Upholstered Bench, Stick Signage, And A Sharpie Pillow

This past Christmas, we headed to Iowa to chill with my side of the family. 

And when I'm out there, I always gotta hit up their huge Goodwill! 

It's a fantastic one, probably because Cedar Falls is a classy town so the donors are classy people, donating classy items for us classy-wannabees.  

I picked up some great stuff, including this upholstered bench!  The fabric was real roughed up on one side, but other than that it was in great shape.  Our van was PACKED on the way home and I had to convince Hubby that if we flipped it upside down, all the skiis and poles could lay right across it.  (All those skis and poles and ski boots that traveled 1,000 miles and NEVER TOUCHED THE SNOW!  AHHHHH!  What can I say?  I'm not the same girl who called all her friends when school got canceled for extreme cold weather to go hit the slopes.  What?  No school?  Let's go skiing!!! Nope, if the actual temp is less than zero now, I ain't gone-do-it!)

So this next picture is one I shared a few weeks ago, showing how I was covering up that big mirrored wall with a huge canvas photo.  And someone commented on my Facebook page:

  "I like it with the picture better. How about some type of bench across from it?

So, see?  Sometimes I really do listen to your suggestions!  Maybe not 98% of them, but there's always that 2%...

Tada!  You were right, Carolyn!  It needed a bench!

The fabric was on clearance at Hobby Lobby.  Another store I have to visit while in Iowa!  We have some in Michigan, but definitely not close enough for my hermitish self.  I totally guessed on how much I needed, since I forgot to measure, and didn't have an inch to spare in length!  Phew!  BUT, it was a wide cut, so I had enough to do a pillow!  Maybe two! :)

So funny thing is, we got home from Iowa at midnight after being gone ten days.  The next morning I didn't unpack, I didn't go get groceries, I didn't start laundry.... no. I quick recovered the bench! First things first! Haha.

Now how 'bout that "HOME" sign on the wall above it?

One day my crazy creative friend Marie texts me and says she saw this idea and Pinterest and to put the coffee on cuz she comin' over to craft!

First, she tells me, we gotta go out and gather some sticks.  Then we head out to my shop where I got loads of salvaged wood.  Then bring it all back in the house and get to creating.  I also have a plethora of rusty old tools and junk, so I lug some of that up to the table.

Check out our finished products!  So cute, eh?  And didn't cost ANYTHING.

Oh, and guess how we held those twigs on?  Ryobi nail gun.  Yeah, that's right.  

Had to be careful not to split the wood, but shoot.  It's not like it's hard to get another twig if you murder one.   That Ryobi I tell ya... can't live without my battery powered tools.

Okay, and now I gotta tell you about my arrow pillow cuz I recovered an old pillow with some white fabric I had in my hoarded fabric stash and then used a stencil and a black sharpie to get my design.  YES!  I've always wanted to do something other than label freezer baggies with a sharpie.

Pin this idea for later!! :)

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Stenciled Typography Pillows

I've been wanting to do some pillows with words on them for awhile, but now that I've got these super long window seats that I want to just fill up with comfy pillows and texture... well it was time to do just that.  I dug in my fabric stash - yes every good DIYer should have a fabric stash - and found some off white linen-like material.  I  had a big ugly square pillow that I cut the fabric to cover and then I made a big mistake and thought I would make my second one by stuffing it with batting.  UGH HELLO BUMPY FRUMPY PILLOW!  I totally messed that thing up.  Oh well, I try to tell ya'll that I'm not always good at what I do - ha! :)

So for the paint, I just used some homemade dark gray chalk paint I had on hand (paint with Plaster of Paris dissolved in hot water stirred into it).  I didn't even bother with a fabric medium.  I have also learned I ain't as good at eye-balling as I like to think I am and so I use a strip of tape to keep my words straight.

I love my "Happy Place" pillow - cuz this sunny room is exactly that - my happy place!!!

