... she's crafty and she's just my type ...

[guppygrrl.livejournal.com]

how an old chair the cats claimed became swank




Eek! So, I actually started AND FINISHED a project! In one day no less! ;)

... you can click all the below images to see larger ones ...

Many years ago, shortly after my now-husband-then-boyfriend moved in together, I found this chair in the trash on my way home from work:



It was missing a crossbar, but I figured I'd just get a dowel at some point and fix it - otherwise it was fine and sturdy and my boy likes green so I took it home.

However...the cats (only 4 at the time...in the years since we got four MORE) ALSO liked the chair. A lot. A WHOLE lot:



I finally grew weary of having to sweep up wicker bits all the time. Plus the chair was unusable as a chair from all the grey fur sticking to it (I have 2 longhaired grey cats in my brood). So yesterday, I decided to finally do something about it.

I unscrewed all the things I could and sanded them down a bit and painted them. I used glossy indoor/outdoor acrylic paint with some pearlizing stuff in it and I added some fine glitter as well:



(none of the sparkly parts seem to show up - the black is like the sparkly black of a car, or nail polish)

While that dried...I actually went to the thrift store and almost bought an old sewing machine - the kind that's built into a table? Very old - if it does have a bobbin, it's on the outside - THAT old. I passed on that and got plain glass votive holders to paint instead. Heh.

When I got back, I cut off all that darn wicker, dusted the frame off and started stapling 2 pieces of canvas I had to it for sturdiness:



Close up of the staple work (why, I don't know):



After that, I put the other piece of canvas on going the opposite way. Then I cut my plush fuzzy leopard print to size, along with a few layers of "extra loft" batting and stapled it to the frame. Reassembled all the dang screws...almost had a heart attack because I couldn't find the 3 dowel screws...found them and finished putting it back together...and my boy and I ooh'd and ahh'd over how swank it looks:



(JimmyJames Riddles Laz-E-Boy Hoffa (affectionately known as FatHead) thinks it's swank too)



We thought about saying we bought it at Urban Outfitters...then decided that we bought it at a gallery in Provincetown. *snort*

(of course, I'll tell people the truth after - I'm quite proud of it - I just think it's amusing that people would easily believe we paid oodles for it).

Costs:

green chair = $0, found in garbage
batting = $3 for a huge bag, used about $.50 worth
paint = $1.99 for a big bottle of gloss black, $3 for small bottle of pearlize stuff, glitter = $0, was left by the girl who left FatHead with us - $1 at the most
fabric = $1/yard for the pink canvas, used not even $.50, $6.97/yard for the fuzzy leopard, used about $2
staples and stapler = $0, came from old job
time= hard to say, I kept doing other things while it was drying, stopped to watch teevee while stapling, etc - maybe 3 hours total?

Total cost= $4, plus time...but I'm home 4 days a week and crafting's what I do. Heh. Even if we factor in that my time was, say, $10/hr, the chair still only costs $34. And it's coooool as heck!

*grin*

~Kissy