Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Thrift Store Art

When I shop thrift stores, I love browsing through all the discarded artwork. It always fascinates me to see what people once decorated the walls of their home with. There are usually many great pieces but the frames or matting may not be today's treading colors, but with a little updating or re-purposing they can be loved and enjoyed again. This is a picture I purchased at a local thrift store. It was a hand embroidered piece and was even signed/dated by the lady who made it. I immediately had to purchase it because for one it was a timeless piece, and I could also tell a lot of work and love probably went into creating this piece. It had even been professionally framed.
I loved all the detail in the houses in the picture. This one even had a quilt hanging off the front porch! 
The only problem with the picture was the blue and mauve matting that encased it. These were the trendy colors in the late 1980s and early 1990s. My Mom used these same colors in our home at the time. But in 2015, you don't find these colors in many homes anymore so I knew with a few changes I could make this artwork fit into someone's home today. This particular piece had craft paper back so I took my utility knife and carefully removed it.
I pulled up all the metal tabs holding the artwork in place with the same utility knife. 
Carefully remove the artwork from the frame. Fortunately since this one had been professional done this was easy to remove as everything had been mounted to a foam board. Then separate the artwork from the matting. 
Now its painting time! These can be sprayed painted or painted by hand. I had plans to spray paint the matting on this particular piece, spray paint lays smoother and cuts down on time but the weather wasn't cooperating for me to be outside so I resorted to hand painting it with some of paint stash that I bought on the mis-tint shelf at Lowe's. I choose white for the outer mat and a robin's egg blue for the inner mat. 
A few hard lessons I learned while painting this was one, start with the outer mat first. As you can see here I started on the inner mat and when I went to paint the outside navy mat I got a few stray brush marks on the inner mat that I had to go back and touch up. Also, it would have been best to spray paint the whole mat white first, then go back in with my inner border color. Since the outer mat was such a dark blue it took several coats of white to cover it up. But I finally got it!

Just let it dry overnight and then place it back around your artwork. Clean your inner glass of your frame with a clean cloth and then place your artwork back in the frame and re-secure the tabs. 
The final result is now a timeless piece that can be used in almost any home for generations to come. The white matting really lets the artwork be the focus of the piece now. I left the frame the natural wood, but this could have been sprayed painted also. I may go back and paint it black eventually but I will live with it like this for now. I just love the character and charm of this picture. 

Laura

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Finishing Granny's Quilt

When my Granny passed away she left a legacy of talent in the family, one of which is my Aunt Linda who's creativity never ceases to amaze me. In a recent family get-together I noticed that my Aunt had a quilting loom set up in her living room where she was quilting by hand.
Currently I am taking a quilting class, so I am intrigued by any and all quilts. Not just for the colors and beauty of the quilt, but for the work and love that goes into each quilt that is made.
These quilt blocks are known as the tic-tac-toe pattern.
Here you see where Linda is actually doing the quilting. This is where you sew together the decorative top, followed by batting which adds the thickness to the quilt, and then a back fabric is added. This sandwich of fabric and batting is quilted together basically making one very warm blanket to curl up under once complete.
The white chalk lines you see are where she will sew her quilting stitches. This classic stitch is known as the fan quilting pattern.
In talking with my Aunt she told me that the topper for this quilt was actually sewn by my Granny (who has now passed away) and she was finishing it up by quilting it. I treasure every quilt ever made and given to me by my Granny. She made each with hard work and love which makes them more valuable than any other items I own. This beautiful quilt, however goes to my cousin Lisa.
My Aunt talked about how hand quilting can be very time consuming for one person, so I expressed the idea of starting a family quilting bee. Several of us gathered around stitching away and gossiping about all the family members who aren't there, what could be better?! I love my family time!
 
 
Kelli
 
 
 

































Thursday, July 9, 2015

Family Hand-Me-Downs and Flea Market Finds...


On a recent trip to my local Flea Market, I found this cute little round side table. I hadn't seen one like it before, and thought it could be a cute bedside table or look great in an entry way.
It had several knicks and dings, so I thought it best to sand out a few, but keep some because it gave the piece character. Sanding it turned out to be a lot of work.
 
