5 things Friday (hmmm....maybe a new trend...)

1. A great partnership between a handy out of work neighbor and a diy-er (that's me) that needs help around the house is a win-win.
2. Rain. Seriously, we may never get these snowed-out-then-rained-out baseball games in this spring.
3. When trim is painted white-white (pure white, Sherwin Williams) you can really see how dingy and yellow the other trim is. 
4. Saying something like "I can't believe I can't buy flat screen spline in this town" to a non-diy husband is really funny.
5. You can install a dog/cat door in screen.  I'll keep you posted on how that goes (when the non-round flat screen spline arrives from Amazon). 

A recovered ottoman (and a found disk)

I found the lost disk, and therefore the lost files of ottoman (which all sounds much more important than it is, huh?) Here's the fascinating back story: We needed new (not red and blue plaid) living room furniture. I needed it to be fairly neutral, solid (both in build and in lack of pattern), and durable. After two failed attempts to find and actually finish the purchase, I found what I wanted: Natuzzi microfiber in a solid color. I wanted the sage green, and ordered the love seat and sofa, and added in two ottomans to the group. The saleslady tried her best to point out that I really didn't want all of that in the same pattern, but I did. I like matchy matchy. And it has worked for us for almost 10 years! It has held up, is solidly built and cleans easily. It's been really easy to work with style wise and I still really like it. But I was ready to add some pattern and fun with the ottomans, and I decided to try to recover them. It turns out it was fairly easy to do. Of course I got one done, and have moved on to the next 100 things on my list, but will get to the second one soon. What I did:

The plain before:

I cut a square of fabric that would cover the top so that the edge would be about where the top cushion stops as it was upholstered.  I laid the square over the top, right side down.

I pinned the corners to form the four sides. So I wouldn't be left with four uneven corners, I placed a pin on the top of each corner where I wanted to stop sewing and have my edge.

As is expected with a house full of critters, a helper showed up before too long.

This shows the top with four corners sewn, and turned right side out so I could make sure each side looked good.  You can see where one side puckers a little bit, so that was the time to adjust, sew again, and recheck to make sure it would look the way I wanted.

For the bottom half, I cut strips that allowed enough room to have fabric to staple to the underside.  I first sewed the two strips to each other, and then the bottom to the top. 

Here it is all sewn together, but still inside out.

The last step was to flip right side out, slip over, and fold and staple the underside to the frame. 

Voila...before and after. 

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I would say this is between a slip cover and a re-upholster.

 

  I would also say I have non-sage green furniture in my room too....I love it.

My painted piano: It's blue!

I thought long and hard about painting my piano.  I love natural wood, and would never paint over beautiful solid wood.  This was a veneer, and I tried many times to sand it lightly and re-stain, but the stain just dried out each time.  I tried a few different options, but then just accepted that I was going to paint a piano. 

The color was harder.  I googled "painted pianos" and got a rainbow of answers: red, yellow, black white (I'm sure all precious in their owners' sight).  I knew I wanted it dark, and a glossy black piano is the bomb in my opinion, but that didn't fit in with my room vibe.  Brown? Too blah.  I settled on blue.   Getting the right blue was a labor of love between me and the Sherwin Williams guy.  Thankfully I found someone that was into this project, and gave me hints along the way and helped me get just the right blue.  I started with "naval" and brought home a test pot and painted a piece of scrap lumber.  It wasn't dark enough for me, and was more royal than I wanted.  Brought the test pot back, and we (he) added 20% more of all the colors but white (burgundy, black and blue), and then 15% more black and blue, and then 10% more black and blue.

What we ended up with was definitely a custom color!  I was ready to roll, literally.

This about made me ill though.  There is no turning back now.

All primed (and me more ill.....)

And then boom: painted piano.  No matter what angle I took this from this morning it was glowing, and professional photographer I am not.

 

But I do love my blue piano.  It shines, it blends with the room, and I couldn't be happier. 

 

5 things

1. I would post pictures of the process I followed to recover my ottoman; when I can find the camera card the pictures are on, I will.  In the meantime, here is a before and after.  Another project I put off for a while, another project that was easier than expected.
2. Another tux rental final measurement is in the books for the upcoming wedding. Glad we went: they upped him to a men's (MEN'S!) small pant! This is cousin wedding #7; junior groomsman #2; tux #3; ring bearer-in-arrears #3; if you're counting)
3. Thanks to a great sale at our local music shop, boy is happy to announce the purchase of a new amp.  Windows open, amp facing outward.  The neighbors have yet to complain.....
4. My piano is now blue. (same missing camera card issue)
5. I cleaned out the pantry cabinet today. So sad how much food we waste b/c you can only see what's in the first 1/2 of the cabinet.  New cabinet drawer inserts are being researched.
6. I spent a large part of Saturday helping a friend sort and organize a room.  Just because I care...who am I kidding.....I would do it for someone I didn't even know...or like.  I love to sort and purge. 

I know. That's 6.  I didn't think I had that much to say today. 

Fireplace freshen up

This was one of the things on the to-do list that took me a long time to get around to, and then didn't take long at all to get done.  The fireplace surround had seen better days, and painting the fireplace just needed to get done.  I though it might be a bigger project than it was, but it turned out to be quick and easy.

This is the before, and I don't think requires much of an explanation of what the problems are. Brass, missing pieces, flaking glue....

Since I couldn't take it outside to spray paint it, I really went overboard to protect the walls and floor.  I used paper from Sherwin Williams  and taped off a large area around the surround.   In retrospect, not much spray went on or stuck to the paper, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. 

I really scraped off the old glue so I had a smooth surface to paint.

 

And here is the after:  One can of high temperature black spraypaint, some blue tape and a roll of paper and I had a new looking fireplace. 

The part that still looks brassy is inside the screen...it doesn't pop out in person as it does here. 

 

Pros of this project: Easy, quick, cheap, big change for a small investment of time and money

Cons: Stinky.  I picked a day that the windows could be opened, painted, then took the puppy for a long walk. 

5 Things

Five random things I've learned in the last few days:

If you can't peel hard boiled eggs, stick them back in the refrigerator overnight. They will then peel easily the next day.  If they won't peel on the day you need them, send someone to the store for store bought.

PARIQUISCILLALA unscramble is "Priscilla and Aquilla" from the Bible.  They both lied about money. They both dropped dead.  (So much for me learning what I teach! Ananais and Sapphira dropped dead...wrong people) :)

A word for cheese with the red outside that starts with "E" (I know, you want to say gouda) is edom.

Sunflowers that aren't open yet? Stick in warm water in a vase.

A yard of blue lace (unhemmed) over a regular white tablecloth makes for a beautiful table presentation.

Mother's Day

There was that weekend that I went for retail therapy and bought a great new pair of shoes.  I desperately needed a diversion.
I checked out, and the guy said "Happy Mother's Day weekend!" and I took said pair of shoes in the bag and swung as hard as I could and hit him against the head.  OK, the last part I made up, but I was so close. It's what I wanted to do.  It wasn't a Happy Mother's Day for me, as I wasn't a Mother.

So for all of you ladies out there, I wish for you a peaceful day today:

•  For moms who have lost a child;

• For children of all ages who have lost their mom;

• For those waiting, still waiting, to become a mom;

• For moms who saw that precious heartbeat, only to mourn a baby they never held;

• For those in our lives that fill in when we need a mom;

• And for a group of lovely ladies that take care of my mom 7 days a week.

Thank you. Hugs. Peace. Understanding. Love.

Happy Mother's Day.....because I know you have made a difference somewhere, somehow, to someone that needed it.  Because that's just how you are.

Now please don't hit me with your shoes.