A Failed Attempt

Unlike DIY blogs that make every project appear perfectly effortless, I'm chronicling it all.

My office upgrade takes second to writing and the holidays shoved it down even further, but to be honest, I'm intimidated to sew a chair cover. Without a pattern. For the first time in my life. After sewing only straight seams for curtains.

Because that's me. I took painting courses before drawing. Yes, bass-ackwards supposedly works for me.

The Fabric

Case in point: last fall, I decided to test my skills on a far more simple project than my office reading chair--an elastic trimmed cover for my oval glass coffee table. The pattern concept a basic shower cap fit. 

My mother came over to give moral support and guidance (she of the famed "I-sewed-dining-room-chair-covers-the-day-of-a-party-while-massively-pregnant-with-you"). First, without a plan or pattern, we cut the oval too small. Then my mother left because watching me pin and re-pin was uber boring. It took a total seven rounds of pin-play (and ripping out stitches) to get the fit just right. 

The cover was smooth and taut, barely gripping the edges, but it worked. I noted the age-old wisdom of making a sample with plain, thin material and vowed to do that for the chair.

Sadly, I have no picture of the table cover to share because someone forgot to pre-wash her material. After a party that included a vodka shot penalty for missed movie quotes*, the table cover needed to be washed and never again will it stretch across.

But at least I have a sample and experience for next time!








* 1 person per team took the shots because they weren't driving, and the penalties were maxed out at a certain count. Otherwise, some people would be in a coma. After my first shot, I think I yelled out, "Taxi Driver" for anything obviously not romantic.

A File Cabinet's Journey

This summer I started my office renovation with a lamp. However, in September I sewed what I call a "shower-cap" table cover for the oval glass coffee table in living room. In October I got back on track with my next office project: the file cabinet.

I'm not interested in matchy-matchy rooms purchased straight out of a catalog. I want pieces with history and personal meaning, and then I want to blend them. When you gather hodge-podge cast-offs it's hard to make a cohesive brand. But not impossible. 

Here's the file cabinet in its original state. It's pine and has moved six times, waiting eight years to be given personality. I emptied it (wow) and left behind a huge mess in my office so it could take over our garage for an entire weekend.

I removed the knobs and sanded away scuff marks, years of hand oil, and furniture polish. Next I cleaned with mineral spirits to remove wood dust. 

I couldn't stain until the mineral spirits evaporated so I helped my husband haul branches of a dead tree he cut down to the back yard. Much better than watching wood dry.

link

Once ready, I applied an oil-based stain (not a combo/all-in-one) with a cloth. I chose a dark walnut stain. For pine. Because I have no idea what I'm doing but I wanted a dark finish. 

My husband warned me that pine would yellow the stain and of course, staining pine is a...  umm, not fun. Fortunately, this piece was made from quality pine and I didn't mind the "flaws" of the natural oils drawn to the surface by the stain.

I applied an early coat by rubbing the stain into the wood. My husband let me know I needed to apply a heavy coat and then wipe away with a clean, dry cloth. I changed my technique and saw a difference.

That was Saturday. (BTW, mineral spirits is great for taking stain off of you -- we went to a nice dinner that night with my mother and sister and I didn't have to scrape off skin in the shower.)

Sunday, my wonderful husband applied the poly. This was an all day event, requiring ninety minutes between coats and sides -- two coats per side, applied to each side horizontally. After the first coat, the wood roughened up (normal) but two coats was plenty. I chose a matte finish because I don't typically like shiny (lamp is exception). The matte helped to hide fibers and brush strokes.

Once the final coat of poly passed the tacky test on the drawers, we cut the screws for the new knobs and put them in place. 

I danced around clapping over the final affect.



The fact that the file cabinet matches my desk is a total fluke. 100% accident. However, I'll make my small console table from pine and use the same Dark Walnut stain to complete the wood pieces in my office.

Office before starting make-over

Office currently

Lighting My Way

So I finished the lamp. (Cue fireworks.) 

A lamp seems like a little thing but it was almost too much for me. 

I've been writing about my fears (debt), my reality (being a step-mom), and my hopes (the daily triumphs I'm achieving as an AUTHOR--let's say that again--as an AUTHOR). Everything in my life is about making this dream come true. Yet, my projects share a similar issue--a dream that keeps on being a dream. 

Now that Strong Enough is out there and I've accepted this author thang (I AM AN AUTHOR--I have to insert that regularly), dreams equal reality.

Welcome to the first completed project in my Office Renovation: a wee little lampy.

I posted here my expectations as well as a few trials and tribulations from the very beginning. This was not a weekend project. Not for me. But it was a creative escape that nurtured my inner artist and fostered new energy.

Starting with an object I loved but wasn't working in my writer space was key. After a false start, I began again with primer. I rock at primer.

Loving the white, I went with a white gloss and then met my Waterloo: DRIPS. 

I proceeded to have a meltdown:   

Read Post

Once I sanded off most of the drips and reapplied white gloss, I placed the lamp on my desk and put off doing the lamp shade. 

• Fact, I was busy writing. 
• Fact, I was scared to death of the lamp shade.

The original shade was red and awful. Just awful. My first solution was to find a pure drum at a flea market or garage sale (in Ellen parlance, pure drum means the top and bottom rings are the same size). 

