Transformed!

So last Saturday while S changed out his mother's brakes...


...and after I admired the changing redbud leaves...



I decided to get started on this project.

This project is a little footstool or bench that I purchased at a rummage sale at the end of September for $5. I thought it had good lines and could be refurbished, so I bought it.

Now, mind you, I don't have a lot of experience in this area. And I really have no idea what I'm doing. But I thought I could give it a try. I took it out to the garage on the beautiful day and started disassembling it.

The cushion was attached by four screws to the base.


So that part was easy.



I wanted to paint the wood, so I set out to rough it up for painting.




I used this sponge covered in sandpaper for the grooves.


After a while, (and some muscle from S) it was ready for paint.
Now to the cushion.



Initially I thought I was going to be able to reuse that board...



So I carefully removed all the staples.




I remember thinking, "Man, they used a lot of staples!"
Wait until you see how many I used...ahem.



I found this underneath - I thought it might have been recovered once before.

The old nasty stuff was stuck to the board. And, as I got into this part of the project, I saw how the board had some splits in it and how it had obviously taken on some water at some point. So, when I had a completely clean old board, I took it to S and asked him if he could replicate it. He said he could, and even had a board of the same thickness in the garage.

So he rustled this up right away! A new base for the cushion!



Then we set out to paint the body of the stool black.














And we also painted the bottom of the base of the cushion black for good measure.
Then we left that outside to dry for at least one hour.



Luckily, Ellie...


...and Echo were up to the task of watching paint dry.
Yes, we still have the crappy fence...


Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I started working on the cushion.

I chose that fabric, which is a more traditional fabric than I would normally choose, for a few reasons. First, the stool's lines are traditional in nature. Second, I plan to place it in my den, which is the most traditional, albeit still transitional in style, room in my house. Third, I wanted to paint it black but still put it in that room that has a lot of reds and browns, and I thought this fabric would bridge that divide. Fourth, I did find it to be a lovely fabric.

Anyway, I washed and dried it to get out any sizing or anything else.

Then I ironed it flat and hung it up until later.



To replace the cushion, I purchased this two inch foam cushion.
It was the smallest size that was "large enough" for the final size I needed.



Once the paint dried, I brought in the base...


...traced it on the cushion...




...and cut out the right size.


I used scissors.

Scissors worked, but they are not a clean cut in a cushion this large...I am sure there are probably ways to come up with a cleaner, more exact cut, but I had no idea what I was doing, and I think it worked out OK.

I took out some fiberfill with my fat little arm to round out the cushion.


See? Rounded out. In a very precise way.

I should also mention I used glue dots to glue the main cushion to the wood base.This allowed me to move it around to and fro without worrying about resetting it at every turn.

Then I took the fabric...


...and I played around with where I wanted it to sit on top.

I had way too much fabric - when I purchased it, I bought a yard. I really only probably needed a half of a yard, but I wasn't sure about where the pattern would be cut, etc, so I went for the large piece.

So I cut the fabric down once I knew what part I wanted on the cushion. I was still a little worried about cutting it down too much, though, and really should have cut off even more. You'll see the results of this decision later in the process. Suffice it to say, I had plenty of fabric. Ahem.

You might ask - why didn't you use the old cushion fabric to measure what you needed? Well, I thought of that, and actually saved the fabric for this purpose, but then I realized my cushion was going to be "more full" than the old cushion so that wouldn't really work either. I am sure there are ways I could have been more precise - like oh I don't know, MEASURING, but you know, I didn't know what I was doing, so I just moved on.

But then, as I was placing it on the bottom of the cushion...

...I noticed this frayed edge. The next step was to staple this to the base and stretch on it to make it taught on the top of the cushion. The frayed edge didn't look like a good thing to me...I thought, heck I could get this whole thing put together and that frayed edge could fray more and come apart. So I called my mom, who knows everything, of course, to ask her opinion. She agreed that I should put a "zig zag" stitch around the edge of the fabric for good measure. This was not a step I was anticipating, but that's OK. I didn't really know what I was doing anyway! So I went to get out the sewing machine.

Luckily, it was already threaded with black thread!
And plenty of lint, apparently...

I don't sew very much. I wish I sewed more. I love using my sewing machine but don't very often. So, I know just enough to be dangerous. Zig zag - OK, I thought, that #1 brown A stitch (bottom left) looks like a zig zag, so I set the machine to make that stitch and sewed one side.