And then - ummm errrrr - there is the "Gather" pillow.  It's kind of embarrassing.  But hey.  We all have some bumps and frumps in our life.  So I'm keeping it on display.  Life isn't all roses, and pillows can't all be smooth and perfect. :)

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Savvy Southern

A Feed Sack From The Parma Mill

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It all started here.... 

on a simple trip a mile up the road to pick up some oyster shells for my girls.

"Hey, Calvin, you wouldn't happen to have any feed sacks laying around, would you?" Before we moved to 'The Mansion', I used to live walking distance from 83 year old Calvin.  The kids and I would walk down our quiet country road to their old farm and Elsie, Calvin's sweet wife, would chat an ear off us, and the kids would usually end up getting a fresh egg or two from under a hen.  Pretty much everyone within a ten mile radius is related to Calvin but me.  I'm an outsider from Iowa, but have been living in the area for thirteen years. 

 "You mean like the burlap kind?  Fabric?  What exactly do you want?"  "Yes!  All of the above!"  

"Well let me dig around in here...  What on earth would you ever want with one?  Here, it's really dirty, but it's all yours! It's got a farmer's initials on the back, so if he comes after you for stealing his feed bag, just know you're in trouble!"   To which I reply, "is he still alive?!" Calvin chuckles "probably not!".  So if anyone knows a farmer in the Parma area with the initials" MV", don't tell him that I repurposed a few of his feed sacks. :)

I wasn't sure I was even going to be able to use them, they were so dirty and stained.  I soaked them overnight in my big laundry sink with bleach and Tide laundry detergent.  When I wrung them out, the water was dark brown.  Then I washed them in the washing machine and hung them out to dry in the warm sun.  No, not all of the stains came out... but the part I wanted to use was not too bad!

Another sweet lady in Parma asked me just a few days after I acquired my feed sacks if I'd like to come look through some stuff she was looking to get rid of.  Told me it wouldn't hurt her feelings a bit if I didn't want her junk.  Oh, but I DID want her "junk" (which really wasn't junk at all)!!  One of the things she thanked me for taking off her hands was this cute little foot stool.

I unscrewed the legs, and centered it over the "Property of General Mills", with the grain sack stripe going along the edge.  My mother really got the sniffles over the fact that I covered up that beautiful needlework on the original upholstery, but at least it is still there!  If I ever want it back, it's as simple as popping off a few staples!

No, I could not totally get rid of all the stains on the bag, but it adds to it's authentic character. :)

With the other side of the bag, I recovered an old pillow I had.  Not being a seamstress of any sort, I'm pretty proud of how this turned out. :)

ANNNNND..... I'm extremely excited about this chair (and the identical one next to it that I'm purposefully not showing yet).  The same woman who gave me the stool, asked me if I'd be interested in taking a pair of Queen Ann style chairs off her hands.  Told me that her kids did not want them and told her nobody else would either!!!  WRONG!  They are exactly what I've been hunting for in every thrift store in Jackson County!!!!!  Can chairs from Mrs. Larson be an answer to prayers?  Not sure, but I kind of think so. :)

I feel like my "library on the landing" has finally come together now that I have matching chairs.  But guess what, I"m not showing it all to you yet... I need to make another feed sack pillow to match it's partner!

Thanks, my friends in Parma!  You make me smile. :)

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Gimme Jute and Hot Glue!

I love jute.  Growing up, we called it twine.  Or rope. 

Now that I'm a blogger, I guess I gotta be a cool cat and call it jute.

One day I was in Saint Vincent De Paul and I see this humongo bag of extra thick jute.

Exciting!  I brought the whole bag home and have used tons of it with still no end in sight!!

I hot glued it around a lamp shade....

hot glued it around this ugly gold basket....

 and even around a pillow!

Along with many other things, I adore using it as a heart on signs:

Home Stories A to Z

Belted Jute Pillow {Wordless Wednesday}

My Repurposed Life