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!

Stenciled Cushion Cover

Unfortunately I can't take credit for this idea - I saw it on Pinterest and luckily had all the necessary tools and spare plain cushion cover ready to use!

These stencils are amazing. My sisters - Elly and Fizzy - and I had a whole multicoloured set that we used all the time when we were little, which included animals, numbers, modes of transport, shapes - you name it, we could stencil it!

I practised on a piece of scrap wrapping paper the same size as the cushion cover to work out how the quote I wanted to use would fit. Then I used a Sharpie permanent fabric marker to stencil the words onto the cover...

...and coloured in the letters.

And this was the result! I had to google "lilies" several times, as both my Dad and Jim pointed out that it was spelt wrong. It's not, it is L.I.L.I.E.S.

"When you have only two pennies left in the world buy a loaf of bread with one and a bunch of lilies with the other." Chinese proverb.

Candle decorations

This is a simple little project that can be done while watching telly or even travelling on the bus. All you need is a selection of buttons and beads, some strong by easily malleable craft wire and a candle to jazz up. One thing to remember: Make sure your piece of wire(s) is twice as long as the circumference of the candle as it loses length when you thread the buttons on.

Et voila:

You can decorate anything in this way, from candles, jars,and vases to chair legs, and even human legs.

Spring has sprung fabric noticeboard

After yesterday's delightful weather (highs of 16 degrees C on 5th March!) I thought it was time to post this blog on how to make a fabric covered noticeboard, after I recently made this floral and blue-ribboned one for Jim's sister's 18th birthday. It would also make a great Mothers' Day present :)

Take one old/new/borrowed (I don't know if you can get blue ones) cork pinboard and some wadding, and cut the wadding so that it is 3 inches bigger than the board all the way round.

I laid the board face down on the wadding and folded the edges round onto the back of the board. I also removed the tiny hooks and pins and kept them safe to re-attach later on.

I cut all four corners off the rectangle of wadding, so that it would fold better and sit more neatly on the back of the board.

Initially I tried using a staple-gun to affix the wadding, but the staples fell out. My very good friend and craft advisor Stephanie Lewis recommended using double sided carpet tape to stick it on. Carpet tape is truly the stickiest and best "attatcher" I have ever come across.

I then cut the fabric I wanted to use to size, again, about 3 inches larger all round than the board. Next I placed the wadding-covered board face down on the underside of the fabric and used the corner-cutting and carpet tape method as above to attach the fabic, making sure it was pulled quite tight.

Next I cut the ribbon to the different lengths required in order to make a nice diagonal criss-criss pattern and pinned them in place. I used a glue gun to stick down each ribbon end to the reverse of the board, again, ensuring that the ribbons were quite taught.

With the back of the board looking a bit scruffy what with the layers of wadding, carpet tape, fabric, ribbon and glue, I took an extra large bit of cardboard, trimmed it down to size and glue-gunned it onto the back to hide the mess.

Using a hammer I gently re-attached the hooks to the back of the board, ensuring the pattern on the fabric would be hanging the right way up.

Last but not least, I sewed some pearly buttons onto each ribbon crossover, also sewing through the fabric to make the ribbons a bit sturdier to hang things on.

This is an example of another board that my beautfiul mum made me a few years ago.

 

It's where I keep all the pretty cards and notelets that come through the post :)

Valentine's Heart Decoration

 

This is a bit of a cheaty post as I originally made this hanging heart decoration to give to my lovely friend Sally as a Secret Santa Christmas present back in December. However, this time of year sees the rekindling of all heart-shaped things in celebration of Valentine's Day.

Ahh lovely.

So, if you are in need of some inspiration for a simple and effective Valentine's gift that won't break the bank, or just fancy sewing a delightful little decoration regardless of the time of year, then follow the simple steps below!

1. Cut a heart shape out of old newspaper to the size you want. I wouldn't go much smaller than 10cm in height otherwise it might bet a bit fiddly sewing on the letters, but would be absolutely fine if you wanted to leave the hearts plain.

2. Use the heart template to cut out hearts (double the number of finished hearts that you so desire) from your chosen fabric and keep them together in pairs.

3. Using a contracting fabric, or many contrasting fabrics, cut out the letters of the word you want to spell out on your hearts. I used letters printed out from the computer so all my letters were the same font and size.

4. Using blanket stitch, I sewed each letter onto one fabric heart.

5. Now pin one lettered heart to one plain heart and use a basic running stitch to sew all the way around, about 1cm in from the edge. But don't sew right the way round to where you started - you need to leave a gap about 2 inches long to stick the stuffing into to make the hearts 3D. Once they are as fat as you like with stuffing finish off sewing round the heart.

6. Cut a length of ribbon about 15cm long for each heart. Fold the bits of ribbon in half and pin them to the top of the heart inside the two bits of fabric. Attach the pieces of ribbon with a single sturdy cross-stitch running through the ribbon and both bits of fabric.

7. Now thread a piece of string or more ribbon through the ribbon loops you have sewn onto the hearts and voila! A hanging heart decoration to add a bit of country loving to your home, or to give as a Valentine's Day present.