Author Archives: Admin

I recovered another office chair!

Date: October 17, 2011
Author: Admin
Categories: decorating, fabric, furniture, reupholstery, thrifty

You may remember my post about recovering my husband’s ugly office chair!

It went from really ugly…..to nice…but sort of boring….that’s because I actually listened to what he wanted….”nothing too fancy or wild”….go figure!
The post has the full tutorial if you are interested.

Now… on to MY sewing chair that looked like this!

If you have been reading this blog you know that I am not afraid of “fancy or wild”!
So off to the fabric store….and see the great fabric I found!
I bought 1 yard for $7 and I was ready to turn ugly into NICE!

I looked at the chair and realized that I wouldn’t even have to take it apart.

The construction of the chair is such that all I needed to do was get my trusty screwdriver out and push the fabric in around the frame!

Seriously….that is all there was to it…..stretch, push, stretch, trim push some more!

Smooth out the wrinkles….stretch, push and tuck…a trained monkey could probably do this!
And I have always wanted a trained monkey! (not really, but they ARE cute)
 

 45 minutes later…..I have a pretty NICE looking chair!

I’m no monkey…..but hey….I think it turned out pretty well!

Now this fabric isn’t really “fancy OR wild”…..but it was soooo simple and quick…..I will keep an eye open for something better and redo it again in a year or so!

 I find myself looking at every office chair I see….and wondering about how they could be redone!
Take a look at your own and let me know if you get the inspiration!
Maybe you can even find a trained monkey to do it for you!

Linky Parties

Knock Off Halloween Books

Date: October 15, 2011
Author: Admin
Categories: decorating, Halloween, knock-off, thrifty

I love this wonderful decorative set of Halloween Books that my daughter gave me last year.

They came from “The Shop Around the Corner” that I told you about from our Weekend Wander in Waconia!

They are still available to buy this year…..

I have mine on the hall entry table with my new Owl….cute!

I loved the idea of the this so much that I wanted some for my school Halloween display….and of course I didn’t want to spend the money to buy the “real” thing….

I did a knock-off version for $7 instead of the $25 for the originals.

Since this was BB (before blog), I can’t do an actual tutorial with photos…..
but this is what I did!

You can buy these paper mache books in a set of 3 from Michael’s for 6.99

  • I painted the outside with flat black craft paint.
  • I painted the book page area with metallic gold paint.
  • I printed out the cover and spine images on my computer
  • I used Modge Podge to attach the printed titles and cover to the books

And here is the finished result! 
I left them loose….instead of gluing them together….so I can stack them every which way!

They sit on the table with all of the Halloween books for kids to check out…..I even had a kid try to check one of them out…..He was so disappointed when he found out they weren’t real!

This morning I was looking in the craft cupboard for something and came upon these photo albums that I bought at Goodwill…..hmmmm
I am thinking I should distress these….add some Halloween themed titles and have another set….
Wish me luck!

You might also be interested in the post I did about Halloween Books for Kids!

Linking to these parties:
My World Made by Hand
 You are Talking Too Much
The Power of Paint
Sew Woodsy
http://sewwoodsy.com/2011/10/1327.html
A Vision to Remember
I Am Along for the Ride 
Lovely Crafty Home 
Tater Tots and Jello 
Cherished Treasures 
Homemaker in Heels
Nifty Thrifty Things
Addicted 2 Decorating 
Candace Creations 
Sunday’s Best 
Debbiedoo’s Newbie Party 
Making the World Cuter 
The Girl Creative 
Amaze Me Monday 
Three Little Singing Birds 
Between Naps on the Porch 
Making Monday Marvelous 
Polish the Stars 
Sisters of the Wild West 
My Girlish Whims 
Creations by Kara 
GingerSnap Crafts 
Sweet Peas and Bumblebees 
Type A Decorating 
Whatcha Work Up Wednesday 
Fireflies and Jellybeans 
House of the Hepworths 
A Glimpse Inside 
Christina’s Adventures 
Momnivore’s Dilemma Halloween
Katherine’s Corner 
Sumo’s Sweet Stuff 
Made by Me

Trick for Making Pumpkins Last!

Date: October 12, 2011
Author: Admin
Categories: decorating, Halloween, tips

This is going to have to be a really short post.
My week is absolutely crazy….
2 nights at school for conferences…
1 night at school for a fun author visit….
1 night for a theater outing to see “Much Ado About Nothing”
Don’t you feel sorry for me?  NOT!