I got it all put back together and decided to paint it light blue. I found a DIY recipe for homemade chalk paint, and gave it a try. It took 2 coats of paint and then 1 coat of wax. I didn't want to distress this piece. I liked just the clean paint with all the little bumps and dings that added a story of where this piece has been over the past 30 years.
So, I'm feeling pretty good about the job I've done on the table, but it just seemed to look lonely. It needed some dressing up. I dug through some old family junk and came across a bedside lamb straight out of the '60s/'70s that I think may have belong to my twin aunts, but somehow it ended up in my shed.
The green has definitely run its course, so I decided to paint it yellow. Then there was the shade which had obviously seen better days, so I took some cardboard to rebuild the shade and added some cute fabric for a spin of whimsy.



Once I finished the lamp, I put the whole project together. Now the project looked bright and happy!
 
I added a few of my favorite books for decoration, and could not be more pleased with the outcome! Now on to the next flea market find or family hand-me-down....stay tuned!!
 
 
Kelli
 




 
 
 


My first big project!

My Mom found this beauty at the flea market a few years ago. When I started taking upholstery class she let me take it to use as my first chair to try my hand at upholstering.
It is a beautiful side chair but definitely needed updating! Up first, labeling all the sections of the chair so it will be easier to put it back together. Always keep the fabric you are taking off the chair as intact as possible so you can use it as your pattern for your new fabric.
Now time for the deconstruction! Make sure to pull all the staples and tacks out of any project you undertake that way your new fabric and padding will lay on smooth and you don't want to risk shooting through old nails or staples.
Once your project is bare, clean up any wood imperfections with wood filler and sand lightly. At this point you can paint or stain your project. Since this was my first project I didn't do anything to the wood but I can always go back with the Howard's Restor-A-Finish I used in this project to smooth out any scratches on the wood. Since this chair was in good shape structurally, I just add scrap pieces of fabric to the back in seat to create a base to hold the new foam and batting.
After the foam seat and batting was layered on I started adding the new fabric to the seat. We found this beautiful off white fabric at our local Joanne's Store. They always have a good selection of fabrics for upholstery and home decor projects and with their coupons its usually a good bargain!
After the seat fabric was stapled on, I trimmed up the excess.I started working on the seat back of the chair by adding a layer of batting and the front peices of fabric then turned the chair around and finished off the back of the chair with a nice finished edge.  I put batting on the arms and covered them with fabric and finished the chair with a trim of welting.
Here is the before and after! There are definitly some imperfections in the chair but I pretty proud of it with it being my first big project. I had a awesome teacher who guided me and helped me along the way! I hope this inspires you to try your hand at an upholstery project. Start small, find a inexpensive project at a thrift store or yard sale for your first project don't spend a lot of money on expensive fabric so if you mess up cutting you aren't out a lot of money. Always buy a little extra fabric to have a buffer for mistakes. If I can do this, anyone can tackle small upholstery projects around their home!

Laura

Saturday, July 4, 2015

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

 
Today we celebrate the independence of our country. Freedom fought for and won, but not without the hardships and loss of those who worked to achieve this great gift for all of us. While you celebrate, take a moment to remember that we are the...
 
 
Be thankful, be safe, and have fun!
 
 
 
Laura and Kelli
 
 

Friday, July 3, 2015

A second look behind the scenes....

As we continue to celebrate our 1 month anniversary week, we also continue our glimpse into the lives of the faces behind Homespun and Redone.

Hey y'all! I'm Kelli, the other face behind Homespun and Redone, and I would like to welcome you to my backyard. I live with my husband on the lake at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. For me, one of the most beautiful and peaceful places on earth to live. I love it here!
 


 
I have been crafting and sewing since I was a little girl, something passed down to me by my sweet little Mama and Grandmothers (God rest their souls). Each of them showed me how to do something different, and the love to create has grown from there.
 
Grandma
Granny
 
 
 
 
Mama
For the past 20+ years I have worked in the medical billing field, recently moving into remote medical billing allowing me to work from home. This has allowed me to spend more time crafting, sewing, repurposing, and other things I love. Like an afternoon boat ride or swim!
 
 
I am so excited to be a part of Homespun and Redone with my friend Laura. We have many new projects in the works, and cannot wait to share them all with you as we continue this incredible journey.
 

 
Kelli

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Happy One Month Anniversary!

We cannot believe it has been one month since we first started our blog, and sharing our adventure with you. It has been such an unbelievable first month. We have met and connected with so many incredible bloggers across the world, and enjoyed all the love and comments from our new followers. We look forward to continuing to share our journey with you all!!
 
Thank you and much love to everyone!!
Laura and Kelli