.

My fun project was a few mason jar soap dispensers.  It was so easy.

Just poke a hole through the lid, and slide your pump through.  I actually used a pump from an old dispenser.

Eventually, I want to add a rubber seal by the hole to protect the water from rusting the mason jar lid.  I plan to hit up Home Depot later this week.

I love the "new" kid's bathroom.  From dark and drab to bright and cheerful...