Up-Dated Book / Magazine Rack

Finished...One Magazine / Book Rack (FINALLY)!  :)

I don't know about the rest of you but once school started I've had a hard time keeping up...or maybe it's that ridiculous goal of getting 3 stockings done a week  (last week I only managed two)...could be all those Volleyball games of Autumns.  Awe..I do enjoy watching her play!!!

But I DID get this little baby done...check that off my list (happy sigh)! 

And I must say I'm pretty pleased with it!

I used homemade chalk paint (because the price of the other is just not an option...someday maybe).

Anyway Jane at Mamie Jane's was my inspiration...She painted one white and wrote "READ" at the top...Too Cute!!  I have been looking for one ever since I pinned hers!!

My twist on the idea was to put a TV on it, suggesting reading, instead of watching...

And of course because I LOVE CHALKBOARDS I did the inside of the TV with Chalkboard paint.

(Did You know I make little chalkboard Pendants out of clay and sell them on t Etsy??  I'll have a new batch out next week).

So this is what I started with.  I got it at my local Good Will for $5.00.

The metal sides were Hunter Green so the first thing I did was...

Tear it apart and spray paint the metal sides Flat Black.  I used  KRYLON Dual Paint +Primer...

And I have to say I LOVE IT!  Two coats and I was done.  :)

I then whipped up a batch of "Chalk Paint" by adding Plaster of Paris to a sample BEHR's "White Truffle"...

After painting I went on line and searched images for a vintage TV...I choose this one because of it's simple lines.

I used my son's paint pens and a sharpie for the silver and the thin lines....

and Krylon Chalkboard Paint (left over from a project or two ago) for the TV screen. 

After painting I did my best to distress it.  This is something I don't quite have the hang of ...but I'll keep working on it!

And  side view...

I used a vintage green to add some color to my TV and added water to acrylic brown  paint for the front.

Well...That's my project for the week...

Thanks for visiting and as always leave a message...I love to see who's stopped by!!

Denise

Oh yes...I'll be linking up to most of those wonderful parties on my side bar.  :)

Time to get a KRACK-A-LAK-KIN

OH - MY - GOODNESS.... I just made a trip to BOTH G W's in my area and came home with a pile of sweaters...Now I have got to get Kraken!!!  The Holidays are almost here and I am way behind in my little Stocking Business!!

I found a ton of pastels (which are harder to come by) but make such lovely stockings...that is if I don't shrink them to far!  :0

 I ended up with 17 sweaters....17 Yikes...I don't think there is anyway possible for me to get 17stockings done before Christmas...

But I will try!!
I have goaled myself to get 3 stockings done a week...This may not seem like much to you but they take longer than you might think!

 First of all I have to shrink or felt the sweaters...I then cut out the stocking shape and start my design....No two stockings are alike...That's what I love about making them...The Alien below is a special order for a wonderful customer...She had already purchased two Alien stockings for her babies and now wants one for herself (A Knitting Alien) and one for her Husband (A Tool Guy Alien)....Gotta get started on that one.....

The problem is...I'm somewhat of a moody artist...and I seem to be in more of a fall mood....so instead of making what I needed too...

I started working on a squirrel stocking....I wonder where I got the inspiration for this one?  :)

These pictures show you how I "build" a stocking...I have an idea in my head and just start cutting the shapes out of felted sweaters...I lay them out on the stocking adding and rearranging as I go.  When I like what I have, I pin it and start stitching...almost always by hand. 

For the cuffs I hit my stash of yarn laying different colors at the top of the design until I find the perfect combination...I then knit and it too is hand stitched to the top of the stocking.

Well that's where I'm at and why this post is so late.  :)
Anyone else in a "Pre-Holiday Panic" like me...
I would love to here from you and find out your managing to get it all done!!
Denise

Bench Job and Burlap Love

Hmmm...Where do I start?  I had this old bench that I really didn't love, but was useful (at my front door...as a catch all, for everyone in the family...Maybe I really don't need it)  :0   Anyway after being  inspired by all the wonderful benches I have seen here in "Blog Land'...(I must say I am dyeing to make one out of a old bed)!  I decided to give mine a face lift!!!

Sooo...

This is what I started with, an out dated beat-up oak bench...

With a woven seat  that I never really cared for!!

A friend had given me a foam pad, that he had used for camping but was tired of storing.  (Yee-Haw...I knew there was a reason I took it)!  I placed the seat down on the foam and traced around it.  I then measure in 1" on 2 sides of it.   A long side and a short side...does that make sense?  This way the foam would be 1/2" smaller all the way around than the seat....I then cut it out....

I laid the seat and the foam on top of my burlap and cut it so there was enough fabric to cover the top, sides and be stapled to the bottom....I forgot to take pictures of this step but I think you can figure it out!!  :)

The next step was to paint the bench.  I first primed it with Zinsser Cover Stain primmer and then painted it this AWESOME color from Walmart's Glidden Brilliance Collection.  It's called "Dusty Gold"...Sometimes it's hard to tell if it's gold or green....BUT I LIKE IT!

The bench now brightens up the hallway and the burlap matches beautifully with the rug!! 

This is one of my favorite pillows, it sat on the bench before the re-do...I used it to help pick the color.

The wreath was made out of the same warm brown colored burlap....I cut it into strips 6" long by 1 1/2 inches wide and then tied them on to a wire frame...

I don't think my pictures do it justice...It really is quit lovely!!

( I edited them on picnik to make them look more interesting but I'm not sure it helped).

The leaves I just pinned on so I can change it with the seasons...I admit the wall need more work...maybe some Halloween bats on it!??

Anyway that's it for now.

Take care and check out all those link parties on my side bar...I will be hooking up to many of them!

TTFN

Denise