But then I got to thinking, no, that's not the right one - that's a stretch stitch. I think what I really should be using is the #3 red A stitch (top, third one over) - not stretch, still zig zag. So, I switched over to that and sewed the other three sides on that one.

Here you can see the two different stitch choices at one corner. I have no idea which one - or if either of them actually - was the right stitch, but I decided, for this exercise, it would give the fabric enough of a barrier to do the trick either way, so I moved on.

So I began stapling the fabric to the base and stretching it in place.


Trying to staple to accomodate those inverted corners...


My hand is in this photo, under the fabric.

Then, when I had only one side left to staple, I turned it over and stuck my hand in there, sort of like dressing a turkey, and smoothed out the fiberfill to make the cushion even and attractive.

Then I stapled the rest of the fabric in place.
Notice how many STINKING staples I used!

Um, yes, this is where you can see I had WAY TOO MUCH fabric, but since I had sewn the edges to prevent fraying, I didn't want to cut again. I have decided I'll make a "fake bottom" with black felt or muslin or something to put under stool to finish it out, so no one will see this mess. Except all of you looking at it now...this is what happens when you don't know what you're doing!

That said, I think the "important side" turned out alright!



I placed it in the base to check it out. It looked pretty good!

Here is where you can see what is still undone on this piece that I'll finish up next weekend - the base really needs another coat of paint, especially to cover the bottom side. The cushion needs to be screwed into place onto the base, and I need to construct that "fake bottom" to make it look finished out.

But if you didn't know that, it looks pretty darn finished right now, doesn't it? I was pleased with the transformation, and feel it is a fairly useless, but pretty little item to sit in my den. And, all in, I spent approx. $20 - $5 for the original stool, $7 on fabric, $5 for cushion and fiberfill $3 on paint. Then, we had the sandpaper, wood and screws in our garage. But, if you had to get that too, maybe a few bucks more. A fun and worthwhile endeavor, I have to say. And, it proves you can probably figure out a project like this yourself without knowing a thing and it will turn out alright!

And quite a transformation!

OK, that's it for today. Over and out. See you tomorrow.

Almost Autumn...

While autumn leaves are falling to the ground or virtually gone in most of the country, here in Dallas, we're just getting started. Only a few trees have changed color so far...and I hope they continue. But, with all the rain, most of them might just plum fall off. So, I figure, I should admire the ones that are putting on a show now! So, that's what I did on Sunday afternoon, in the late afternoon sun. (which means about 4pm after we fell back early that morning) It was a gorgeous day for a drive.

Not sure if this one should go the other way.
But I like it this way...looks like the arm of a flamenco shirt.
(click that link and you can have one for less than 35 buckaroos!)

My friend Karen alerted me to this beautiful tree in someone's front yard near where we live. So, I drove on over there, and like a total nut job, I pulled up in front of said house, put on my telephoto lens, rolled down the window of the car, and shot these photos from the driver's seat of my vehicle.

Like, if I got out of the car, someone might stop me from taking photos of their beautiful tree...as if, someone shooting photos from the driver's seat of their car with a full-on telephoto lens wouldn't worry you more if you were sitting inside your house while this transpired.

It reminds me of the one and only time I "played hooky" from school. Yes, only one time. I was a squeaky clean kid. Anyway, the jazz band in high school had this tradition of gathering at the local Denny's before school for breakfast. Jazz band was first period and we'd eat and then go to blow air into our instruments...ewww.

Overexposed, but pretty nonetheless, no?

But this one morning...in the fall of my junior year of high school...the jazz band teacher was out of town and we knew we were just having a study hall during that class. So, we decided, as a group - the whole jazz band minus Jeff Seitz, who for some reason that day skipped Denny's - we decided to order another round of coffee and pastries and stay at Denny's instead of going to class. We honestly didn't think anyone would notice. First bad decision made that morning.

Another one already changing near the park.

When we decided to leave Denny's, it was in time for us to get to school just in time to get to second period. And this next part is what sort of reminds me of my decision to stay in my car and photograph the tree. We decided it would be best to caravan to the school - with our hazard lights on. Very, very inconspicuous, no? Yeah. Um. No.

