Summer Hill ottoman redo

This is the before and after pictures of an ottoman I bought that was made by Summer Hill, Ltd. before they went out of business this year.  Do you remember this company? Here is the designers blog with more information about Summer Hill, Rela's Journal .  They were a high end firm that made fabrics and furniture, available only through designers and the trade. I bought a lot of their fabric, and some lamps and shades, and the designers melon collection (that was their logo).  I haven't decided what to do with it.  Some of it will be used for reulpholstering or slipcovering a couch, or making pillows.  I'm sure I'll find a spot for the melon collection in my family room. 
Back to the project I just finished.  Last week at Kim's Savvy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesdays, here , I saw an ottoman that was painted, rather than reulphostered, by Oak Ridge Revival .  I wasn't sure I wanted a "crunchy" feeling on the ottoman, so did a little more searching and found this tutorial, at Kara Paslay Designs , about dyeing a piece of furniture.  I bought some denim blue Rit dye at Walmart, and jumped in.  Guess what?? I love it.  Here are the before after pics.  



                                    

This took two coats of dye at a rate of 1 1/2 cups of hot water to 2 capfuls of dye.  I let it dry in between coats.  It isn't perfect, and I wish I'd been much more careful of any drips or making sure it was even without much overlapping.  Even so, I'm pleased that I was able to turn my $90 auction find and a $3 bottle of dye into a nice addition to the family room.  I still have a few things to do in there, but I'll post pictures when it's finished.  
I'm linking at next weeks Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, and this weeks
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style, and Inspiration Friday At the Picket Fence.
Thanks for looking.
Valerie

Delivering Flowers and Chandelier Makeover

My Days Delivering Flowers, and my Chandelier Makeover

I was lucky enough to get to help out a friend, by delivering flowers for his flower shop for Valentines Day.  I got to ride around the beautiful hills in the St. Helena wine country, while my son drove.  We had so much fun, and the area is so lovely.  The views were amazing, but I was too busy using the GPS to take pictures.  I did remember to take a few when we were at the shop, though.

 Why do I always forget to put makeup on BEFORE I get my picture taken?  Does anyone else do that, too?

 Here are the shelves after we loaded up the van.  It looked prettier before, but as usual, I forgot to get out my phone and take a picture.

We were so happy that we finished the day with an empty van. The couple of people that had been out were home when we tried one last time before calling it a day.  Yay.  They had around 125-150 deliveries, total, and only one problem with an arrangement all day.  I actually delivered that arrangement, and it was gorgeous, as they all were.  I cannot imagine calling my valentine and telling him I don't like the arrangement, and then calling the florist.  Of course, my friend picked it up, and I'm sure it was sold to someone else within the hour, if not less.




 Lately, I've been working on things for my daughter's room.  I wanted a girly chandelier, but didn't want to pay the big price on the ones I found.  Even at the local store that sells "shabby chic"  refinished items, they want around 300  dollars for most of the ones they are selling.  So, I decided to find an old one and try painting and adding a few crystals to it.  It was pretty easy to do, but I won't be sure if I really like it until I finish everything else in her room, and install it.  Here are few pictures.

 This is after I painted it white, and added some prisms I bought on ebay, and some decorative garland I bought at the local  floral supply store.  I think the garland is usually used to decorate a small tree at weddings.

 More views. I love the pink glass, and hope it looks pretty in my daughter's room.

 I bought this at the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

 I remove all of the pink glass parts.  It was really easy.  Then I taped it off, knowing I needed to replace most of the white sleeves, anyway.  I painted a few coats of primer, and that was it.

 It already looks better. 

 
 The prisms came with hooks, so I just attached them with my hot glue gun.  The garland was attached with small hoop earrings I purchased in the jewelry section at Michael's.

Here are a few of the fabrics, and the comforter I'll be using in my daughter's room.

 
 These are the paint colors I've been thinking about.  I decided to go with the center one, gallery taupe by Behr.

 I had fallen in love with the fabric Wonderland in the color pearl...  shown here at the Calico corners website in the fanfare collection, on the chair and pillows.  It would have meant a lot of sewing, and even at a discount, the price for fabric would mean she would have it for a long time.  I was so happy when my daughter saw the large floral comforter above at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and asked if she could please get it for her room.  It had the watermelon color I was hoping for, and the whole set (comforter, shams, bedskirt, and 2 decorative pillows) was only $59.99. Woo-hoo.  The fabric I was looking at was at least $23 a yard.  And now I don't have to sew the duvet cover and shams. 

 When it's all finished, I'll share, but I haven't even had time to the paint the walls in there yet.

Too many projects, too little time.


Linking to Savvy Southern Style's Wow us Wednesdays
,http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/2012/02/wow-us-wednesdays-53.html
 http://dearlillieblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/valentines-link-party.html