"Creativity Takes Courage" - Henri Mattisse ...SYTYCD Week 3

If you missed the results from week two of SYTYCD (So You Think You Can Decorate), go to the link below.
http://soyouthinkyoucandecorate.blogspot.com/2010/03/results-from-week-2.html
Thank you to all of you who voted for our mismatched chair post for week two.

INTRODUCING WEEK THREE!

One of our favorite quotes over at All Things Thrifty comes from Edward de Bono. He said, "Too many people believe that creativity is a talent with which some people are born and the rest of us can only envy. This is a negative attitude that is completely mistaken. Creativity is a skill that can be learned, developed and applied."

Using creativity to transform old things into new takes courage, but ANYONE can do it. Teaching people how to do it is what All Things Thrifty is all about.

As you all know, the category this week was "OLD." We love refinishing furniture, and we make old things new and hip by re-creating them. Isn't it great to have a vision and exciting to get those creative juices flowing to discover how to accomplish that vision? These transformations are extremely rewarding, and before and after pictures are always fun in our book. Below are the "before" pictures of this week's highlighted project. Click on the image to make it larger.

I had been searching for a hutch for awhile, but I had a large challenge (literally)...My hubby got a 50" flat screen. UMMMM....only hutches on steroids would hold the giant thing. Instantly, the television took the focal point spot in the room. I was NOT ok with that. Then I found her. She was beautiful....well, at least my vision of her was. She was a whopping $35.00 on Craigslist.

With a little love and effort, we went for it. We made a few alterations by removing the doors, we built cubbyholes for the electronics, we painted the hutch, and, finally, we glazed it to give it an extra "pop." For detailed instructions go to our Glazing 101 post found HERE.

Glazing furniture is a GREAT way to bring out the details of old furniture. This furniture has a LOT of character, and I love all the ornate details. I also sprayed the hardware an oil rubbed bronze color for contrast. We accomplished our next goal to make the family room area sizzle by incorporating some of our own personalities into the room. We made our own stencil for the wall behind the hutch out of plastic folders for only $4.00! I love how the stenciled wall turned out.

If you would like detailed instructions on how we made this stencil to to THIS post.

Here is the entire area with the stenciled wall and the hutch to share the spotlight.

We love making "old" things new!

I just love the sassy new look in our family room!

Glazing Furniture 101

Do you want to learn how to create this look with paint and glaze? If so, here is GLAZING Furniture 101.

I'm going to keep this simple. Simple is good. :)

Step 1. Prime the furniture. 99% of the time I do NOT sand it. I usually WANT the nicks and cracks and deformities...I think they add character. I use spray KILZ. Sometimes I do two coats depending on the coverage.
Step 2: I spray paint the furniture. This particular project was sprayed with Krylon Ocean Breeze. I let the furniture dry thoroughly in between coats, and I usually do three coats to make sure it is covered nicely. For more details on painting furniture go to our Painting 101 post found HERE.
Step 3: Buy the glaze. I use Ralph Lauren Faux Technique glaze that has been tinted with black paint. You do NOT need a gallon, a pint is plenty to do multiple projects. You can buy this at Home Depot, but it will NOT be tinted yet. You need to tell them the color to tint it. I then even added more black paint to it when I got home to make it nice and dark.
Step 4: Brush the glaze all over the furniture being careful to get into all the nooks and crannies. I use a brush because it is much easier to get into the intricate parts of the furniture.


Step 4: Using a damp cloth, wipe off the glaze. The glaze will stay in the nooks and crannies and create the look you are going for.

Step 5: OPTIONAL: Repeat steps 3 and 4 to create a darker look with the glaze. I repeated the steps a few times for this chair.
Glazing is so fun and extremely easy. Don't forget to send us pictures of your projects. We want to see! Send them to allthingsthrifty@gmail.com

Feature Friday!

This last week at All Things Thrifty has been so much fun! We asked you the other day what your favorite project was on the site, and to read all your comments has honestly been soooo much fun! What a fun reward to hear your fun comments. We love to share our knowledge with you all so THANK YOU for showing us some love with those thoughtful comments!

We are gearing up for a massive GIVE-AWAY, and we wanted to know what you would like the best! (**Side note: if you are a vendor who would like to participate in this give-away, please contact us ASAP at allthingsthrifty@gmail.com**).

We got a fun surprise from Jenn over at Compulsively Creative this week. Do you remember the Decorative Wall art we did a few months ago?

Well Jenn and her husband did a FANTASTIC job at recreating it. Here is her empty wall before.
Doesn't it look amazing!?!? I love the green.

She even made those DARLING pillows!
AND....you are going to DIE when I tell you that she reupholstered this COUCH!!!! You have to go check out the couch before at THIS link.
I know how much work that was! GREAT JOB Jenn (and hubby). Nothing makes us more happy than to see our projects completed elsewhere!!!! Nice work on your decorative wall art, it makes a HUGE statement and creates a focal point with your SAWEET couch. As my 6 year old daughter would say, BOO YAA! :)

What is your favorite All Things Thrifty post?

