Setback City

I had fun in our backyard last weekend:

Subtract the plywood and sheet on the ground and you'd think I was rocking a vintage photo shoot.  :)  What I was really doing though was getting my white spray paint on.  Three thin and even coats and our beloved loveseat was ready to come back in.  In she came and at her we stared.  Something was wrong...dare I even say it...she was too white.  Never did I ever think I'd be one to say that but Anthony pointed it out and after trying to convince myself that it was okay, I finally agreed.  We wanted it white, but not stark white...blindingly white...and it's just not all white (that's for you Lauren).  But we didn't want it off-white or ivory either.  Oh the dilemmas of being a DIYer...

So, off to Wal-Mart I went to find a "creamy white".  I had already convinced myself that they only made white and ivory and I was going to end up having to hand paint the loveseat with some custom color when I found it!  Dove White for plastic...metal, wood, wicker, and more!  If you can tell the difference on a computer screen (they lie about color...keep reading), here's the original, stark white on the right and the new, dove white on the left:

So, from setback to happy ending, we're good in the paint department.  Now for our next setback...fabric.  I ordered fabric last week and it arrived this week.  You can see what I ordered by clicking here. I couldn't decide what I wanted so I ordered seven yards each of Crawford and Chuck (haha...that sounds funny) and a swatch of Bass.  It's free shipping here and back so I had nothing to lose.  :)  So, they arrived, I ripped open the box, and...wop, wop...they were too light (and to add to my disappointment, they sent me the wrong swatch).

The description on fabric.com said "natural" and the color on my screen looked like a taupe color but, like I learned, never trust your computer screen to give you an accurate color.

You can see just how light the fabric is in this picture:

Even though I love the pattern of the cut on the left, I can't use something this light.  I don't think the loveseat will ever be able to stand another reupholstering since it's been through several so I need the fabric I put on it to last through kids and grandkids...a.k.a. able to hide whatever life throws it's way without looking dingy after 10 years.  Is that an unreasonable request?  I hope not.

So anyway, those are our two loveseat setbacks...one happily solved and the other still lurking.  I'll let you know how it pans out.  For now, that's not all I've got for you on this beautiful Saturday.  Check back later today for another post about an "in progress" project we started last weekend.  :)

All White Then

 One tedious, get-in-all-the-cracks-curves-and-crevices coat...

and a second layer of the same, painstaking, priming labor...

gets us this beauty:

Isn't it just so fresh and lovely?!  After tomorrow, it'll be even more so as I take on the task of spray painting the actual top coat of white paint on.  :)

The best part is that none of the cracks are noticeable anymore!  They totally blend in and either disappear or just add a little teeny tiny character.  For example, remember this scary one?



Well, we reattached it by putting lots of Liquid Nails into the dowel holes and reinserting the dowels.  After that, we were left with some pretty large cracks still but after filling them in with wood filler (not to be confused, like I initially was, with wood putty, which doesn't dry to a hard finish),

 

allowing the filler to dry completely, sanding it down to a smooth finish, and priming over it, we got this:

Does the "Oh, oh it's magic, ya kno-o-ow" song pop into anyone's head like it does mine upon seeing the result?  Yes...no?  Well, all white then.  :)

Half 'N Half

Sorry to be a late poster...I try to post Saturday mornings but this Saturday got away from me.  :)  But, I do have loveseat progress to show you and it's worth the late wait!

Here's what I started with yesterday morning:

And here's what she looked like last night:

Yep!  I broke out the PRIMER!  Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel is visible!  I'm waiting on some wood filler to dry and then be sanded to a smooth finish before I prime the upper part of the loveseat so I only primed the bottom half but by the end of this week we should have an entirely white frame! 

I used oil-based primer to keep any stains from seeping through and also painted on two coats for more protection and, since I'm going to use spray paint as a top coat, to get a better, more even coat.  Plus, I'll use less spray paint over two layers of primer than I would with just one.  Like so...    

This is after one layer of primer:

And this is after a second layer:

Also, because of the intricate details in the wood, I used a little craft paint brush to prime.  

I didn't want any dripping that might've occurred had I used a larger paint brush.  It took a little more time but it was worth it for the smooth, even coverage. 

So, that's all I have time for today.  Last week I had a blast at a craft party with friends involving lots of fabric, scissors, crayons, and a hair dryer and I'll be sure to write about that hopefully sometime this week so check back!  Of course I'll be back next Saturday again for sure to document more loveseat progress.  :)

Have a great weekend!   

Calling In Reinforements

We're a few steps closer to having a cute, little, antique loveseat adorning our living room space!  Mind you, they're little steps that only took about 30 minutes to complete but it's progress.  Here's where we started:

As mentioned in a recent post, we decided to attached some burlap straps to the back of the loveseat for extra reinforcement.  It's probably not necessary since the loveseat's already pretty sturdy, especially since we brought in some Liquid Nails and added some strategically placed staples (which I'll get to in a minute), but it adds more peace to our minds.  So, back to the burlap straps, all we did was measure out three lengths of burlap strapping and attached each piece with staples to the back of the loveseat.

The bottom strap was the most important since it went all the way from the front of one arm rest to the other.

I know the middle strap looks a little wonky but it had to be that way...we realized that the straps wouldn't lay perfectly straight across because the back of the loveseat is so curved.  So to keep the middle strap flush with that curvature (?) and keep it tight, we had to raise it in the middle.  So, wa-lah, that's that, easy peasy.  Onto the tougher, more dirty...or should I say sticky...work that went on. 

