Page 30

Simple Upholstery Project: Furniture Refresh

November 15, 2021 Leave a Comment

Happy Monday! I hope you had a relaxing and hopefully creative weekend.

I found myself browsing the fabric store all on my own this weekend for the first time in close to 2 years. It felt like I never left! I have quite a few projects I will be sharing with you over the next few weeks and I am really excited about them all. I’m working on sewing a top and reading pillows along with a felt doll, a stuffed teddy bear and even a puppet. I’ll be sharing those details with you soon but for today I have an easy re-upholstery project for you.

About 5 years ago we re-decorated our living room. We bought a new couch and I bought a bench that has storage along with a square cube that also has storage. Right now the bench holds all my fabric and the cube holds yarn. Both however were in horrible condition as you can see from the picture. We used them at one time in our home school room and they were covered in paint and had been ripped up from the dogs and cats. To say they needed a refresh was an understatement.

I managed to find some really pretty fabric in the clearance section. It’s outdoor fabric so it’s really durable and I like that it should wipe clean pretty easily. I have been adding pinks and floral in the living room in spots so this really soft peachy pink color works great.

My husband gave me a hand and we removed the screws to detach the lid along with the inside lining fabric. I could have patched the hole but to be honest it doesn’t really matter since this fabric is pretty thick.

I wrapped the fabric over the top and the folded under the edges to create a hem of sorts so therwas a nice finished piece stapled on the underside. At the time I figured if it didn’t look the best I could add my own lining fabric but I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

We used a staple gun with one of us holding the folded fabric in place and the other stapling it down. Normally you wouldn’t need two people for this job however we were using an ancient staple gun that requires a great deal of force to work so having an extra set of hands just made it that much easier.

We stapled to the edges since that was a thicker piece of wood and we didn’t have to worry about any staples sticking through. It’s a really sturdy piece and we often sit on it so the last thing you want is a staple sticking through.

The last step was to screw the lid back on and we were done!

I am so proud with not only the finished product but my fabric choice. It is so pretty and soft and really adds a brightness to the room. In fact I am sitting with my feet up on the bench and a cup tea as I write this!

The project went so well that I decided to cover the square cube that had been hiding it’s messy state underneath a new plant we picked up a few weeks ago at the store. I wonder if I should blog here about my love for houseplants? Would you be interested? Let me know I would be happy to talk to talk more about them.

The cube was done in no time and my husband suggested recovering the foot rest that went along to my rocking chair. Ah, the rocking chair. I purchase this glider around 2am when my now 3 year-old was an infant. She was the one we walked the floors at night with and one night when I was sitting awkwardly on the couch I grabbed my phone and in a groggy half-asleep state purchased the glider. I didn’t remember until I saw the confirmation email the next morning.

I have never regretted that purchase and it’s still my favorite chair.

Unfortunately the same little one managed to grab hold of a marker and before I could stop her scribble on the ottoman. I covered it with a blanket which was fine but since I had so much fabric left over (am I the only one who overbuys fabric?) I decided to cover that as well and it looks great!

I think I bought 2 yards of fabric and it was $11/yard on sale plus I had a $10 off coupon so for about $12 I was able to cover 3 pieces and make them look brand new which I think is a pretty good deal.

I hope you liked this little project. I am going to recover the glider as well but I didn’t see any fabric that I really liked so I decided to wait since I have so many going on already. I will be sure to share it with you when I do.

In other news I am taking part in NaNoWriMo again this year. I have been doing NaNoWriMo for years but only won my first year so I am really looking forward to winning again this year. I’m on track to finish November 28th and I’m hoping to sneak in some extra time to make up for the writing I may not get to on Thanksgiving.

Are you taking part? Please let me know-I would love to cheer each other on.

Well that’s all for now. I hope you are having a wonderful day and that you find something creative to have a play with.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Painting & Homemade Fall Decor

September 8, 2021 Leave a Comment

My hands are covered in paint.

This isn’t unusual however today they are covered with wall paint as we are working to finish my 3 year-olds bedroom by Friday.

So far we have filled the holes with the first coat of filler and I have started painting up to the trim on almost all of the walls and rolled 2 of them with color. They will need a second coat as the yellow isn’t fully covering the light green underneath but otherwise it’s moving along. We have a bookshelf left to empty but I think the painting should all be done tomorrow.

We are planning a trip to pick up some more paint tonight and I’m hoping to find a few storage containers to organize her toys.

On the crafting desk I am working on a fall garland for the kitchen. It’s a pattern I purchased last year but never got around to making. It’s really sweet and I’m enjoying working on it. I have 2 of the 4 houses completed and they really come together quickly.

