Tuesday 13 August 2013

Glittered Converse



I love Converse trainers. I live in them. But my old black pair are getting a little tired, so I decided to give them a new lease of life by attacking them with some slightly watered-down PVA glue, and glitter...


...after removing the laces and covering the rubber sole and toe-cap with sellotape...



When the first layer of glitter and glue was thoroughly dry I did a second layer...


...and when that was dry, I did one final coat of PVA and water mix and left them to dry with the following result...



Jazzy!


Friday 9 August 2013

Upcycled Ottoman


About a year ago, neighbours of ours over the road were getting rid of the table and mirror below:



I played it fairly safe with the rejuvination of the table, and just went for a neutral white paint look (for the full details click here):


However, as Jim fully knows, and I am beginning to accept a) I am messy and clumsy and nothing in the flat stays plain white for long, and b) I am a crafting project addict and nothing in the flat stays plain white for long!

In the meantime I also became addicted to Pinterest and saw several inspiring pins about how simple and easy it can be to transform a dull, basic coffee table into a lovely, comfortable and interesting ottoman.

I began by measuring the table for the amount of foam I would need to sit neatly on top:



I found a great seller on ebay who provides different thicknesses of foam in the exact dimensions you require. I went for three inches thick, and used a spray mount glue to fix it to the table top:



I then took a trip to the lovely Fabrics Galore on Wandsworth Road and got myself some cheapety-cheap wadding. I went for at least double the area than of the foam so that it would comfortably wrap around the edges and underneath the table:


Using a nifty staple gun (how I lived without one before now I'll never know) I pulled the wadding gently around the foam and stapled it to the underside of the table:



Next came the material. I picked this grey and white striped number up quite cheaply at an antiques stall in East Dulwich thinking I would use it for some cushion covers. But, to be frank, we already have too many cushions, and it was the perfect size for the ottoman - it found its calling! Pulling the material taught, but not too tightly so that the foam and wadding were squashed down, I evenly worked my way from the centre of each side, stapling the material to the underside of the table:


When it came to the corners I found it easier to neatly pin the fabric in place first making sure the folds were crisp, before stapling.





The final detail were some buttons I found on ebay that allow you to cover them in any fabric...


...which I sewed evenly onto the top of the ottoman, using a long needle so that they attached onto the foam to give it a dimpled effect:


Et voila! A super-easy ottoman from a sad, abandoned table!