It's amazing we didn't garner the attention of local law enforcement. They had (still have) very little to do in our little town - not enough crime - and would have loved to witness that site, I think. But, miraculously, we made it to school without incident. Then, we ran, hunched down between the cars, like a bunch of idiots, from the back of the student parking lot into the building. Laughing and giggling and making a general ruckus that could have, again, caused someone to notice. An hour after the first bell. Class acts, we were.

What's more, the other band director was waiting for us to show up...in the band hall, with the only student not in deep trouble, Jeff. We all sauntered in to his waiting rage. We got it. We got it good. The only reason we weren't in more trouble, I think, is because we happened to have both of the drum majors with us, so the marching band would not have been able to perform without them. And, if they didn't punish them, they couldn't really punish the rest of us.

So we got off with a couple of reamings. From that director and the jazz band director when he returned the next day. Slid on by. Amazingly. But, again, not the best choice of judgement. Just about as smart as shooting photos from the front seat of your car at a stranger's house with a telephoto lens. Just about as smart. I guess I haven't learned much in the years since.

I wonder what that says about me. Hmmm...OK moving on.

Back to the leaves. They are gorgeous, no?



Here is the third and last memorable tree I photographed Sunday.
It was down closer to the lake.

Today's other news - my first "weigh in" on the D-I-E-T has given me a reason to keep trying this silly endeavor. In my first full week of dieting I lost...drumroll please...

A beautiful red showy one.

...I lost 7.6 pounds!!!!! Can you believe that? I birthed a baby of fat!

I know, first week. You always lose more the first week. But, sister, if I can keep this up until Christmas - barring a delicious meal on Thanksgiving that is not on the blasted plan but I will eat with abandon - if I just lose 2 pounds a week between now and then, I could be down 28 pounds by 2010! That would be amazing, and about halfway to the goal! Now, that would be cool. We'll see...

I love autumn. Don't you?
Amen to that.

See you tomorrow.

Recap of that October Holiday

Veda, Deacon, Cora

I hope you had a nice weekend and a wonderful Halloween. We received phone calls, emails and Facebook updates from the relatives up north. Thank you so much for including us in the festivities! It is so fun to see what the kiddos come up with for the big day. Of course I have to show you some of those awesome costumes. Including, of course, the one my mother made for Veda, above left. Very nice work, Mama. I guess Cora was not feeling too good on Halloween. Her and her Mama went home before the party was over. She does look a little green...get it? Green? I crack myself up.

Even Terri and Steve got in on the fun.

Actually, speaking of Facebook, it was a virtual Halloween scrapbook of Everyone's child you could imagine yesterday! What fun! My friend Deanna created this adorable outfit for her daughter to be a flower bouquet - precious idea. My friend Katrina made not one but TWO Imagination Movers outfits for two of her three boys - that was a finalist option for Deacon this year as well. That would be the only reason I even know who they are. Ahem. Anyway, the point is, it was fun checking out all the Halloween memories in a virtual way.

And, speaking of websites, (were we speaking of websites?) you can check out my great nephew's cute dog costume on the homepage of their photography website here. (If they change it before you get there...sorry. Just check out some of their other great photos while you are there!)

My cousins Ken and Candy and their Spiderman and Lion, courtesy of my mom.

Ryon was "Jason" from the Friday the 13th movies, and Nathon was apparently a spot-on "Chucky". Hee hee. And, Jessica was a very well coiffed and decked out Dorothy. Photos are on their way, but not here before this post goes up. I'll share when they arrive!

My cousin Robin's boys, Caleb and Gabe, courtesy of Robin

We did not see the in-town niece or nephew. They went around visiting family and friends but we didn't make the list. I am sure they were adorable.

Sadie, S, Sophie - say that three times fast.

We were invited to the festivus at the old neighbor's new house. (Yes, I meant to write festivus instead of festivities - I like it. Get over yourself.) We were honored to be invited and had a great time. Turns out there was an Indian Princess as well as a Witch. Apparently, Sleeping Beauty was a close second, but her mama had already purchased the broom, so a witch it was! Photos of the fun are found in this post, of course.

A "big girl" friend of theirs went with them, which they thought was SO COOL.
I love this photo mainly because I caught Mikee taking a photo in the mirror -
wish I would have thought up that tactic instead of it being a mistake.

