Sunday, November 27, 2011

Thanksgiving project

So I've been wanting a new dining room table and chairs



for quite sometime but other needs or pleasures have come



before purchasing table and chairs.






Then one day while reading Paula Deen's magazine, I



came across a table and chairs of hers that I fell madly



in love with. She had them out on her porch, which looked



amazing with a buffet, chair and table, all in white. So I



thought I would like to copy that picture perfect porch and



make over our back porch which needs some TLC. We



haven't sat out there for a few years. We do alot of barbequing



during the summer and I thought if we loved the porch we'd



sit out and enjoy the evenings more.






Then unexpectedly one day I stopped in at the Restore to



drop off some items we no longer wanted. Restore is a store



open to the public that takes/sells household items to help



build Habit of Humanity homes. There I found 4 off-white



chairs similar to the Paula Deen chairs I had seen in the



magazine. I purchased them for $60.00. They sat on my



back porch waiting for my TLC for a few months, due



to Labor Day vacation, canning peach jam, other commentments



that kept coming up. Also I had the problem of .....if I paint them



and then come across a table, would I have to paint the table to



match them or repaint the chairs to match the table.






This whole time I had this table and chairs picture in my head



for the back porch. Then it hit me like a light bulb moment,



why don't I fix them for our dining room in our house. It only



made more sense to have a nice table and chairs for the house



before the back porch. . . . duhhh!!






You see our dining room table was purchased in 1978



before me and Scott got married. It was always a nice



table so why replace it...right???






The chairs that we purchased with the table, we replaced



in 1982, with the ones we still used till this day. We paid a



pretty penny for them because they were on wheels and tilted



back for comfort at the mere price of $500.00 a piece back then.



Which seems outragious now but we were both working and making



pretty good wages, plus it was just the 2 of us then.






Scott went out of town with my son-in-law Jon to go elk hunting.



Scott doesn't like to hunt but he went to help Jon in case he got one.



So my plan was to get a few projects done while he was gone, one



of them was to paint the chairs and get them done. The other one



was to place my daughters dresser in her old room on KSL to get



rid of it and clean out her room. It had become my bottomless pit,



it had started to look like I needed to join hoarders anomyous...lol.



Within 20 minutes of placing the ad, I had sold it. I couldn't believe



it, I sold it for $60.00.






Then the next day while brousing our local classified ads KSL



(like Craig's List) I found the table I'd been looking for.



The table had 4 legs, not a pedestal with legs to catch our



feet on. It had chunky big legs not thin legs, I wanted some



thing that stood out and have some character to them. They



only wanted $50.00 for it.. I just knew with that price it would



go fast if it hadn't already been sold. I called a few times with



no answer, I finally left a message stating that I had been looking



for a table just like what they had for sale. It was later that day



when the gentlemen called me back stating if I wanted it I could



have it. I was so over joyed and thanked him several times for it.






So I pictured having this table and chairs done by the time Scott



got home from hunting. That gave me a week to do it all, that



should be no problem right????






I started with the table legs. I sprayed painted them outside



which the weather was pretty good still considering it was the



first week in November.






LEGS




The before and after picture










Landon helping me put the legs on the table. (3 weeks
later) I'll explain later in the story.



Finished leg on the table





Don't you think the chunky legs make


the table?


TABLE




Finished look of the table






Finished side look of table






So during the week Scott was gone, I watched Landon



while Kimberly was at work. Then Friday night I took



off and went to dinner and a movie Footloose. See the



previous story on my fantastic night. So it was just hard



trying to stay focused on getting it done.



The table was to heavy to lift so I knew I'd have to wait



for Scott to come home and help me lift it. So when he



got home we took it outside to spray paint it. When I



started to paint it ...it started to bubble, crack and peel.



UUHHHHH!! So we dragged it in the basement to let



it dry to strip it the next day.



So the next day after Scott got home from work we dragged



it outside and started wire brushing it off because it had



ridges so a sander wouldn't work. We'll we finally got it off



and decided that maybe it was dirty and the paint wouldn't



adhere to it. So I started spray painting it again. The one



half painted great...then the other half started cracking and



peeling AGAIN!!!.. so in the basement it went again to dry



again!



So the next day we tried some spray paint stripper, which



seemed to get most all of it off again. I had went down earlier



that day to Home Depot and got the paint matched. I was



going to paint it on with a brush and a foam roller. I put it



in Kimberly's room on a table, where it was nice and warm



(we think the cold air is what made the reaction to the spray



paint).



It turned out beautifully!!!!



So then I started on the top.



Previously before spray painting the bottom part of the table,



we had sanded all the polyuthane off.



I applied a wood conditioner. It helps the stain look more



evenly not blotchy. I used Minwax, I used it a few years



ago when we done my daughters desk. It done a great job



so I knew it really works.





I just applied it with a lint free cloth.






First coat of minwax PolyShades.



It has the stain and polyurethane together.



I used BOMBAY MAHOGANY GLOSS.



I applied 2 coats of the stain till I got the color



I desired. I applied it and then I went back and



rubbed off the excess till I got a smooth feel



(which is more difficult with the poly in it),



I used fine steel wool to buff out any imperfections,



then I applied another coat again, then rubbing



it evenly smooth again.



I applied it wth a new lint free cloth.





