Ikea Chair - Before and After

This week I started my new Summer schedule at my day job.  I'll be working 3 10-hour days per week and having 4 day weekends! I am so happy that I made this change. I had been thinking about it for so long and finally decided I needed to take the opportunity and use the time to focus on things that are more important to me than pushing paperwork and punching numbers all day in a dysfunctional office environment!

So for the next 10 weeks I'll be spending my extra time working on things for City Chic Country Mouse and enjoying Summer! Of course, I have a long list of projects I would like to work on including giving some of my furniture pieces a facelift.  

Last time Country Mouse was here, we tackled my red ikea chair that desperately needed a new cover. 

Before...

After...

 

 

What do you think? Do you have any fun Summer projects you'd like to tackle? Summer is the perfect time to bring jars, frames, and furniture outside and give them a facelift with some pretty colored spray paint.  I'm hoping to do that this weekend if the weather cooperates! Hope your Summer is off to a great start!

Ikea Shelving in my Sewing Room

My helpers worked hard this weekend! Well, more accurately my husband did. The furry ones just watched us and sniffed boxes for the most part. But they did their job in being cute at all times.

I returned home from a successful Ikea trip Friday night with a trunk full of projects to keep us busy for most of Saturday. We installed shelving, put together a drawer unit, and a wire basket on rollers.  I'm using the drawer unit for all of my little packaging items, tissue paper, ribbon, etc.  I want to spend more time arranging the items on my shelves, but just needed to get things in order for now.  I love arranging things by color, just ask anyone who has ever seen my closet, I'm a little bit OCD when it comes to those things. So that's my plan with the items on the shelves, to arrange by color so it's easy for me to see what I have to work with when packing our orders and photographing our items. 

I must say that I really appreciate how patient my husband is with me and my ikea shopping. He stays really calm when assembling everything and doesn't get too grumpy when things don't go together quite as they should :) I think everyone needs a calm partner when assembling furniture. Hope you had a fantastic weekend and your week is off to a great start!


ps...head over to the Polka Dot Bungalow to enter to win an ironing board cover from our shop!

Doilie Placemats for the Sewing Table

 

I was having a little problem with my new sewing table...when I would be serging or sewing fast (that's the speed I like to go!) the machine would start shifting due to the vibrations. It made me little nervous that if I was not paying attention one of the machines could make it too close to the edge of the table and fall off, not to mention it was slightly annoying to have to reposition the machine constantly. 

I had picked up these doily placemats awhile ago at a local shop and used them as part of our craft show display.  I found they are the perfect size to slip under the my machines and they prevent them from shifting while I'm at high sewing speed! And they are pretty too, yippee! I love the bright pop of color! They are still available in a few different colors at Urban Outfitters.

Do you see a bit of red in the background? That's a new chair I found on Craigslist and I can't wait to recover it, I just need to decide on a fabric to use! Country Mouse will help me come up with a slip cover design. It will be a before & after project that we'll share with you eventually.

Weekend Trip to Ikea

Last weekend my husband offered to come with me to ikea to get the cutting table for my sewing room. He actually has a good eye for furniture and display (must be all those years in retail!). He ended up changing my mind about this table I originally planned on getting.  We decided it was a bit too large, too much wood, and expensive. Instead we took home this beauty and I couldn't be happier. I'm sure my husband was happier as well and it may have had something to do with the fact that this one took a fraction of the time that the other would have taken to put together. 

I did give up having storage space, but I am thinking of getting one of these to put underneath to hold my packing supplies (tissue paper, envelopes, etc.). We'll see. As I use the space I start to figure out what my needs/wants are. 

Country Mouse gave me this beautiful vase for Christmas and I think it's perfect for holding my wrapping paper. Makes me want to fill it up with more pretty paper!

Not only did my husband come with to ikea, but he even helped me stuff patterns! This job is best done assembly line style, so I was happy to have the help. He threatened to go on strike if I took his picture but I had to take one.

I sure wish the doggies would offer some help, but they always do their job of looking cute and cozy, don't they?