S and Mike took the girls around the neighborhood while Mikee and I sipped some not-on-the-diet wine and handed out candy.

So, obviously, the trick or treat photos were taken by S.

Nice job, bug guy!

When the girls arrived back at the house, they had a stash a plenty. Whoo-wee. Sugar overload for weeks to come!

Thank you to the mother who tried to purchase the semi-nutritious Teddy Grahams.
They went in the "don't want" pile immediately.



The sugar overload began quickly. Ahhhh...the memories.



The girls took over the candy handling once they returned home.

Then, we adults had some dinner. That would be the dinner that didn't include me staying on my diet one bit. I had bread, fried meat and gravy. For starters. It wasn't pretty. I'm not even that big of a fan of gravy, but Saturday night it was my best friend. And it was GOOD. And, heck, it was HALLOWEEN. Or, that's my excuse, anyway. I have a whole bag of excuses for you. Straight up back on the wagon now, though. And, doing fine.

Sweet Sadie

Sophie the "fanged Indian princess"

It was a great way to live up the holiday vicariously through someone else's kids. Thanks, friends, for including us.

Before and after Halloween, we also kept a busy schedule this weekend. Friday we attended Mary's funeral. It was a lovely service full of remembrances of a beautiful woman, inside and out. Several people spoke about how special she had been to them and how she had touched their lives from every corner of her world. She was without a doubt a kind, gentle, thoughtful, smart woman who lived a good life and we will miss her.

Why is it families only get together like that at weddings and funerals? Mary would have LOVED to see all of those people in that room. I had not seen some of them since our wedding over ten years ago! We need to do a better job about visiting with one another BEFORE the funeral, I think. It was, nevertheless, wonderful to see so many of S's relatives there and catch up a bit, sometime before our own funeral, so to speak.

Then, Friday night, we took S's mom Cheryl to dinner since S's dad is still living it up at Club Hospital. ;-) The meal was sort of in honor of their 38th wedding anniversary. (I tried to pick something diet friendly, but I did eat a roll...ah the carbs, they'll kill ya every time.) I'm sure they'll celebrate when he gets home. S's dad sent her some beautiful flowers and gave her a card and I am sure told her how much he loves her. Awwww. He didn't forget, sitting in that hospital bed.

Speaking of hospital beds, he was moved to a new room late last week. When he was moved a week or two ago to the long term wound care floor, he was placed in a semi-private room, probably because that was the one that was available when he showed up. No worries though - he had the "window seat." Shortly after he got settled in, though, they filled the other bed with a poor elderly gentleman who is clearly in a lot of hurt. God bless him. He moaned and cackled and made quite a ruckus 24 hours a day. Which meant Sam wasn't sleeping well.

When Cheryl was leaving one night, a hospital administrator-type asked her how things were for her and her husband, spending time there on that floor. And Cheryl, burdened by the fact that her husband has been in the hospital for four weeks and will be there a while longer, and that her husband couldn't rest well, told the administrator-type that it was OK but her husband couldn't properly rest and that was very unsettling to her.

Turns out that administrator-type was the COO of the hospital. She had Sam moved to another room that night and all the nurses were very concerned about how he slept the next morning. He is resting much better now and is enjoying his quieter room. And, on some level, I hope the gentleman left in the other room is a little more comfortable knowing he isn't disturbing anyone's sleep.

Saturday, S got up and made breakfast for he and his mother (at that point in the day I was still playing the charade that I'd stay on my diet all day) changed all four brakes on her car, changed the windshield wiper blades, and aired up the tires. She's ready to go after that pit stop! I took Echo in for a check-up at the vet, (she is a rock star at the vet-the all swoon over her and she loves it) and started work, with S's help, on a little refurbishing project on some items I recently purchased at a rummage sale that just need a little TLC to be beautiful. I'm taking photos and will share those with you when they are finished.

Sunday I worked more on my little refurbishing project and went over and took some photos at dusk of some leaves a-changin' in the area, thanks to a tip from my friend Karen. And I'll share them with you here later this week if they came out as I planned. Also, I messed around on a website for dieters that will track your calories and stuff to try to get and stay motivated for the week ahead. I have my first "weigh in" tomorrow....ugh. And, we had a nice visit with S's dad in his spacious, quiet, new room. It was a full but good weekend.

So, here's hoping the best for your first full week of November. See you tomorrow.