How To Make a Chandelier Pendant Light and My Birdhouse Picket Gate

I thought I'd do a tutorial on how I made my light over the dining table.  I had another chandelier and wanted one over the office desk we have.  

Here is the chandelier that originally came from Home Depot.  It is the perfect size to make these lights from.

I have this same chandelier over our sink.  When I saw them for sale on a yard sale site, I knew I had to buy them!

I went to Home Goods and found a shade that was the perfect size for $20.  After making a slipcover for it from the British Rose fabric, I began to put it together.

Take the round loop from the top and put the shade onto the metal screw bar after threading through your cords.

Thread your cords through the loop finial.  Then screw it onto the top making sure to get it tight.

Then add a cord cozy if you'd like the cord to not be seen.  I added a plug to mine, so I prefer a cord cozy.  Here is a link on how to splice wires the correct way.  I forgot to take photos, but it is so simple.  

How to Splice Wires

I really love this type of lighting!

I had individual shades on the candles.  The barrel shade softens the light a little bit better.

See...

And this is what it looks like from underneath.

I hope this helps a little on how I made my lights.  Having a smaller type chandelier really helps because large and narrow shades are hard to find and expensive.

The individual shades worked perfectly on the chandelier over the fireplace.    

I have so many pots in the fire right now.  With the pretty weather we've had.  I am wanting to get the outside finished.  

Our new dog, Bella, chews everything to pieces and is a clutz, lol.  But she is the sweetest thing ever.  Very smart...but she has no clue she's as big as she is.

So I had to put up fencing around the rest of the deck and make a gate.  The dogs have made it such a muddy mess.

My sweetie found some old posts out in the woods last Fall and brought them home to me.  Someone had tried to burn them...can you believe what people think is trash?  Solid as a rock but needed some new paint.  We had to cut off the burned part which made them short...perfect for my birdhouse picket gate!

Pardon the shabby, chipped paint.  Everything will get a fresh new coat of white paint once the weather stays dry.

I saw an idea on Pinterest last year and fell in love.   It was a picket fence, all sorts of levels, that looked like birdhouses.  That made me think....

Now this will keep the doggies off of the deck this Summer and my white will stay white. 

Wink Wink

I hope everyone is enjoying their week and that it is a blessed one.

Paint, Slipcovers and Appliques

My brain will not shut down, but my knees are, lol!

First, I'll start with a bed that I saw on the way home one day out by the curb.  I stopped and asked if it was free and they said it was trash and yes it was...so guess who snagged it up and loaded it up all by myself?

ME

It didn't have the rails, but with me being a pack rat, I had a few sets and thankfully a queen set!

It sat in the garage for a few weeks until one day I decided to start on it.  I spent the day filling in the gaps with wood filler, sanding, adding moulding and painting.  Of course, I couldn't quit, I had to finish it. Oh my aching back and knees!  But boy did it turn out pretty!  

The flaws of the bed were highlighted by some distressing instead of trying to hide them.  

I love flaws!

See, I love the fact that there are cracks in the veneer.  I wish there were more...

I added the cold porcelain applique . 

(you can click here to find out how I made them)  The perfect little crowning touch, don't ya think?

The legs had these brass things which I am still pondering on the purpose.  But they look great painted and distressed.  

The moulding was missing from the bottom.  Lo and behold, I knew I had some in the garage.

I am tickled PINK with the way it turned out!

I almost didn't beat the rain that day though.

Now that the rain is here to stay all week, so I am sewing.

Mom gave me this light which is battery operated.  I have a thing for those for when the power goes out.  They come in really handy.  We have a generator, but these help out in a pinch.  I don't have to have extension cords everywhere!

Now...for my ,most favorite thing right now.  I bought two of these chandeliers from a yard sale site.  I already had one over my sink, so I jumped on these when I saw them!

The little shades I had made went perfect on this one.  BUT...I have always loved pendant chandelier lighting.   You know, the chandeliers with the barrel shades?

So I had a brainstorm last night.

This is how it turned out!

I had to use the table runner I had made because I didn't have anymore Bella Rose fabric big enough to make a cover.  But I did make a new one.

Just enough fabric left to end it with.  More about that later.  Now back to the new light...

  I can take the cover off if I want to wash it.  But I am thinking of gluing it to get rid of the wrinkles.  Anyway, I am loving it!  

Painting the old shade frame helped.  The old fabric was dry rotted, so it had to go.

I'll take a better photo in the daylight later.  But you get the idea...Colors look all wrong with indoor lighting.  Way to golden no matter how you edit.

So that's what I've been doing, along with a few other projects which I'll share in a few days when this rain stops.  Until then, hope all of you are blessed with healthy knees...wink wink.

Spring Brings out the Imagination in Me

I have been working on a few things and wanted to share.  

Our home was built by my Mother and her husband back in 1996.  The colors for outside and the plan aren't what I would ever pick out, so I continue to try and work with what I have.  I want it to look cottagey (my word).   I'm slowly getting there.  One day I will be able to truly call it....

The brick on the bottom I love, but the blue siding and black shutters do not go with the brick in my book.  I have thought about painting the shutters, but know the up keep will be a pain because "all" paint starts to chip and peel eventually being out in the elements.  So, I decided to keep the black.  

Now, all that being said.  One thing that drives me nuts is the garage door.  The front of the house is so massive and long. 

Here's is the before.

 To try and make it have more of a cottage feel, I painted faux windows onto the door and added a carriage door kit bought from Home Depot for $18.  My kinda makeover...cheap!