If you read this post a few weeks ago, you know we had some unsightly cracks going on throughout the loveseat.  Well, after squeezing about half a tube of Liquid Nails into each crack and putting in some staples for extra hold, we're ready to move ahead!  Here's what I'm talking about (granted, it looks a little messy, but after we get wood filler in, sand it a teensy bit, and get paint on, you won't even notice):

  (Sorry the picture's a little blurry.)

While the glue was drying, I finally got to put my fabric ideas in motion and went out to a couple of good fabric stores around here to search for "the one".  I came home with two swatches and a little bit of frustration, but that's okay because I know that patience is needed when a budget is being followed and I will find fabric eventually.  :)  Here are the two swatches I came home with anyway:

A plain, taupe, upholstery fabric that cost just under $10 a yard and...

a fun, geometric, upholstery fabric that I love (cue the wop-wop), but that's $30 a yard!  :(  It's a no-can-do but I had to grab a swatch anyway so I could dream about it...and look for it online for cheaper...much, much cheaper.  I've already prepared myself for the fact that I probably won't find it but I'm thinking that it might make for a good ottoman fabric when we get around to building one for our sectional and by then, the (possible) decreased price paired with the fact that an ottoman doesn't take much fabric might just work.  :)  

So, with all of that said, I'm planning on breaking out the wood filler this week and quite possibly primer!  I can't believe we've come this far...even thought it's taken so long!  If you've missed any parts of this ludicrous project, you can read about them in order here, here, here, here, and here.

Now, before I sign off for the day, I can't help but clue you in to our next project...that's right, our next project.  They're always coming one-after-another in this house.  :)  Here's your clue:

Any guesses as to what we might be working on next?  It's going to involve a little sewing, lots of painting, a little bit of stenciling, and possibly, some metal...  It won't begin until after the loveseat's finished of course but it's going to be a good one!  Stay tuned!   

Lights Out

Busy week = zero loveseat progress.  But, we are going to work on it today so hopefully, we'll have an update next week.

We do want to share with you our headlight switcheroo though.  Two years ago we bought a Toyota Corolla - most reliable, never-needs-to-be-fixed, best gas mileage car we've ever owned.  It's a cute little silver thing but it's headlights were really foggy.  I'm not sure how that happens and I'm not sure if it's just a southern thing or what (humidity the culprit maybe?) but they've bothered me from the start (me = perfectionist).  I've seen ads from car dealerships and shops saying that they can be cleaned and 'cleared' but it costs $70 and, well, we're just too cheap.  Plus, we've been told (thanks dad!) that it doesn't really work.  Well, a few weeks ago we got a sweet little, actually, rather big present from Anthony's parents in the mail - new headlights!  Let me tell you, I didn't even know you could just order new headlights like that!  I guess it makes sense that car parts can be purchased by the piece but I've just never thought about it.  So anyway, one hot summer day a few weeks ago, we ripped the two boxes open and Anthony went all auto mechanic on me (he never ceases to amaze me).  :)

Here's a quick before picture I shot of our foggy beams while he was working:

         I wish we could write a detailed post about "How to Switch Out Your Own Headlights", but we didn't take any pictures of the process and Anthony's till too busy with grad school homework to blog.  Maybe next time, next car.  :)

Here's a headlight close up:

Just for kicks, here's a picture of a single, un-installed car headlight.  Who knew this is what they really looked like outside of a car?  Not I.

The new headlights came with new bulbs but we took the old bulbs out of the old foggy lights and saved them since we had just replaced them about six months ago.  No need to throw out something that works that can be reused in the future, right?  More money in our pockets.  :)

Last, here's the new bulbs which actually make our car look brand new:

Sorry about the glare on the left one...they're just so darn shiny and nice, I couldn't get away from it!  The great thing is, our lights shine brighter at night which means we've scored in the safety category.  :)  Yay for new headlights!

.           .          .

Before I have to go to get ready for a semi-busy Saturday, I want to share what we did last week with you in pictures.  We took a bunch of teens from our Life Teen youth group up to Atlanta for a Steubenville Youth Conference, which was amazing, but then we took them camping and whitewater rafting.  It was the first time in my life I had ever been on a raging river in a blow-up raft, clinging on to an oar and the side of the raft for my life.  Terrifying!  The worst part was that I was in front.  Out of the six people (plus the guide who sat in back) on our raft, two of us were first-timers and both of us got stuck in front because, of course, no one wants to sit in front.  It's crazy scary in front and there's really nothing to hang on to or anywhere to dig your feet into so the chances of flying out into a hydraulic (I'll spare you the terrifying details of what those are) or the crazy, swirling, rocky waters are significantly higher.  I was scared...like "Shoot, I should've called everyone in my family and told them good-bye" scared.  Anthony, on the other hand, was giddy with excitement (I might mention that he was in the back of the raft...) and thrilled.  Well, as you see/read, I lived to tell about it and actually didn't fall out once.  The company we rafted with actually takes pictures, like the kind amusement parks take at terrifying points in their rides so you can actually get a glimpse of yourself during the part of the ride where your entire life flashes before your eyes.  Then of course, once it's over you can laugh at yourself in embarrassment along with everyone else who was with you at the time.  So anyway, I'm giving you this opportunity to laugh with Anthony and I.  To see pictures of me on my first (and last) whitewater rafting excursion, click here.  To see Anthony's ride, click here.  I hope that makes everyone's Saturday a little more joyful.  Yes, I'm saying you can laugh at us (particularly me, the pansy) and I won't be hurt but only happy that it makes you happy.  :)

Have a great weekend y'all!