8 Ways to Distress Furniture

You probably wouldn't know it based on this blog, but Superman and I are DIYers to the core.  I'm not sure why I don't show what we do here very often (I over share on instagram if you wanna follow along) but I'm going to share more because it's my blog, right?  DIYing has become a surprisingly huge part of our lives.  I dream up the ideas and Superman (whether he's willing to or not) sweetly turns my dreams into a reality.  Teamwork at its finest.  ;)

This one was a simple DIY that I did on my own.  We had some cheapity-cheap stools that were looking pretty shabby.  So naturally, I shabbied them up a little more. 

There are 8 million tutorials on how to do this, so I'll share what I did plus a round-up of other sites that have clear, concise tutorials on how to do the same thing!

*NOTE* I used this same recipe to make my own chalk paint.  I used chalk paint so that I wouldn't have to sand the stools beforehand.  I used a basic black chalk paint underneath.  The top paint color is Crystal Aqua by Valspar.   

For ours we started with this:

and turned them into this:

The process was fairly simple.

Step 1//wipe down & clean stools thoroughly 

Step 2//Paint chairs with black chalk paint & let dry for 24 hours

Step 3//Paint stools thoroughly with topcoat color *see above* & let dry for 24 hours 

Step 4//Lightly sand down with a 220 grit sander.  *TIP* Be sure to only sand areas that would eventually wear down like corners and edges.  Don't just sand large random spots in the middle of the stool.  It doesn't look natural.  I've found this to be the trick to shabbying things properly.  :)

Step 5//Wipe off all dust. To keep stools from discoloring or from getting unwanted nicks or dings, spray stools with a satin polyacrilic.  It sprays thin, so more than one coat may be necessary.  (Protective wax works too)

Now my kids can climb on our stools (and fall off and scrape their knees....cough cough) to their hearts content.  :)

And here are links to 7 other tutorials.  Enjoy!

thehowtocrew // thewhitelacecottage // thepinningmama 

diysupermom // lovegrowswild // shanty2chic // thinkingcloset 

STYLO4

I wish I was cool enough to be all chill when I get asked to participate in sewing extravaganzas.  But no.  I'm not there yet.

So it will come as no surprise to you that when I got an email from Jess & Celina asking me to participate in STYLO 4 I thought I was dead.

No really.

I thought I had died and gone to sewing heaven.  I tried to stay calm. I tried tell Superman nonchalantly, but I think everything came out in high pitched squeaks.  And consequently, he's had to deal with a wife who's been running around like a chicken without a head for the last few weeks....

But perhaps my geekiness is making you uncomfortable.  Let's bring it in.

Nope.  Can't.  Here's the thing.  STYLO is a magazine I've admired ever since the first issue came out.  It's a beautiful inspiration--not a competition, just creative sewing.  Perfect!  I am secretly convinced that I was emailed by mistake.  But you'd better believe that I wasn't gonna let them know they emailed the wrong girl.  Darn it, I'm gonna pull a Cinderella, go to the ball and wear those glass slippers come heck or high water!

The theme of this issue was high fructose.  Such fun!  And as part of the fruit category, I went with a citrus theme.

The biggest challenge of the whole thing {aside from getting my kids to look immeasurably happy} was that it wasn't super warm or green here in Idaho yet.

But my kids were troopers about pretending it was the warmest summer day ever!  I combined the citrus with a little slice of urban and came up with URBAN CITRUS.  Very clever, I know.  ;)

For the record, I was trying to be a fair mom so I originally included Sophia.

But as you can see, she was focused on two things: fruit and drooling on her dress ....so she got to go suck on her lemon behind the scenes. ;)


Hop over to STYLO4 to see more and be ready to be inspired by all the sewers in the land!  I promise it'll make you happy.  :)


And as an extra bonus, get 10% off at Girl Charlee & Micheal Levine Fabrics in celebration of STYLO4!  (Look through the magazine for details)  Woot Woot!

Now off you go and let the sewing eye candy begin!

Springtime rambles

I've been re-reading the Anne of Green Gables series lately.  And by reading I mean, of course, that I'm listening to the audio books while I do dishes, since that's the only "reading" this lady has time for.  :)

I find L. M. Motgomery's descriptions inspiring.  They make me appreciate the world I live in a little more.  I notice the dark rainclouds against the green grass. I waxed poetical and spent a while writing a post describing Idaho at this time of year and when I read it over, I had to laugh.  It was just so wordy and over the top. 

I think it's enough for me to say that Idaho gets pretty this time of year.  So much for me becoming a famous novelist, eh? ;)

I've been boulstering Lila's wardrobe by making her a few tops and dresses from the Pretty in Peplum pattern by Abby from Sew Much Ado.  I bought the pattern last year and in true me fashion, I'm just getting around to showing you what I've done with it.  #slowestbloggereeeeever

I really can't say enough good about the pattern!  You know that I'm a sucker for a good pattern that uses knit. And patterns that are versatile (ie shirt and a dress option) are always a plus in my book.  

A little girl in a peplum is just too much cuteness, am I right?  My Mom told me she had a dress like this when she was in high school.  Presh. :)

This dress is a 5T with fabric from Girl Charlee and it fits Lila perfectly with a little room for her to grow over the summer.  And becuase it's knit, it wears well.  And true to any of Abbys patterns, the instructions are clear and concise, and the dress comes together quickly.  That's worth a twirl, right?

Out of laziness, I changed the neckline (it's the only change I made to the pattern) by skipping the facings and folding down the neck and sewing it with a twin needle all the way around.  

Overall, this has easily become one of my favorite patterns.  I'm excited to show you some other versions.  In the meantime, I hope you're having a beautiful (insert whatever descriptions suit your fancy) spring.  :)

Details:

Dress Pretty in Peplum//Girl Charlee Poloma Gray Gingham//headband (old) & shoes from target