"Recycled Chic" Ottoman rescue!

Well, hello there! I know I haven't blogged here for quite some time, and for that, I apologize. Life sure can take you on a journey, can't it? Well, I'm really going to try to get my projects underway and get them out to you here. I am! Really!

I've just been putting a lot of time into other things that made their way to the top of my list. Family affairs always come first, and I've been writing on my other blog confessionsofathinkaholic each week. It centers me, and that is precisely what I needed. 

But! I've got several projects that I want to share, so let's get right to it...

So, here is project #1. 

We had a hand-me-down 1970's footstool/Ottoman. I always wanted to cover it, but never found the fabric. Well, Noah and I decided it was time to get at least one small project done, to further freshen up the look of the living room, so we went hunting for some fabric. 

Coupons and sales papers in hand, we commenced the search for the perfect pattern. 

Noah found it. 

I've gotta hand it to him, though. I absolutely LOVE it! It was on sale for 50% off at Hancock fabrics. 100% cotton upholstery fabric. We only needed one yard, luckily, and paid only $12. 

That was our only cost, as we had everything else on hand. I'll tell you what we did, step-by-step, but I just wish I had thought to take pictures along the way. (See what slacking gets you? I went from taking pictures of everything to forgetting to take any at all!!)

The best I can do is describe this beautiful creature to you...

It was brown velvety corduroy,  all worn out and threadbare. It had the 'piping' trim all around. And the padding was completely flattened out. But the legs were in great shape. 

We started by cutting the piping off with a sharp pair of scissors, very close to the seam line. It didn't matter how it looked, really; I was covering it up. I have a TON of quilters batting on hand (and I do mean a ton. So much, in fact, that I gave some away at our last yard sale. I did, because it was given to me for free and I needed room in storage for other stuff, plus...freebies at a yard sale do wonders for business ;) 

Anyway, I laid out a couple of layers of that: a "long on all sides" piece, then a piece that was just slightly larger than the top of the stool to give the top that rounded soft look, and turned my stool over, centering it right on the batting. I then pulled one side at a time of the longer batting just to the bottom edge of the stool and stapled, continuing around until I was satisfied. I trimmed off the excess, and that part was done. It was nice and fluffy.

Next, I took my printed fabric and centered it over the top of my stool. This took a little while as I was not satisfied with where the pattern was laying. When I got it where I wanted, I carefully flipped it over. This is not as hard as it sounds, the fabric is 'see through'. I just made sure it was straight. I pulled the front and back up, and put one staple in it to hold it.

Then we took it outside.

We used the air compressor and staple gun to do the rest. I unscrewed the legs and continued to pull and staple all around--equal on all sides, making sure not to cause any puckering. I left the corners for last. Tucking that much material into square corners can be tricky. And, as this is the first time I've ever done this, I just played with it a little until it looked good, and trimmed where I needed to, and stapled the dickens out of it, nice and tight.

One thing though...be sure NOT to staple your fabric over the holes that your legs get screwed back into or bunch too much fabric around there or you won't be able to get the legs on. But, before you do that, you should staple, or even glue, if you want, a backing on to cover the fabric edges and make your project have that 'finished' look. You can use muslin, but most fabric stores sell the black mesh fabric that you find on the bottoms of chairs and ottomans.

Next, make little holes in the fabric for your legs, screw the legs back in as is, or paint them out. And enjoy your new ottoman! Do you know how much these go for in retail?! Here's one from Target (I didn't even shop "expensive"!) It's close enough to mine, I think...or am I flattering myself? And what would have happened to this had I thrown it out...landfill city! And we don't need that. Not when you can have "Recycled Chic"!

Thanks for reading today...and I have a lot of catching up to do so there may be some fall inspired posts to come...or maybe I'll just wait till fall. It's not that terribly far off, now that I've waited so darn long...

Have a great week!

Nanette

confessions of a thinkaholic: Sundays With Buddha

Good Morning, everyone! It's that time of year again, can you believe it?! I. Can. Not. Noah is up getting the lights for the house, now. I'm getting ready to  take all the Fall/Thanksgiving decor down and put up all the Winter/Christmas-time decor. We may even go get our tree this evening! We'll see how tired out I have the hubby...
Well, here is week 32 of SWB. I touch on a sort of unconventional "reason to the Season". Don't be offended if it's not what you think. I may have different thoughts and beliefs than you, but I think we all basically want the same thing. Why not read it first before shooting it down...it may surprise you. It won't take long, and it certainly won't ruin your relationship with your beliefs. For those of you who haven't read yet, you'll be surprised to see it's not exactly what you expect.

