Tuesday, May 24, 2011

I needed a fix

Hubs was out doing a show for work and left me here in this little apartment for over a week.  Since I haven't found a new job yet, we're still on money lock-down.  That means retail therapy for entertainment was out of the question, as was a daily fountain diet coke.  (I did sneak in a couple over the course of the week that I paid for with pocket change to ease the guilt)

Before Hubs left, I already had a rack of ribs thawing in the fridge, so I fixed those for lunch one day and ate on them through supper.


I've recently learned I have an addiction.... to DIY projects.  And when Hubs was outta town I realized just how badly I needed a fix.  Imagine my delight when I was digging around in a box of still-packed up cleaning supplies and found these babies... two brand new cans of white spray paint.


Clearly, these were the answers to my prayers and I had to paint something, but what could become my victim project?


Our table!  In all fairness, this isn't our "real' kitchen table, it's an old desk table that may or may not have come from a previous employer when the department was moving to a new building.  It was in my office in our old house and was eventually banished to the basement.  (But, because it was in the basement, it was one of the last things to be packed and when we needed just some sort of flat space in the apartment kitchen, it was the easy answer.)



Then, after having one coat of paint on the table, I got to looking at our furniture -- our tired, dog-hair covered furniture. I ripped it all apart (like I took the cushions off the couch, not like tearing fabric or anything drastic) and cleaned it.  I stared at the ottoman, with it's dog drool stained spots (I promise, they're just drool, nothing else!) and decided to slip cover it.  I had a large painter's drop cloth that I had covering the ottoman and couch and decided it needed a more tailored look.  

You'll notice my "helpers" were never far away.  No surprise on how the furniture got covered in dog hair!
After another coat of paint on the table and slipcovering the ottoman, I laid out the extra slipcover fabric and decided to slip cover the couch too.  Looking back, I'm wondering if the paint fumes had taken over my decision making abilities!


But I came up a little bit short of fabric and disassembled a slip that I made for our bench to rob some of the fabric off it to finish the couch...


And then I redid the now-shorter bench slip cover. I'm gonna add some ruffles to the bottom of it, just about 4-6 inches worth to make it a little bit more flashy and then I'd like to paint the legs white.  But that'll have to wait until Hubs leaves town again.  (The whole project (slipcovering and the table) took me about three days.)


FYI - If you are ever going to attempt to cut anything in a straight line (fabric, paper, etc) you must invest in these tools -- a healing cutter mat, a roller cutter thingy and a clear ruler thingamajig.  They will make your life so much easier!  Mine are Olfa brand and I LOVE THEM!  (the mat has to be stored flat, but fits right under the couch.... brilliant idea of my mother's!)


Oh yeah, and I eventually finished the table, too!

Here's hoping I get a job soon... I'm running out of furniture to cover and tables to paint!

2 comments:

  1. Come on over to my house. I have enough projects to make you reach Nirvana or some similar inspiring place! ;-) Great job working with what you have!

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  2. Well I'm glad you found something to keep you busy and I don't think the paint fumes are getting to your head. :-) Good luck with the job hunt!

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