My Chair Reno

A couple weeks ago I went with a friend of mine to the Freelton Antique Mall, while I was shopping I saw several items that I absolutely adored. There were so many weird and cool stuff there like this perfect depiction of Canadiana:

or this tongue and cheek piece which made me wish that I had someone appropriate to give it to:

...wait for it...

Made in bad taste? Maybe. Makes you smile? Most definitely ;)

But for all the items that I saw, there were two that I wanted to take home with me, one being a picture frame that was a perfect match for a couple that I already had, and this: 

This cute chair caught my eye immediately and although it was very warn and the frayed fabric desperately needed replacing, I could tell it had potential. I loved how it had wheels on the front legs so you could move it easily without having to worry about scuffing the floor. I also loved the carving on the top which immediately gave this small piece some character. It wasn't until a return trip however that I decided to take it home with me, costing me $10. I immediately set to work taking it apart and finding material in my stash that I hoped would match it's style. It took a couple hours worth of work, some foam, material and a lot of rhinestones and beads but it came out exactly how I wanted it too:

Part of me thinks I went overboard on the last step (I probably did) but I love it! It reminds me of the renaissance or old baroque furniture. It looks beautiful sitting (heh) in its place by the corner of my bedroom which is where I do all my sewing. Though funny enough, I actually didn't do any sewing for this piece, except for hand sewing the buttons that is. The rest was just cutting and gluing and stuffing and that's about it. The top might be a little too square but I actually like it more now. It's also a lot more comfortable to sit on too. The one issue though is that I do have to make sure that I don't let anything snag on the silky material. All in all, I think this piece probably cost me around $25-30 to make (including the material I had on hand but not my time). Specifically, I got: the dangling beads years ago for around a $1-2 (I used 2 packages); the rhinestones came in huge packages for $1.00 (I took from 2 or 3); the fabric for 3.99 I got at a thrift store (I love going there for fabrics because you find really pretty patterns for much much cheaper then a fabric or craft store) and the foam cost about $5.00 at most. The beautiful butterflies I had gotten at the Etsy shop: Pegasus22 to add to my own items for my own Etsy store: ReadyMadeGifts (though I haven't completed them yet) these were around $5 for 6 (I used 2). 

I hope you like it, it was a lot of fun to make. It's also the first time I've done a piece this large, but it never felt daunting (though I did get one heck of a sprained neck from gluing all those beads to the base).

My plan is to have a post a week, so if you are interested in news about my shop or crafts like this one stay tuned in the weeks to come. With the holiday season coming up fast, I'll be sure to have more things to share and more items up for sale at my shop: ReadyMadeGifts. So until next time, please enjoy your stay here and if you liked your stay then tell me by commenting and/or "like", subscribe, pin and/or share!!!