So, in advance, thanks for reading, as always, and have a Blessed day!
N

confessions of a thinkaholic: Sundays With Buddha: Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their own suffering. Some suffer too much, some too little.         ...

confessions of a thinkaholic: On Another Note...

Hey, there. Here's a very personal post that I have been sitting on and debating on whether or not to share. So, I guess I'm sharing. It is important to me to share what I think is important, if it means it may help someone else. Thanks so much for reading my blog(s). You will never know how much it means to me, but I will always try to tell you.

Have a great week ahead, and be good to each other, and to yourselves.

Nanette


confessions of a thinkaholic: On Another Note...: I haven't written any other post besides the Sundays With Buddha in a really long time, so I thought now would be a good time to sort of...

Chicken with fresh-from-the-tree Plum Salsa...Yum!

Hi there! I thought I'd share another quick little dinner I whipped up using some of my treasures I got at the annual Peach Festival in Grafton, Illinois at Pere Marquette Lodge at Pere Marquette State Park. After an unseasonably cool summer, this day was pretty warm, but a great day to browse what the local farmers had to offer. We bought a bunch of plums and big juicy peaches, the absolute best I have ever eaten, actually; picked fresh early that morning.

I knew I wanted to do something with those plums for dinner, like a plum sauce with chicken, but I didn't know what. I went on the search and found something that we really liked. I altered it just a little, but you can get the full recipe here. 

Look how beautiful these are!

             It's a great feeling to support local farmers and get something this beautiful and delicious.

So, this is what I did. The recipe called for a couple of ingredients that I didn't have, like lime juice and fresh basil but it turned out fabulously.
I started with two trimmed boneless, skinless chicken breasts, olive oil and two plump, ripe plums fresh from the tree.

I washed and diced up the two plums and a home grown jalapeno from my dad's pepper plant...

         

                                                 ...and gathered the rest of my ingredients...

2 tablespoons chopped red onion

Click to see savings

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin  

Now, this is what the recipe called for, and I didn't halve the ingredients for the two breasts I used instead of four, but it made just the right amount for the size of the chicken breasts I used.

 Stir together the plums, jalapeno, onion and 1/4 tsp. salt in a medium bowl and the brown sugar, cumin, and remaining 1/2 tsp. salt in a small bowl. I rubbed my chicken with the brown sugar mixture working rather quickly as the brown sugar melts fast. What I did next varies from the recipe, but made the raw salsa very delish!

I cooked the chicken in the olive oil in a nonstick griddle skillet over medium heat for several minutes on each side. When the brown sugar started to caramelize I turned the heat to low and added a little water to loosen the sugar from the pan. I took the chicken out and added the juice from the skillet to the salsa in the bowl. I folded it until it was blended well and let it sit while I made the rest of my dinner.
That was just a simple box of Near East Parmesan flavored couscous and Green Giant Sugar snap peas. The couscous literally takes five minutes, just enough time for the peas to steam. When the peas are done you can drain them and serve, but I always sauté them with a little olive oil and salt in an omelet pan. Yum!

We like our peas right on top of our couscous and our pears right on top of our chicken, and, boy, was it delish!

    
             Don't forget, you can get the full recipe and many more at MyRecipes.com. Enjoy!


And please keep checking back. I will give it my all to get this blog back up and running with more projects, recipes, fun and adventure...promise!

Have a great week

Nanette

confessions of a thinkaholic: Sunday's With Buddha

I've been away for a short while attending to my brother's arrangements. He passed last Friday, July 26th. My sister and I have been in Wisconsin all week to tend to everything and to bring our brother home. I had been trying to get back into the swing of things here with getting this blog back under way. I've been to some interesting places, and seen some interesting things, but have just not had the time to share them with you. I started a couple of furniture re-do's, but, of course, that was put on hold, just for a bit. I will get back to blogging about our 'lighter side of life' just as soon as it lightens up a bit!
Thank you to all of you who keep checking back. Thanks for sticking with me. I'll be up and running before too long. That's precisely what my post on "Confessions" is about this week, if you are so inclined. It's a dedication to my brother, and also a reminder to live your best life, fully and with abandon.

