Sunday, September 14, 2014

Table Turned Tufted Ottoman

A friend from my HS days gave me this table. It sits super low so I decided to attempt to turn it into an ottoman......a tufted ottoman. Seemed easy enough. Picked out some cool Ikat fabric and just kinda went with it and learned some things along the way.

First I sectioned off the top to mark where I was going to put the fabric covered buttons. I eyeballed this step. I'm pretty good at eyeballing and not so great with math.

I'll have the big slice, please. Close enough, right?

 I marked off where I wanted my buttons to go and drilled holes through those markings. Put my foam on top and used a skewer to puncture through the wood into the foam and marked the foam. We do things very professionally over here, ya know.

Stapled the foam onto the table top. I am completely winging it at this point. But this step made it super easy to find exactly where I wanted my buttons to go after the fabric was placed and stapled onto the underside. Ya, following me here?

 I flipped the table and stapled the fabric to the underside. Now this is where things get not so fun. Tufting and what not to do. Do not use regular thread, it will snap and you, my friend, will curse every time it does. I would have gone with thicker foam. Thicker would result in deeper tufts.

Oh I missed the whole fabric button part......you can buy this little kit at Hobby Lobby or Walmart to do this. It's actually quite easy, you'll think you're a super star making these awesome little buttons.

I decided after much cursing and not having proper thread to just slam a staple into the fabric right through the foam and into the table. Then I just sewed the buttons on top of the staple and done!


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Monday, August 4, 2014

Gray Hepplewhite Dresser

These are one of my favorite styles of furniture to find. Typically 1940's and made of mahogany which means bleed through is going to happen. To avoid that I like to use Kilz oil based spray primer.....quick and easy! After I prime I always give a light sanding with 400 grit paper.


This also came with a nightstand which was in some really sorry shape. Put it this way, the woman selling the dresser gave it to me for free. Yup, that bad!

 I sanded back the tops and stained them with Minwax Jacobean followed by Minwax Wipe On Poly in satin. I really love the look of a stained top with painted body on this style of furniture.  I used Martha Stewart's Zinc on these and it has become one of my favorite paint colors.





The pulls were scrubbed lightly to leave the aged patina to peek through. 

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you all have a great week~Sue 

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Elizabeth and Co.




Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Important Message about Lane Cedar Chests

Hey, All! I haven't been around in a while. I hope all of you are well and enjoying Spring after the crappy winter we had. I wanted to take a few minutes not only to show you this awesome chest I scored at the flea market but more importantly to alert you to the dangers these chests pose.



Out of curiosity, I did a quick google search to find out how long my happy find has been around, turns out 1933. I also stumbled on some sad information that needs to get out there. 

I want you to know, these are potential death traps. Children have tragically suffocated in these. You may be a fellow painter and happily found one of these too or maybe one of these was past down in your family from generation to generation. Chests manufactured from 1912 and 1987 have a locking mechanism that once inside you cannot get out. Lane marks all of their chests with serial numbers so it's easy to date yours by going on the Lane website. It's an easy fix too, Lane will send you a free kit to change out the lock and make it safe. Please pass this on to anyone you may know that has one.

Here's the link to get your replacement lock....

Now onto the refinished and now safe chest. I am super happy with the way it turned out. I stripped some of the wood down and stained in Minwax dark walnut. Dry brushed the carved areas and straight painted the rest in warm white, Behr Ostrich, my personal favorite antique white. Followed it up with General Finishes Polyacrylic.





Thanks for stopping by and please spread this very important message~Sue

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