I then applied 3 coats of



HELMSMAN SPAR URETHANE CLEAR GLOSS



using another clean lint free cloth. I also rubbed it



on and then rubbed off excess till even and smooth.



I also let it dry 24 hrs between coats. Then I used



fine steel wool to buff down and smooth out any



imperfections. I didn't buff the final coat.



CHAIRS





Before picture of what the chairs looked like






Chair with the seat removed





Cushion after taking the staples out of it.





Sanded down any grooves or dents.



Kylie, my dog enjoying the nice day watching



mom work hard on the chairs.




The foam on the chairs were really worn out, so I



went to JoAnn's and bought High Density foam.





Traced out outline of the old cushion onto



the new foam using a medium sharpie. I



also number the cushions with the boards to



keep them straight also.




In the process of putting on the material on the



new foam I noticed the green color underneath



showing through because of the light colored material.



So I went to Walmart and bought some Pellon to put



between the material and cushion. It worked great,



the green color didn't show through plus it added some



padding to make it a softer cushion.



I layed down my outside material on the table facing



down, then I put down the cut out pellon (previously



I put down the pellon, then the cushion, then the board,



then cut enough to bring up to the board to staple to



the bottom of the board..so the green wouldn't show



through the sides) then the green cushion, then the



board.




Then I stapled the material and pellon to the board.



Trimming any excess off. I used a Dewalt hand stapler,



with 1/4 inch staples 6 mm thick.





I cut slits in the pellon and cut out excess pellon to give



it a smoother look in the corners.






Then we screwed the cushion to the chair.





The finished look of the chairs.






Like my other project in the background....need to



finish painting the baseboard in the front room.






So the table and chairs ended up costing me $158.00




Chairs 60.00


Table 50.00


Material 30.00


Paint & Stain 65.00


Batting 13.00


Total $218.00


Subtract money from dresser I sold 60.00 =


$158.00









So I had picture getting the table and chairs done



before Scott got home. Which was unreasonable,



I didn't realize how much work it would take to



get it done. This was my first attempt at making



over furniture. I then made it a goal of getting it



done by Thanksgiving. Which it probably would've



been done by....except...






  • painting and stripping the table twice



  • unstapling the material to one chair to add pellon so it wouldn't show the green cushion through



  • finding the staples that would staple and not have to hammer them in




I want to thank my husband for the patience and tolerance of putting up with the house a mess with chairs, foam, material, tools etc for days. Hours of helping me sand and stripping the table. Putting up with all the frustrating moments that came up. Mostly putting up with my wild ideas that make work for him, which he put aside his own projects to help me with.




In the end we had a wonderful Thanksgiving on our new dining room table. I




am blessed to have a wonderful husband, family and friends that make my life special.









































Friday, November 4, 2011

Red Lobster and Footloose

So you know the saying "Why the cat is away the mice will play"
we'll I done some playing tonight.

Scott went elk hunting with my son-in-law Jon. They were met up with Scott's friend Terry who has a cabin up at Flaming Gorge. We'll to tell you the truth Scott has never been a hunter, he would rather save a animal then shoot it, he thinks their to beautiful.
So you might say he has been converted to the reglion of hunting by the fact he would do anything for Jon. He doesn't have a hunting license but he did get a fishing license in the
hope that Jon might get his elk early and then they can go play and do some big fishing on
the Gorge. He is going to be the cook and extra man to help bring out the elk if the luck
shall prevail.

So me, Kimberly and Shauna decided we would have a girls night out to enjoy ourselves
also. Shauna ended up going to St. George to spend time with her cousin Whitney who
recently turned 21. So we dropped Landon off to grandma Lynn's for some fun time, then
went to Red Lobster to enjoy their Endless Shrimp. I love shrimp but living in Utah, we
don't get to eat it as much as I'd like (the seafood in California is to DIE for). So we tried
the Shrimp Alfredo and Breaded Shrimp first....YUMM, wish I could explain how good it
was. Then we tried the Shrimp Scampi and Spiced Shrimp next, the Scampi was also good
but didn't care to much for the spiced shrimp. That was my first time eating at Red
Lobster but I can certainly say it won't be the last. I could eat there once a week if the
budget allowed but I will be thinking of that dinner for awhile.

Then we hurried over to the Gateway to the Cinema to watch "Footloose". I haven't been
to a movie for awhile, I am one to just wait till it comes out on video for the most part.
Unless its Harry Potter or the Twilight series. So I went with excitement of enjoying a good movie. I love Juilianne Hough, she can sing, dance and act. She is a very talented young
lady. I heard that the movie had good reviews and that it put the old one to shame, which
was hard for me to believe. I can truly say that I totally agree with who ever said it, it was
so good that I found myself wanting to watch more of it when it ended. The story was good,
the actors/actresses were so much better but the dancing....all I can say is "extremely out
of this world" . At times certain parts would remind me of the old movie, I did however like how they kept it close to the same production then remaking a whole different story line.

I left leaving the movie feeling like I wanted to be 30 yrs younger, go out line dancing
(which I haven't done in 32 yrs) and kick up my heels. You could go in to watch the movie
in the worst mood, come out in a happy go lucky mood kicking up your heels.
I give this movie 5 stars *****!!!

I plan to do a few more things while the cat is away, one is a big project that I have in the
works since Labor Day and hopefully have it done before the cat returns.....lol