I also completed another garland but this one was for my mobile art studio. Originally I was going to make one for the studio and one for my daughters room so I will have to see how it looks once I put it into the van. The garlands are really fun and my first time working with wool felt shapes. I really like them and think I will be learning a new hobby once my 30 day Creative Detox is over.

Another item I purchased and I have on my list of things to make this week are some clothespin dolls for our first day of home school. I have only made peg dolls before but I think these are going to be fun and I will be sure to share finished photos when they are done.

I have been picking up my journal more as well which is always a good thing. I have been needing that connection and the release of the words on paper has been very healing for me.

So that’s what is on my desk this week. I would love to hear what you are making so please do share your links below. If the link party has closed, feel free to comment below so I can stop by and say hello.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Resting, Sewing & Our Weekly Challenge

September 6, 2021 Leave a Comment

I am sitting with a cup of tea writing this. We spent yesterday at a family gathering where we gifted the anniversary journal I made a few weeks ago. It was a nice day but today is my re-coup day and I am very grateful for the current silence in our home.

We are almost fully moved out of our old bedroom. I have 2 small boxes to go through and then a bookshelf and our closet which should go pretty quickly. I am planning to start painting tomorrow as we would love to have the room done in time to surprise our daughter with her new bedroom for her birthday. The painting should go pretty quickly so I’m feeling pretty confident we can get it all done.

For this week’s challenge I realized I completed it without realizing I had! We had ordered a birthday dress for my youngest that she was also going to wear to yesterday’s party. There was an issue with delivery so come Friday (2 days before the party) she had no dress. I broke my “Creative Detox” just a tiny bit to pull up a video tutorial to walk me through making this really sweet dress.

I couldn’t be happier with how the dress came out! It was lined and absolutely adorable. If you remember last week’s challenge was to use a supply you have but hardly use. For me that’s my fabric stash and my sewing machine. I tend to overbuy my fabric when I buy it for a specific purpose and I also tend to sew a bunch and then not sew for a while. So for my daughter’s dress I decided to raid the stash for a pretty fabric with a matching coordinating fabric I could use for the lining. The fabric I chose was also used last spring to make a throw pillow for our bed. It’s bright and happy and looked really adorable on my daughter. I still want to take a better photo of her in the dress but this is what I have for now.

So I was able to use my sewing machine which was collecting dust along with some fabric that was stored away. I do plan on keeping this challenge in my mind to boost my creativity and use up some of those supplies. I want to start clearing out the cabinets and cupboards and get to making more things than I purchase. I also want to start sharing more of what I am making with others how about you? Please do comment below and let me know what item you have in your stash that you hardly use.

Don’t forget to add your links to our link party. If the party is already closed feel free to comment below with the link to your blog post so we can stop by and see what you did for the weekly challenge.

The challenge for this week is to do something with a book/journal theme.

I cannot wait to see what you make! Be sure to add your links to the link party below.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

I’m also sharing this post with my hand sewn dress over on Sew Can Do as party of Cheryl’s Craftastic Link Party.

Tea, Playing with Clay & Still Moving

August 30, 2021 Leave a Comment

I hope your week is starting off magical. I am sitting here with a lovely cup of tea and a pretty quiet house finishing up this week’s challenge. Do you have any creative plans for this week? I find that I do best when I have a list of projects I would like to work on in lots of different mediums. Those are the weeks I feel I have the most creative time and most importantly the most fun with my creative time.

This week I am still finalizing the move from our old bedroom into the new. I was very tired this weekend so I didn’t get it all done as I had hoped however I did make lots of headway last week. I am still hopeful we can have the room cleared out this week and I can start painting. We made some changes on the paint color and are going to use the same color we used in our new room. It’s a soft yellow and I love that it’s neutral enough to go with pretty much any color bedding we decide to put in there. Since my daughter will be starting out in a pink toddler bed I think this is a great color choice and will give her a really bright and happy room.

I am currently waiting for my weekly challenge to finish cooking in the oven. If you remember last week’s challenge was to finish a project that’s been on your table for a while. I have been making a magical dream tree for months now. It’s from a tutorial I found on Jennibellie’s YouTube channel where she made a wishing tree I think she called it. I made the basic mold for this last year sometime and then it sat on my desk. I finally started covering the armature with paper clay this year and I really enjoyed the process. It’s taken a while as I would do bit by bit and let it sit as I thought about the colors I would paint it. Once it was all covered with clay I gave it a few coats of paint and really loved how it turned out. I noticed it could still use a touch up here and there but I just love all the texture and warmth it has.

