Rockin' Rehab

So, I have an amazing friend I have that I have mentioned about to you all before.  Well, she is amazing for many reasons but the quality I will share with you today is that she will dumpster dive just for me!  I can't tell you how many times she has called me on the way to my house with a piece a funiture she jacked from someones trash.  That's where this story starts!

I get a call right after morning drop-off from Lauri.  She is camped out on someone's driveway guarding the most awesome broke-down rocking chair that someone tossed with the trash.  Knowing it was the perfect addition for my nursery she not only stayed guard in her car so no one would take our treasure, she helped me load it in my truck in her pjs!  It was quite a site... both in our pj's and me in my rollers loading a broken (yet amazing) rocking chair into my pick-up!

Fast forward 3 months and many cobwebs later and it was ready for rehab!  As you can see one of the arms had broken off and was missing two of the spindles.  There were also many cracks and pieces falling off......this chair was begging for some Gorilla Glue Wood Glue!

Because the spindles were missing from the broken arm rest, I sawed off the same spindles on the opposite side.

I then sanded the stubs down flush with the seat and filled the holes on the bad side with wood putty.  To attach the broken arm I predrilled a hole though the seat and then drove a long wood screw up from the bottom through the spindle.  I secured with Gorilla Wood Glue and it worked like a charm!

Because I have no clue who this chair came from or where it has been I opted for two coats of Killz (spray paint) before painting.  This also helped reduce the coats of colored spray paint!

I found the perfect spray paint to match the baby bedding...and it just so happens to be our fav Rust-Oleum! The color is Summer Squash and it is the prettiest yellow I have ever seen!

2 coats later.....

I distressed the edges with my 3M sanding block...

You can see cracks where I had to Gorilla Glue Wood Glue some pieces back on....I could have puttied over the cracks but I LOVE that you can see the cracks...adds to the worn look.

I love the seat!  It's solid wood and about 4" thick!

Pictures don't do the size of this chair justice!  It's a Grand Rocking Chair and solid wood!  It just hugs you when you sit in it!

Did I mention it was FREE!  Minus the $9 for spray paint!  I owe this find to Lauri!!!  This is the perfect rocker for my nursery and it's such a focal point in the room.  I can't believe someone put it out with the trash but I am very thankful they did!  Hope you all have a great week!

~Ashley

Stop by Kara's Party Ideas for great inspiration for your next shindig!

 

 

FABRIC TIME

Hey Guys!  Well you all know about our friends over at The Ribbon Retreat.  We've shared with you all their great selection of ribbon and bow making tools but they also offer a great selection of fabric!

Owl's are so hot right now!  Check out this super cute Life's a Hoot collection!

We all some some Amy Butler!!!! 

Cool Dino's for your cool dude's by Michael Miller!

I'm in love with this Pop Garden!!!

Here a just a few others I am in love with....

Ahhh I could go on but I'll let you go see for yourself!!! 

You can register HERE to be on their mailing list where you will recieve email updates on all of their sales!  They have a special sale every Wednesday so sign up today for this Wednesday's deals!!!

Also!!! Check out The Ribbon Retreat + Fabric Blog!!!  They have a ton of projects they have made with the patterns they offer at their store!

Like this super cute Petticoat Posy!

Or this adorable Little Guy Tie!

Love the Ribbon Flip Flops made from a Ribbon Retreat Grab Bag!

I just purchased a bow maker from them and I am obsessed!  I am a complete novice but the bow maker helped me make professional boutique bows!  I made about 15 in one weekend and I love all of them!  It's such a fun project to do with "the girls" and ANYONE can learn with this tool!

Yes, I'm obsessed....

Okay, I must let you all go check out The Ribbon Retreats Fabric site for yourself!!!!

~Ashley

Fabric Magnet Board... A Fav!!

Hey guys!! This has been one of my favorite projects so far.  I love how it turned out and I am already in the process of making one for downstairs to go with the rest of the house.  I had a large wall space in the baby's room to fill and I decided I wanted to make a magnet board.  It's something I can put pictures on now and she will be able to play with as she gets older.  Here is how it turned out...

Now I will show you how I made it...

I started with an old empty frame I had in the garage.  You can find old frames at any thrift store or just buy a cheapo from Walmart.  I put it outside to spray paint it.

Here it is drying after two coats of Rust-Oleum!

I purchased a 24x36 sheet of galvanized metal from Lowe's.  It is in the PLUMBING section... not the roofing material.  It was around $7 for the sheet. 

I marked off the area that I would cut with a sharpie.  I went an inch less than the inside of my frame all around.

Now I have found that the best way to cut this stuff is to use my sewing scissors.  These are Fiskars and I have 3 pair so I wasn't too worried about messing them up but I sharpened them right after and I don't notice that it did any damage.

I just cut along the line.  It cuts very easily but you have to wear gloves because it is super sharp!

I also purchased a $3 cardboard project board from Hobby Lobby.  I was at the Dollar Tree the next day and they had foam board for $1! That was what I wanted for this but it was $8 at Hobby Lobby... Yuck. The cardboard worked great though.  I hot glued my metal piece to the cardboard which was cut to fit the inside of my frame perfectly.

Next, I ironed my fabric and laid it good side down on the table.  I put the metal side of the cardboard down on the back of the fabric.

Now it's hot glue time again.  Just hot glue the edges of the fabric to the back of the cardboard.  Make sure you are pulling tightly enough so the fabric won't gather.

Here it is all finished...

I went and got my cute red frame from the garage...

And put the fabric covered cardboard inside...

I actually used Gorilla Tape to hold the piece into the frame and I was done!  It was super easy, cheap and I want to make one for every room.  Here are a few more pics...

I love it! What do you think??

Want to make the super cute flower magnets?  I'll show you how in my next post.  In the meantime I am back to painting.  I have painted 7 pieces of furniture in the last 48 hours or so... this is some serious nesting! I love it!  Have a great Friday!!

~Whitney