The sofa redo

My sofa....many years old actually passed down to me from my mother-in-law.  I love the camel back style and it is super big....perfect for my husband to stretch out on.  I always dreamed of getting in reupholstered but knew it would cost me a lot of money.  So what did I do....I decided to do it myself.  I knew it was going to be a time consuming job but I was ready to tackle it.  I knew I had to take the previous fabric off and use it as a pattern for the new fabric....that's pretty much all I knew. 
Here's the before:  It was green but super worn.  I loved the color but it was getting nasty.  Blah.

So I took the fabric off.  It took awhile to get many of the staples out.  The I used the pattern from the old sofa to cut the fabric for the new sofa.  The new fabric cost me $9.00 a yard and I needed 15 yards.  (not bad).  I had some help doing the arms...they were a pain.  My good friend Bethany came over and hand stitched the roll of the arm so there wouldn't be a space between the fabric of the arm and the front of the arm.  Then my coworker helped with the cushions because I would have never been able to do that! 

Here's the final result:  Its a dark gray twill.  I would have loved a white sofa but with two little ones probably not a great idea.  I am super happy with the outcome......we need to pull the back a bit tighter and get a special staple gun that will fit into the crease in the back but otherwise its pretty awesome.  .not perfect but there is no such thing as perfect right? Of course my awesome coffee table too! 



Latest redo

Lets go back to when TJ and I first got hitched.  We were married the same year we bought our new house and started our first jobs as teachers therefore we couldn't afford to furnish the house with new furniture from those nice furniture stores.....so we went to ikea and furnished our 2 bedroom ranch for under $1400.  Fast forward 7 years later we have bought our first piece of real furniture from Ballard's design.  Our dining room table.  It so AWESOME!  I will post some pics tomorrow of the dining room before and after.  I definitely need a new camera because many of the before pictures of what I have done to the house is taken on my phone so the quality isn't up to par but you will get the picture.  So this is the recent redo and the last for awhile...maybe.  I have done a lot in the past month or so so I will be posting those things in the meantime. 

The coffee table before:  It actually was a high gloss black table that we bought for $40 off of craigslist.  A little high in price but it is a quality piece.  After I started to sand it I remembered to take the before pic....Ugh.

I sanded the table to remove some of the black paint then lightly painted it white.  After I stained the "paint"  with a charcoal stain and got these results.

The look I was going for was the old, beatup, not-so-perfect look....something from an old farmhouse.  Its country chic. 

We absolutely LOVE it.  It fits with my decor and I couldn't be happier.  

Dance party in the kitchen

This is very common in our household. Dance party happens right before dinner when everyone is cranky and hungry. Its the only way I can get them to stop screaming/ crying and have fun while they wait to eat. Its quite humorous to watch them dance. Hunter LOVES to dance. He always has. Layna on the other hand, started to dance because of her brother. She now loves it but because he was getting the attention when he danced and of course she was not having that.  Here is a little taste of their sweet moves.

Ummm.....Elaine from Seinfeld;)

Its been awhile

Wow, its been awhile since I posted.  I need to step it up a bit because a lot has gone on since school started for us.  Layna loves school.  She is learning so much and thriving....She is becoming such a sweet, loving little girl.  Layna continually tells me how much she loves me, how beautiful things are in the house, and thanks me for doing the daily things that I always do for the kiddos.  It is the sweetest thing ever.  She truly makes my day by saying these sweet words. Hunter, my crazy boy is growing so fast.  He is super active and is now talking.  He says many words just trying to keep up with his sister.  He climbs on everything and tries to get into EVERYTHING.  What a difference between boys and girls!  

Another reason why I have been gone awhile is because TJ has been coaching football and we all know high school football is the next NFL league.  He has been gone most of the time since August.  Throughout this fall Tj has told me multiple times that I need to find a hobby.  Its true....as many moms do, I have spent the past 3 1/2 years raising my babies. My focus is on them.....Well since TJ can have a hobby (football) why can't I?  Right? 

During the past 4yrs I had thought my knack for design and decorating flew out the window with the two pregnancies.  I thought I had lost it.  Well maybe not.....I have been doing many projects the past month or so.  These include reupholstering my sofa, redesigning my dining room which includes painting walls, chairs from craigslist, reupholstering the chairs and designing a bench for the table, redecorate my bedroom for under $100, designing a picture wall for the playroom and my new project is to antique this coffee table to go with the new pad.  Wow....it seems like a lot when I type it out like that.  I have done reupholstering, stenciling and antiquing all int he past 3 weeks!  Yes, I am tired because I work and raise my two kiddos and it was football season so no hubby..... So you ask when this all happens....NAPTIME.  The most wonderful time for the day!!!!!  So I think I am going to start a design/ decorating, family blog..... It will stay a simple kind of life because that it is....I take old things and make them new, cool techniques to add some flair to a room and paint....the best discovery out there PAINT....it can change a whole room's look without much expense.  I will start by posting before an after pics once I get my act together.  I am excited about this....its tons of fun and something I love to do.  Layna also loves it....she makes it a point to tell me how beautiful the things I have done are and how thankful she is that I made it beautiful....TOO CUTE!

School bells ring!

The bells are ringing for TJ and I to go back to work!  I am loving it so far.  Working part-time so I can enjoy all of the wonderful moments of my kids lives is something I will always cherish!  Today I was able to bring Layna to her first day of preschool.  I can't bleieve that she is already in school.  I knew she would love it.  She keeps talking about when she is 5 years old she gets to go on a bus to kindergarden....Really Layna....lets continue to pull at mommy's heartstrings.  Lets get through preschool first!  When I brought her to school she walked right in and could care less where I was.  Lovely...the independence already begins.  This should be an interesting year.....she is the only girl in the class.  She will continue to hold her throne even at school.  Maybe dance class will be in the near future to balance it out....Shhhhh don't tell TJ.

                   Layna walking into school                                         Layna in her classroom

Miss Independent leaving school

How is summer over already?

This summer was one to remember.  We didn't do much but hangout outside all day everyday....Isn't that whats summer about anyway?  We enjoyed picnics on the green, walks for ice cream or to the farmers market every Thursday.  We hung out on papa's boat a couple of times and played in the pool at the marina.  Layna and Hunter both loved the water.  Hunter enjoyed the slide at Auntie Jackie's pool and Layna loved to just float around in her little tube.  I am sure that he is going to be the daredevil of the family. We enjoyed a fun filled afternoon with some great friends at the Beardsley Zoo.  I loved every single moment of our simple summer. I am so grateful that we are able to spend our summers together as a family.

                                                       Layna "spreading her wings"

                                          Layna took this one....she is a little photographer

Another Summer's Day at the Beach

I can get used to this life.  My kids absolutely love the beach!  It is awesome just to watch them play and enjoy every part of it including the sand!  Ugh.....I am not a fan but Layna loves to be buried and Hunter loves to, well um....throw it at people or at himself...Its quite lovely actually especially when Layna thinks she can do it too.  They love to swim as well.  Hunter loves floating around in his floatie or just sitting where the waves hit his little belly.  Layna loves to show her swimming lessons skills like kicking and blowing bubbles.  One of the best parts is the Italian Ice truck!  Yummy!!!!  After the day at the beach we head home on a nice relaxing car ride where they are both passed out..  This is probably the only time of the day TJ and I can hold a conversation without constant interruptions.  We actually cherish this time as we make plans to do it all over again in a couple of days.

                                                       Hunter chillin on his "surf" board

                                                    "Hey mom, look what I can do!"

                                                      Sweet Layna splashin around