Friday, January 31, 2014

Hand embroidered cushion designs...





Just added to my Etsy shop are these hand-embroidered cushion designs that I've been working on for a couple of weeks now in between other bigger projects. The front one is my favourite with the two "lovebird" centred flowers plus I love the colour combination of aqua blue and grey. It looks quite at home on this chair too ;-)

 I've had a bundle of Kaffe Fassett prints in my stash for a while now waiting patiently for that perfect project to use them in.  Each print is so unique, colourful and bold, that I decided to just add some simple hand-quilting in a variety of colours using some Perle cotton threads to compliment the colours in the prints.

A simple wave pattern was added to this bold tropical flower print which I think is enough to add texture but not too much to take your eye away from the print. While the hand-quilting does take a little more time and effort it does give me something to do at nights while watching TV :-)

Each cushion has a handmade button and loop enclosure on the back using some of the featured print from the cushion fronts.
These cushions are now available for sale here in my Etsy shop

Sunday, January 19, 2014

A not so small finish....

 Finished up this chair just this afternoon, phew! It was quite a bit of work and time to get it from it's 'nannerish' state to this fresh, bold and beautiful look. I eventually chose 3 quite different fabrics that I think compliment each other well.
 The piping is made up from the fabric used on the base and I love the way it adds a nice contrast to the 2 floral patterned fabrics.

 Yes, that lattice cane work on the back and sides took a good 2 or 3 hours to paint....and a little bit of patience helped...


 And yes those cushions are reversible ;-)

I am very thankful once again to my very generous and patient neighbour who is a professional upholsterer but lets me work beside him in his workshop showing and helping me each step of the way. 

 
Just like on my first re-upholstered chair makeover I learnt a lot of 'new to me' techniques and I'm very grateful to my neighbour for being so giving of his time and knowledge. I have this chairs "twin" to do next so I'm hoping I can remember everything I learnt! As much as I'd like to keep it for myself this chair is for sale. I haven't quite settled on a price yet but if anyone's interested in having this chair brightening up a corner in your home let me know either in the comments or via my facebook page.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

A custom ordered Union Jack....

 I've been working on painting this Union Jack design for the past couple of days. It's for a good friend that lives just a few houses away who has a tiny obsession with all things British :-)
It's painted on a drawer that is no longer needed as a drawer so it has become the perfect canvas for another Union Jack to grace her beautiful home. 

I learnt a few good little techniques when I painted my first Union Jack design on Caitlin's desk. The most helpful thing I learnt was to use proper painters tape instead of masking tape to ensure nice clean lines with no bleeding which means I had very minimal touch-up painting to do. I find this sort project so satisfying to work on especially at the end when I get to reveal the white lines under the masking tape. Hope my client is pleased with my efforts :-)

Strange but true...

About a month ago I noticed this rose growing up from behind our TV. I was in mid-conversation with my neighbour and happened to glance over in the direction of our TV and took a double take when I noticed it peeking out from behind the TV. This rose is planted next to some stairs that go up to our deck and this particular branch somehow has found a small hole in the floor of our lounge that has been made for cables to go through. 

I find it a little creepy but quite cool at the same time. My daughters just find it creepy but I refused to chop it off until after it had flowered. It's days are now numbered :-)

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Stripped back and bare....

The next chair to be resurrected from "nannerish ugly" to fresh, bold and beautiful :-)
 The dusky pink fabric and smelly wadding and foam is gone, and after a few hours of sanding so has that  dark stain. Yes it took a bit of elbow grease and sweat to get rid of that dark stain but now its finally ready for a fresh coat of paint. 
These fabrics arrived right on Christmas eve so it felt like an early Christmas present for me. Purchased here at Hawthorne Threads which I can thoroughly recommend. The next step is to decide on the right fabric combination and a coordinating paint colour. Decisions, decisions.... any input would be greatly welcomed :-)
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