Anyway….I thought I would share a quick tip for keeping your “real” pumpkins and gourds from spoiling!
I love to buy those little gourds that look like pumpkins….they are great at Halloween….and make great additions to Thanksgiving vignettes too.
Here is the simple solution for making them last!

No….I don’t “bob for pumpkins” in my sink!

I use Chlorine Bleach to make sure there is no dirt or other junk that will make them rot!

If you wash them well before putting them on display they will last indefinitely….

Here is a picture of the big white “pumpkin” I got from my Sister-in-law this weekend….
I washed it well…and now it is the centerpiece on the table in the library at school surrounded by all those Halloween Books I love!…..at least until the kids check them all out!

This only works if you keep them indoors and they don’t freeze…

Try it and enjoy!

Check Out these related posts!

Create Your Own….Water Color Art with a fun iPad app!
http://sweetwaterstyle.blogspot.com/2014/09/fall-photo-art-project.html

Make Your own print for a custom pillow using your computer and fabric!
http://sweetwaterstyle.blogspot.com/2011/09/computer-print-on-fabric-for-pillow.html

If you have a moment take time to visit these Link Parties:

Link Parties
Share It One More Time

Girls Weekend Wander in Waconia!

Date: October 11, 2011
Author: Admin
Categories: art, decorating, friends, gathering, shopping

Saturday was a beautiful Fall day in Minnesota!
The sun was bright….
The temperature hit 80 degrees….

Mom is less than a month away from leaving us to travel to her Winter home in Florida!

What better than to gather all the girls for a fun day of shopping and lunch in the beautiful lakeside town of Waconia!

There are lots of fun little shops to explore….and a great lunch destination on the lake!
Check out all that this little gem of a town has to offer:  Destination Waconia!
Come along and share the day with me!

Our day started with shopping of course!
We browsed all of the cute stuff at The Shop Around the Corner

 This darling little shop finally got me in the mood for Halloween!

It is filled to the brim with great little crafted items….

Like:

  These little burlap notebooks…..

And what princess can live without hooks in the shape of crowns?

 I actually splurged and bought myself this cute Halloween owl….

 Then scrounged around the yard and found the perfect branch for him to perch on…..
I stuck the branch in a vase as the focal point in front of the entry way mirror….
You get the effect even if the lighting is hard to photograph….but it looks awesome!

 Here are some more photos from the shop….what a fun collection of goodies to browse through!

 They also had a table set up for us to make little necklaces from Dominoes! 

Then off to and The Wild Bird Store…a wonderful collection of more goodies….all in a fun casual atmosphere…..

We had plans to go to The Stash and The Apple Orchard…..but alas…..we got too hungry and headed off to Lola’s Lakehouse for lunch instead….
I guess we will have to get together again soon to do the rest of the shopping!

For more flavor of Waconia….check out the website of Brian Jensen,  a local artist who paints the most charming views of Waconia…reasonably priced prints and cards are available from his website: http://www.brianjensen.com

http://www.brianjensen.com

http://www.brianjensen.com

 Here is a set of notecards by Brian that I matted and framed….
One for me…
and one for Mom to have hanging in her winter home so she can have “Waconia” in Florida!

Framing notecards is a great way to cheaply display fun prints!

What a wonderful day we all had…memories like this truly are PRICELESS!

Link Parties:

Seasonal Sunday

Happy Week-end!

Date: October 8, 2011
Author: Admin
Categories: Uncategorized

Ahh…Fall in Minnesota!

My husband is on an airplane coming home from Asia after 12 days away….hurrah!
I am getting ready to spend a fun Saturday with my mom, aunt, daughter, nieces and cousins “haunting” the little shops in Waconia!
The flowers are still blooming awaiting the first hard freeze!
Life is good!

I finally got around to redoing the window boxes for fall….
In true Sweetwater style….I refused to spend any money…
You know….Use what ya got!

After cutting down the summer stuff…I watered the soil in them really well so it would be easy to work with.
Then I put a few small logs on top of the dirt to make a base….
Wandered around the yard to find:
Leaves, Sedum heads, grasses, and other fall looking stuff…
Stuck it all in like I was arranging flowers…..added a few fake leaves….

And here they are!
I think I will drive down a few country roads on my way to Waconia today to find a few more dried weeds to stick in for more fullness….but all in all….not too bad!
Hope you have a wonderful relaxing weekend!