B.Y.O.S.

Bring-your-own-seat. That's what it's all about with my latest project. Bart was kind of sad when I took apart "the sheep" as he lovingly called the ottoman I hastily made for our wedding last year.

I've been hard at work this week and last to get some pieces ready to take to Flea Market Chics this Saturday. This will be my debut at the shop and I'm absolutely scrambling to get my projects done. I had high hopes for everything but due to the fact that it's been raining every day (or hailing as it did Sunday right after I rushed outside for a quick coat of paint because the day started off sunny). Despite the crappy weather, here are two of my completed projects. I will have more by Saturday, I promise.
I'm pretty excited about the suitcase ottoman. I've seen these on the internet quite a bit lately and have been dying to make one. I'm in love with the retro print I found in the bolt ends at Hancock Fabrics, the legs of our beloved sheep, and this great turquoise suitcase. It was really quite easy to make and I plan on making a chair out of the smaller suitcase as soon as I can find an old school chair for the frame.

Second project, and a biggie. I painted and distressed this antique sideboard I found on Craigslist. It was in good shape but needed a little love and some new hardware.
I sanded the top down and stained it with a dark stain then painted the body of it turquoise, only to attack it with sandpaper hours later. After distressing it, I put the dark stain over the turquoise and wiped it off to give it a more muted look. And here she is in all her glory. If Bart didn't have such an aversion to turquoise (perhaps because I love it so much and do EVERYTHING in turquoise) then I would have a hard time giving this baby up. I've got more projects in process that I hope to have finished. I've got several lamps I'm jazzing up with a little spraypaint and bright fabric lampshades, a kitchen table that is finished but needs re-assembling, a bench that just needs distressing and a cushion made for it, oh and about a billion other things. The list keeps growing.

When it rains...

It pours. Either I don't post for months, or I do two posts consecutively. I really do have every intention of posting on a regular basis, but alas, it doesn't happen all that often. I'm hoping that now that I'm a Flea Market Chick, that I'll have more motivation to keep it up. But really, while Seattle is drizzling, it is pouring at my house. I've got my plate full. I'm on my Mid-Winter break from school and I'd like to think that I have a week to laze about, but that is the farthest thing from the truth. In addition to taking care of my honey, searching for a house to buy, and keeping the house clean, I've got all sorts of projects coming out of my ears. Why can't I say no? Because I love doing this, AND I find that I am so much more productive when I'm way over-scheduled. Here's what I'm hoping to accomplish over the next month (mind, I did not say week. While I am over-zealous, I do have some sense of realism):
1. My friend Carolyn's wedding dress: we're repurposing a dress she found at Value Village for $50!2. A re-upholstery project for my friend Andrea--chair is stripped down to the wood. I have to reupholster and figure out where the padding should go. Oh, and it has to match the one she has at home as well!3. A bench pad for my friend Lori. Not too bad
4. My first delivery of repurposed furniture for Flea Market Chics. I am determined to get stuff over there ASAP so I can start making money. My goal is to make enough doing this that will warrant my quitting teaching so I can do what I love full-time.

So instead of blogging, I should really be cutting, stitching, stapling, sanding, painting, cleaning, cooking, or any other thing but sitting on this darn computer. Best get going...

Oh, but I almost forgot the purpose to my post. Went thrift store shopping this morning, spent $160 and got all of this:
A sweet retro folding table set. I'm planning on spray-painting the metal some great color and replacing the vinyl with something bright and fun! Ideas?
This great find just needs a little love. I'll probably paint it white and distress it and add a brightly colored vintage print pad to it.
A set of 3 turquoise suitcases. I've seen all sorts of cool things done with suitcases these days. We'll see what I can come up with, but I'm thinking maybe an ottoman or chair, medicine cabinet, or we'll see...something cool.
Lamps galore. I'll get some high gloss spray-paint for the bases and gorgeous fabric to cover some of the shades. I'll leave some of the shades as-is. They definitely have that retro vibe.
Cute wooden table. I'm thinking of sanding down and staining the top with dark stain while painting the base either turquoise, robin's egg, or chartreuse green.

I'm also picking up an antique sideboard, vintage dresser, and two vintage beside tables I found on Craigslist tomorrow. $200 for all 4. Oh, I'm going to be so freaking busy. I love it!

Yes, I guess we are "those" pet owners.

I can't help it. She looks stinking cute in this, doesn't she? I've always scoffed at people who dress their pets (sorry, people who dress your pets) but necessity recently has facilitated my venturing into the world of pet dressing. Don't worry, it will stop here, I promise. Except maybe halloween--Tosia made a really cute Granny the year that Bart was the big bad wolf and I was Little Red.
Anyway, over New Years, hubby and I spent the weekend at the Mountaineers Lodge at Mount Baker. We brought Tosia along 1. because it's really hard to find someone to babysit a blind and diabetic dog when they have to give her insulin shots, and 2. They've let her in the lodge before when it wasn't very busy, so we thought we'd take a chance. Unfortunately, it was a very busy weekend, so we packed a huge down dog blanket and her bed and tried to make her as comfortable as possible in the car. It was a cold night, so we took turns every two hours running out to the car to warm it up. I had a thin down jacket that we put on her, but it was a little big, and frankly I don't share that well with pets. So, we decided to make Tosia her very own coat.

Luckily, I happened to get the perfect coat for free on my last raid of my brother's donation trailer. My nephew Sam had outgrown this big puffy coat and it was the perfect size for Tosia. This was so easy to make, and I wish I would have taken pictures of the process, but maybe next time when I decide to make these and sell them for $50 a pop. I simply cut out the sleeves and the chest, sealed off the zipper and added velcro to attach around her neck. It keeps her toasty warm when we leave her for the day in the car while we snowboard. I promise, that is the only time she wears it. Oh, and when we just want some cute pictures!The pockets come in handy for her essentials: flashlight, treats, what have you...

Say hello...

...to the newest Flea Market Chick!
This week I was browsing through my favorite blogs and I happened to read that the Flea Market Chics in Bremerton were looking for new vendors to sell at their store. I absolutely love looking through their blog at all the gorgeous things that they have for sale and I've always wanted to take the hour long ferry to check it out, so I took a chance, took a ferry, and showed them pictures of some of the projects I've done and they loved them! I'm the newest Chick! I am so excited. I get to start doing what I love and getting paid for it! Not only that, but now I have a REASON to go thrifting and a REASON to buy things! (Our little house is so packed that I haven't been able to justify any new purchases or projects!)

I'll keep you updated when my stuff is there. And for those of you in Washington state, this place is well worth the hour and a half trip. Really.