And the after.  I love how it turned out!  I am planning on taking the brackets down and painting two more windows on the ends.  I'll use the brackets out back on the deck (smiling).

I'll be building something special for the two windows hopefully this weekend.  It's too high for planters and real flowers.  I'd have to leave the screens out of the windows for daily watering but would allow bugs in when the windows were open....NOT!

My mind is racing with the possibilities, but I sure do hope the old pocket book makes it and the hubster too.  We always spat when I have these brain storms, lol. 

Now off to another project.  I made some applique molds a few years ago from a gift my Mother bought me for Christmas.  She had to order it and was quite pricey then.  Now it is more affordable and goes a long way.  

You can order it through Walmart.com for around $18.

I mixed up a recipe of what is called cold porcelain.  It dries super hard and has some shrinkage.   The photos of what I made are still drying.   

5 cups of cornstarch

4 cups of white glue

2 cups of water

3 tablespoons of lemon juice

3 tablespoons of baby oil

1 tablespoon of hand lotion, for kneading the

dough.

I used half of the recipe that was given and look at what all I was able to make!

First add the water, baby oil, and glue then the cornstarch slowly to an old pot.  Make sure there are no lumps once stirred all together.  Bring to a boil, stir off and on until it starts getting really thick.  It becomes hard to stir then.

Scatter some corn starch onto some wax paper then pour out the dough and knead.  

Now comes the fun part!  Pull off some and make an applique with a mold.  Keep existing dough covered up with saran wrap or on a storage baggie.  You can add more cornstarch to keep it from sticking to your hands and molds.

Very easy to work with in the molds I had made.

You can even use chocolate molds from Michael's...your imagination is the limit!

Make sure to lay your pieces flat, how you'd want them to dry to be able to add them to other things with hot glue.  

I'm so excited and can't wait for these to dry and set up all of the way.  It has been 2 days...thinking by Sunday, they will be ready!

So there you have the scoop on what I've been up to.  Please , if you do not mind, keep my Mom's husband Carl, in your prayers.  He's in the hospital with blood clots and an infection in his colon.  Very Scary for the both of them and very tiring.  I know they need all of the prayers they can get and would greatly appreciate them.

Making More Slipcovers

Well, I am going to try and do a "tiny" photo tutorial that I am hoping will help understand how I make my slipcovers.

 First, make sure you have plenty of fabric to lay over the piece you want to slipcover.  I used a queen sheet on the chair and a king sheet on the sofa.  

Here are the pieces I bought for $100!

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it posted on a yard sale site.  You could tell it was in great shape, no sagging in the cushions and the upholstery was in pretty good shape.  I was just hoping when we went to get it that the springs weren't broken down.  I made sure it wasn't in a home with animals or smoking before I committed myself.  Once all that was clear, we went to pick it up and I was so pleased!  Shoulda saw the hubby and I loading a sofa, chair and an ottoman into our Ford Explorer...they fit!

This is where I draped the sheet over the entire chair (if your fabric has a pattern on one side, make sure to lay it face down) inside out.  It didn't go to the bottom on the sides, but I was planning on adding a dust ruffle which would make up for the slight difference.

Start pinning to the shape of the chair once you adjust your fabric to lay in the seat and in the corners.

It's a little overwhelming at first to make corners meet up and figure out how to do it.  But you can see here how I to fit them together.  

Pin before you trim.  

Use your hands to mold the fabric and to make it lay flat as possible before cutting.  Allow at least 2 inches for seam allowance.  I leave more, but go back and trim afterwards.

For a "T" cushion, it is a little more tricky.  But hopefully by the photo, this will help.

I just eyeball the pattern for the arms.  But you can trace it with a pencil onto your fabric to be exact.  Just make sure to do the exact same for the opposite side inside out.  I've made so many mistakes here in the past!  It takes concentration and time, so be ready to think, lol.  

Here everything is pinned and ready to sew.  Notice it is all inside out.  That's the key!

I used an old dust ruffle for the bottom.  Just pin it upside down with the ruffle going up instead of down once the slipcover is put on right side up to your furniture.

I added a ruffle to the top of the cushion and still need to add one to the bottom...but I got tired and my knees were hurting. 

(scrunching my face in pain)

As for the back cushions, I used the pattern for a euro sham and made the back cushions all that way.  So much easier.  For the seat cushions, you lay them on your fabric and trace the pattern then cut making sure to leave a seam allowance.  The seat and back cushions are the easiest to make.

Instead of 2 back cushions, I cut them into 3 equal ones.  I think they tuned out so pretty!

I also used a dust ruffle I had for the sofa.  Wish I had another one for the chair....but that's another project for later.

Thankfully the other ottoman I had was the same size and the slipcover I had made fit the new one perfectly.

I used napkins as the arm covers, so excuse the wrinkles.  WINK WINK

I took off all of the old fabric from the seat and back cushions.  It made the pieces so soft and comfy...and the quilt I used is really soft.  I used a king quilt from TJ Maxx that was $50.  This  makeover cost $177 for all of the sheets, quilt and some back and knee labor!  

Here is what the room looked like before.

The girls hated the settee' I had. They both said the settee made them sit up straight, lol.  I, however loved sitting in it.  But a Momma tries to please her family so the new sofa and chair are so much more comfy.

See, even the hubby approves!

I even used those cheapie end tables in this room.

Perfect for guests!

So don't throw out that old outdated furniture if it is still in great shape.  You can make them into something beautiful once again!

If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them.  If I can help you save a penny or two, then that will make me super happy!