With the tree completed I wanted to add stars to it that I could write my magical dreams on and hang from the tree and that’s where I was having trouble.

I had made a few using air dry clay but they didn’t come out the best and as I was painting them I was liking them less and less. Today I decided to give my polymer clay a shot and I cut out about 15 stars using silver polymer clay, added a hole in the top for string and baked them in the oven. Even after baking they were still a little flimsy so I covered them with 2 coats of triple thick. To add the string (once they were dry) I used a needle threader and added some white embroidery floss. A few of them tore in the process of me re-punching the holes from where the Triple Thick gathered and I wasn’t too hopeful with them. However once I wrote my dream and hung them on the tree I was really happy with how they had turned out.

On a side note my son had made a clay monster probably the beginning of the year that I hadn’t baked yet. At the time I figured we would be making more polymer clay creations that week and sadly his little monster just sat collecting dust. So into the oven he went with the stars (after a good cleaning). I have to say, I really love the little orange monster. I asked if I could share a photo with you but my son said not yet. If he changes his mind I will be sure to add it.

Don’t forget if you took part in last week’s challenge to share your your link on last week’s blog post here. If the link party has already closed out when you go over please do comment below with a link and share your completed project. I would love to see what you finished!

For next week I thought I would continue with a little broader of a theme and challenge you to use something you already have but hardly ever use. It could be a stamp set you purchased (or stamps in general if you don’t use them much in your crafting) or any medium. It could be a color you have but just never paint with or a set of markers or pens. The challenge isn’t to buy something new but to use something you have but either haven’t used yet or hardly ever use. I cannot wait to see what you come up with!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Hermione, Journal Making, Moving Rooms and What I’m Working on Wednesday

August 25, 2021 Leave a Comment

Welcome to another WIWOW! I have really been enjoying this series. It’s nice to look back and be reminded of some of the projects I am working on.

You may remember my little felt Harry Potter doll I made for my daughter’s friend. Well, I had an idea on how to improve him a bit so I thought I would make a second doll for the gift. In the end we all decided the original was the best one and so he is still going off to his new home this weekend. The second Harry went to my son who had been admiring it. He was quite happy when I offered it to him.

I also started Hermione and finished her up today. she really came out cute and I am so happy I was able to get her all done and I have Mr. Ron Weasel all cut out waiting to be stitched. So these 3 cuties will be off to their new home soon and I will definitely be making another set one of these days for my own collection. And I imagine for my kids as well.

I finished the anniversary journal for my husband’s parents that I mentioned in an earlier post. I am really happy with how the cover turned out and I did something different with the inside. I covered 2 pieces of cardboard in coordinating fabric to match the spine and then adhered them on the inside. I love how it looks and it adds some nice weight to the book. I also tried out a new binding technique I found on The Paper Outpost’s channel. It worked great and I think it’s going to be my new go-to binding technique.

If you remember we decided that instead of filling the album with photos from the last 50 years we are going to make it a bit of a challenge journal. My husband came up with the idea inspired by my daughter’s love for her Wreck this Journal by Kerri Smith. His idea was to add challenges for his parents to complete such as taking a photo in front of a mountain or a photo with a stranger.

I love the idea since any of the photos we would be adding to the album they already have and have seen a million times. We are going to include some photos of them and the family but only about 6 or so and then let them enjoy filling it up. They love to travel so I think it will be fun for them. Plus I thought we could have all the guests at their anniversary party add a photo prompt for them. So now it’s a photo album but also a memory book.

Another project I am working on is a cardinal sculpture. I have made it out of Paper Clay and I love the shape and the color but I am not as in love with the eyes. I am may try some dimensional eyes instead of painting them on to give it a bit more interest. I was able to sculpt some feet and I decided I really wanted him to be whimsical like my Self-Care doll so I added some decoupaged old book pages. I am also on the hunt for some fallen branch that I can use to attach him to. I am enjoying sculptures specifically whimsical mixed media type pieces and they give me a lot of joy when I see them in my home.

Last week I finished painting our bedroom and we moved in over the weekend. We have quite a bit of stuff moved in (my creative corner is almost completely set up and I am already using it) but still have some things to move down or decide to let go of completely. I like how contained everything feels now and I am finding having my creative space on the first floor is working so well. I can come in and work for little snippets of time throughout the day. It’s also turned into everyone’s favorite hangout which makes getting in some creative time that much easier. With any luck we will be completely moved out of the old room and ready to paint it for my youngest daughter next week.

I did have a play on Monday with my acrylic inks-the first project I worked on in my new creative corner. It was for last week’s challenge (you can see it here) and I had so much fun! Initially I didn’t think much of the piece-just something fun I made that had a nice childlike quality but the more I see it the more I really like it and I think I will be working more with black and white inks.