I don't have the patience for this strategy. I bought a lamp for $2 at the very first flea market, my husband and I both sick of looking at stuff. It had the correct attachment (harp), but was red and not a pure drum. Not even close. SCORE! Because the top ring was a good size, I reasoned I could buy another ring the same circumfrance, a little styrene, and I'd make my own damn shade.

And then I waited for the lamp fairies to come and finish my project.

Strangely, that plan didn't work so I bought a self-adhesive lamp shade designed to use the fabric of your choice. It comes with a pattern and a sticky surface you roll your fabric around. Presto! Instant shade!

The shape I found wasn't a pure drum but there's only 1" difference so it's hard for the naked eye to see. Good enough for me! I cut my fabric with the pattern and began the next phase of my vision: painting with typeset letters.

Very first stamp painting

I already had the typeset pieces--I bought them years ago. After carefully painting each letter, I stamped out i:Novelist! over and over and over. And over and over and over and over.

After a few sets, I wrapped the fabric around the shade and looked for holes.Then I stamped some more. And more and more and more.

Once I was satisfied, my husband helped me roll the fabric onto the shade. It was super easy. THANK DOOCE! 

I used scissors to trim the burlap as close to the edge of the lamp as possible because folding it over the top was never going to work. I bought some bias tape, fabric tape, and voila! 

The transformation is as fantastic as I hoped and already my office feels refreshed. 

I looked around the room and wondered, what will be my next project? The chair? Building a console table? 

No. 

I have a ton to do this month on my new novella. 

This month I'll stain my filing cabinet. Ooooo - scary. I admit, it's the easiest of my tasks but before I can start, I must empty it. And that means purging. That's enough to make me cry again.

Here are the final results, the requisite before and after pics:

Before

After

And for a little treat--the yellow teapot at the top of the rainbow version is now a secret extra:

WTH - It's August?!

Most of the weekend I wrestled with a lamp. Whose bright idea was it for me to revamp my author space by being crafty? Don't answer. Crafts and I go together like kindergartners and paste--all enthusiasm and sticky surfaces. However, I'm determined to push through. Like with anything else hard, the main thing that holds us back is fear. I will persevere because I want to so badly.

For several years, I wrestled with writing just as I did with the lamp. Once again, I knew what I wanted but not how to do it. There are all kinds of blogs, tips, and books about how best to accomplish my task but capturing my vision was solely up to me. That meant spray painting three times too many. That meant flopping on the bed in my husband's office and declaring that, "I SUCK" because there are DRIPS. Stoopid writer held the spray can too close in order to cover the botched antiquing. NOOB!

My husband was a little fed-up with my drama so I pouted. My frustration was real even if he thought my project looked good because I wasn't achieving my vision. I wanted that moment of squeal when it's just right.

While I clearly still struggle with crafts, I enjoyed finishing a draft of my next book, The Anonymous Blog of Mrs. Jones. I used the technigues and truths I learned with Strong Enough and completed a good draft of my new novella in a month. 

So I reminded myself, that's how you achieve that moment of "just right." You don't quit. You invest. You go, go, go and eventually, you learn how to avoid the drips. 

When I finished Strong Enough, this was my outlook: 

I finally have a taste of motherhood. See, I have to take my novel to school followed by three or four after school activities each day. Don't even start on weekends. And I'm one of those who used to enjoy luxurious evenings with my blu-ray player or a book. To spend a weekend on the couch or inbed was a treat that I now realize I indulged in all the time!!!!

However, I was the energizer bunny all weekend and that energy created quite the line-up. August will be a big month for me. I've set my expectations super high: fresh draft of Anon Blog; a cover reveal in September; upgrade my blog (or clean it up, rather); and launch my website. Oh and finish my lamp. 

I didn't quit writing Strong Enough despite having no idea what I was doing. Juggling the next phase of being an author has come easier than I expected. Not because it's actually easier. It's because I won't take no for an answer.

Cheers!

BTW:
Here's a new review of Strong Enough on DeeannaDanger.com. 

And here's a link to my rock novel:

Find Here

Pinterest Bug

I've watched too many home design shows and like most of the nation, I'm hooked. But Pinterest was the final piece of the puzzle. Having a place to pin my favorite images and link to good sites has given my daydreams incredible ooomph. You can find me here.

I never thought of myself as particularly crafty but every year I become more interested in doing things myself. And let's face it, creativity is expressed in a thousand different ways. I'm hoping creativity begets creativity. 

Or maybe I'm just a newly published author nesting in her private little space. 

Like most middle schoolers in the 80s, I took home-ec. Growing up with my mom, I knew how to set a formal table and do basic cooking so the class was a piece of cake. The sewing half of the year was not. I didn't have the patience for sewing. Or maybe I was just a typical teenager who quit anything a little bit hard.

When I bought my first house, I also made my first curtains. All were very simple designs but I enjoyed the making. 

I visited IKEA regularly for years. Partly because I loved assembling the various pieces of furniture. Cheap and you feel like you're accomplishing something? Cool! But the greatest thing about IKEA? You can leave it all behind when you divorce. 

I hung on to a few real pieces of furniture, though. The ugly, mismatched bits that needed work. 

And now it's time to make them beautiful. 

It's time to spend energy crafting my writing space. I'm excited and have dedicated an entire page to just this topic. Please join me as I take on sewing, DIY solutions, and testing if these things are as easy as all the DIY bloggers and HGTV hosts say.

First projects:

Teapots, yes! Rainbows, no.

Pitiful but full of Pint-sized Potential