We would like you to tell us which post is your favorite here at All Things Thrifty. Leave us a comment. :) We are asking for a specific reason, but we can't tell you. It is a SURPRISE! Don't you LOVE surprises?

Welcome City Cradle as a new sponsor!

We would like to introduce you to Vicky over at The City Cradle. This AMAZING mother of twins has some darling ideas. Her site is dedicated to event planning, design and motherhood!

She is starting a new project called 30X30 where she will be sharing inspiration, design details, and hundreds of DIY ideas for 30 different parties this coming year before turning 30!

Here are a few of our favorite things she has designed:


She is also doing a giveaway right now for a $50.00 Spawish gift card that you can use towards any spa procedure in your city (massage- facial- pedicure you pick). ! So head right over there and enter to win!

Welcome Vicky to the All Things Thrifty team!

Do you have a business you would like to promote? Contact us at allthingsthrifty@gmail.com.

A few features lately

We at All Things Thrifty get so excited when we get featured on other sites. We are so grateful to have been featured on four sites in the last week or so.


Tip Junkie featured our Yellow Furniture post! Head on over and check it out HERE.


Todays Creative Blog featured several of our projects! I about died when I read her post about us. The things she said were soooo nice! You can find her post HERE.

Our ruffle pillow tutorial was featured over at Little Miss Momma. You can find her post HERE.


Check out our Pottery Barn Signs over at One Pretty Thing HERE.
AND our Yellow Furniture was featured today HERE!

Inkcicles also featured our Making a Stencil tutorial. Check it out HERE.

THANK YOU!!!!

How to pick a chair to reupholster

Before you go on a chair hunt, you need to know how to pick a chair to reupholster. I have some guidelines that I follow, and I'll gladly share them to all of you who are ready to begin your first project.

Small Disclaimer:
Before I tell you the guidelines, I should tell you that reupholstering is not for those that are afraid of a challenge. It is very time consuming and every chair presents a new set of challenges. Don't let me scare you off, but I felt it necessary to be 100% up front with you readers on this. We have had a few inquiries from readers about reupholstering couches, and I'm honestly terrified to try a couch. So, if you are ready to tackle that project more power to ya, but I'm definitely not ready yet.

#1. Sit in the chair before you buy it. You need to make sure that it is comfortable.

#2. Make sure it is sturdy. Reupholstering requires solid "bones." It will make the reupholstering process much easier if you have a sturdy foundation to work with.

#3. Don't spend too much. I can't tell you a specific price per chair to follow because obviously each chair is going to be different, but be careful because people are asking outrageous prices for chairs out there.

#4. Remember that fabric can be expensive. Most single chairs out there will require at least 5 yards of fabric; however, my double wing back chair took closer to 10 yards of fabric. You need to buy a thick fabric that can with hold a lot of pulling.

#5. Ask yourself how much time it will take you to reupholster the chair. I know that if this is your first reupholstering project, you will not know how much time it takes. Just let me tell you that each chair I have reupholstered has taken me at least 7 to 10 hours. The double wing back took me much longer than that.

#6. Start small. We have had a few inquiries regarding reupholstering couches...I'm not going to sugar coat this. Reupholstering a couch scares the crud out of me. I'm not ready. So, if you haven't reupholstered a chair yet. I would not suggest to tackle a couch. Start small.

#7: Find someone close by that you can ask questions to. This one may surprise you, but a lot of Grandparents know how to reupholster. It was really popular back then. Ask your Grandma or Grandpa, I bet she/he would love to help you. Doesn't hurt to ask. :)

#6: Find an inspiration chair. This is the fun part. When you find a chair that you love, try and find a fabric to mimic it. My suggestion? Go BOLD. I like fabrics with a large pattern.

Here are few chairs I have found that inspire me. Where did they all come from? Hmmmmm. I honestly can't remember. I remember a few from pottery barn and pier 1, but the rest, no idea. I search the internet for inspiration almost daily, and I don't recall where most of these came from.

Here is my latest chair that I just completed this weekend. Didn't it turn out awesome!?!?

This is what this bad boy looked like before the process began.
I thought it would be fun to reupholster an ottoman to go with it.

Here is my fabric of choice. I loved the fabric because A. It is neutral in color and can be added to almost any room, and B. because the pattern was fairly large.
THIS CHAIR IS FOR SALE. Contact me at allthingsthrifty@gmail.com if you are interested. Here are a few more pictures to remind you of the end result. I was pretty pumped.
Here is a side view. FYI: this chair is extremely comfortable.
I wish I had unlimited rooms so that I could keep all my projects. But, one of you lucky readers will get to enjoy this one.

UPDATE: The CHAIR has been SOLD.