The last little item on my desk is a mixed media piece I started Thursday during my Artist Date in My Mobile Art Studio. I have been doing and re-doing this piece a lot over the past week and a half. I just can’t seem to get the face right and I am thinking of leaving it off completely. I originally was thinking of her as a bit of a self-portrait so I made her blonde but I decided today to change her hair color and it seems to work better. For now I’m going to call her done and make her the first piece for my new cardboard journal.

If you are interested in learning more about My Mobile Art Studio and my cardboard journal I am going to be blogging about them over on my other site The Creative Spiritualist. That site is also going to hold all my art journaling, journal making and energy art so if you are interested please stop by and say hello.

Well that’s about everything I have going on now. I hope this post finds you well and able to get in some creative time. I will see you all again on Monday with our weekly challenge. Are you taking part? You can join in all the challenge fun here.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Resource Section

The Paper Outpost: This is where I learned the hidden spine binding technique for the journal.

Baul de la Malinka: This is the Etsy shop where I purchased my Harry Potter felt doll patterns. There is a 3 pack that includes Harry, Ron & Hermione that I opted for.

*Note: All of the items listed above are being shared for your convenience. I purchased any and all materials with my own money and have not be paid or sponsored in any way for sharing these items. I share them because I like them and I love supporting small business. I hope you find them useful!

Cats, A New Creative Space, Ink Blots & The Weekly Challenge

August 23, 2021 Leave a Comment

As I wrote the title for this post I am finding the irony in last week’s challenge word.

As you may remember we have been rearranging rooms in our home and my husband and I just moved our bedroom downstairs this past weekend. Our intention was to make the room pet free and that lasted about 10 minutes. For the past 3 days our new bedroom has been the favorite room in the house for, well, everyone!

I am still setting up my creative space and we still have quite a bit to take out of the old room but I’m hopeful to get that all moved around this week and then next week I can hopefully focus on painting the room for my youngest daughter. I have just started a 30 Day Creativity Retreat so I should have plenty of time. (You can read about and follow my Creativity Retreat on my other site if you like).

I did manage to film a creative corner tour and I hope to get the footage edited and up for you to see and then I do promise to share a tour of my little creative corner in our new room. For now though, I still have some work to do.

If you remember last week’s creative challenge word was: Cats. In all honestly I completely forgot about the challenge until last night before bed so I am a little late getting today’s post up. I had been reading Carla Sonheim’s book “Drawing & Painting Imaginary Animals” and I was really enjoying it. I am looking forward to picking it back up after my 30 days are up but in the meantime I thought I would have a play with ink blots to make my cat.

First, I started with a sheet in my mixed media sketchbook (It’s a Canson mixed media which I love-the one with the blue cover) and I wet the paper and used my acrylic inks to drop colors onto the wet areas. I could sit and watch the colors spread for hours it’s so pretty. Once I did a few splotches I dabbed up some excess water and let them dry.

My hope was that at least one would take shape as a cat.

It didn’t.

They all somehow seemed like Halloween characters to me and so I lightly added some details and wrote down what I saw in each blot. At first I was feeling a little disappointed with my artistic skills wishing I could more correctly convey what my mind was seeing. Then I remembered that this is supposed to be fun and since a cat didn’t emerge the first time I could just go again. So I did.

No cat.

This time I saw a horse and I realized that these were just really fun and great warm up exercise for me to get playing with my creativity. Instead of starting with an ink splotch I decided to sketch out a cat. Initially I thought about looking up an image online then I remembered my Offline Retreat and took a look at the 2 cats snoozing on my bed. (See, the no pets in the bedroom thing was a terrible idea!)

It’s a very childlike cat but you know I had so much fun making it! I loved the black and white look-something I never do and I really enjoyed blending my Stabillo graphite pencil to blur the cat. To be honest I liked it best before I added to it but it’s such a great way to learn and to play. I learned how much I liked working in black and white and with a simple graphite pencil so I am going to be sure and play more this week.

So that is my challenge for last week. For this week I thought it would be fun to do something a little different. Instead of a word prompt I am going to challenge you to: finish a project. Take something you maybe picked up but have worked on lately or maybe something that is close to being done but you didn’t quite get there yet. Pick anything you want and be sure to share your link below and check out some of the other creatives and what they are up to. I will be coming back to this post when my 30 day retreat is up to see all that you have shared. I cannot wait!

I did film a process video that you can check out below. I left in the first ink blot attempts and I would love to hear what you see in the images.

Music by Joystock – https://www.joystock.org

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Footer