Thanks for stopping by, you will never know how much I truly appreciate it.

Until next time,

Nanette
confessions of a thinkaholic: Sunday's With Buddha:   Week 15 You too shall pass away. Knowing this, how can you quarrel?                                                        ...

confessions of a thinkaholic: The Power of Change

I wanted to write a little about the changes I've gone through this past year and the fears that I have had about it. Have you had a major life event that has changed you and you fear losing friends or family because of it? In this blog post for my sister blog Confessions, I lay my fears to rest.

confessions of a thinkaholic: The Power of Change: I've had something on my mind for awhile, now. I've been worrying that some of my friends, family and acquaintances might feel that ...

I want to hear from you! Please don't be shy...I learn from you, too! Your opinion matters to me, but, please, no judgement or hateful words here.Thanks!

Upcycled Telephone Table

Oh my gosh! How is everyone?! I have been on hiatus for way too long...I do apologize. I really have a lot of projects and adventures to share, I have just had so much going on, it's so hard to find the time to get it all done. I am pretty ambitious, I guess. I want to do it all...right NOW. It sometimes surprises me to realize that I can't do it like I imagine myself doing it. There is always so much that I want to do, I overwhelm myself.

Anyhoo, I have a lovely little telephone table to share with you. First, I must clarify--I did NOT re-do this table. I found it at the Grafton Flea last month. I had to have it. It's just what I would have done, but saved me all the time and put some money in some lovely gal's pocket, to boot! They had so many wonderful up-cycled things in their booth, I just KNOW they watch Flea Market Flip, like Noah and I do.

I walked past this booth twice to get a really good look at all their stuff. I immediately set my eye on this table. I checked the tag...$48.

Whew! A little more than I wanted to pay. I hate to haggle, because I know the work that goes into re-doing furniture pieces, IF they are done right, and not "slopped" together just to make an insane profit. I knew that this was probably an old discarded piece from a garage (free), or at the very least picked up for next to nothing at a yard sale. Heck, they could have even gotten it from someone's curb. I come across a lot of great stuff that way. But, I wanted to be fair. It was done very nicely, and, like I said, exactly how I would have done it. Plus, I'm a sucker for paisley.

I started my haggling...I asked her if she would do it for $30. Yeah, yeah...I know...kind of a low ball offer. But, I didn't want to run the risk that they didn't primer it first.

*Note: Whatever you do, always sand and prime your piece before you paint, unless you have a special paint that boasts "no primer needed", and even then, I'm wary. There is nothing worse for a project than peeling or chipping paint where you don't intend it to do so. You can never quite match up a nice big chip unless, of course, you want the piece distressed and then you can just sand that spot down into a distressed spot.

Ok, where was I? Oh, yeah...haggling. So, thirty was too low, I guess. I got a bit of a grimace. Not too bad of one though, so I knew I had room to keep going. She went $45, I went $38 she went $42. She wasn't moving much, I wanted it, I took it. There you go.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for paisley AND the work already being done for me...this time.




I was longing for something to go next to my front door that I could sort of fake as an entryway since the front opens right into the living room. I had been looking for an old dresser, or would have even settled for a new piece with drawers and cubbies for baskets, which is what I really wanted there, storage is always good, but I fell in love with this and it is the perfect place to sit and put on your shoes.

 Here are some close-ups of the great job these ladies did on the very subtle distressing. Just my style, and not too shabby.

I love how the vintage ash tray's color ties in perfectly with the seat. They are the perfect spot for loose change or keys. And, the paisley really compliments the cut out pattern of the wood in the table front and seat back, don't ya think?

I set the wicker basket I use for my Better Homes and Gardens right under the table, and since there are only three legs, it's a perfect fit!

Edana was an instant fan. Then again, she's always an instant fan of anything new brought into the house.

I have so many other projects of my own to finish. At least two chairs right now and a table or two, and a dresser I'm converting into a buffet for the eat in kitchen. The list goes on and on. Hopefully over the rest of the summer we can get most of what I want done. We are on a week long vacation over my birthday in about three weeks so I have big plans for our "staycation".

I hope you found some inspiration here for your own house. Until next time, thanks for reading!

Nanette