Slipcovered Glider for the Nursery

This post is shared on That DIY Party 

At the end of my last post I told you that I had gotten a start over the weekend on recovering the glider for the nursery.  I had also said that it would probably be a long time before I posted because the project would take me a while because it was complicated.  I am happy to report that it was not nearly as complicated as I thought it would be and I actually finished the project on Tuesday night!

I bought this glider several years ago for $20 at a thrift store.  Other than some ugly and stained cushions it is in perfect condition.  It took a lot of will power to leave it as is for so long so as soon as my 1st trimester fatigue was gone, I was ready to get started on this thing.  I scoured the blogosphere for tutorials on how to recover gliders and finally decided on this excellent tutorial from a blog called Runs With Spatulas.

I am not going to include detailed pictures of the process in this post so you will have to use her tutorial if you want to replicate this project.  I like this tutorial for several reasons.  First of all, it is one of the most detailed sewing tutorials I have ever come across.  Every single step is detailed with pictures and written instructions.

Secondly, every piece is removable so it can be washed.  I was intimidated by all the zipper sewing that goes along with this but because of the detail of the tutorial I was able to successfully and easily install 4 zippers!

I did do a few things differently than the tutorial however.  First of all she made ties to attach her cushions to the back of the chair but I just decided to replicate the velcro straps that were attaching my glider cushions.  I measured the original ones and then used some fabric scraps to make them. Make sure to sew the velcro on opposite sides of the fabric.  I made this mistake once and had to get out my old friend the seam ripper.

Another thing that I did differently than the tutorial was how I covered the ottoman.  She made a cover with elastic that was removable.  I didn't know how well that would stay on while feet were resting on it and rocking so I decided to just staple my fabric on.  I figured that would be the piece that would be the least likely to get dirty anyway.

Well I suppose I should get to the big reveal.  Here is a reminder of what I started with:

And here is the glider now:

Here is a cost breakdown for this project:

Glider-$20

4 yards of fabric-$42

Zippers and Thread-$13

So this entire project ended up costing me only $75! Not too shabby.

If you are wondering what color the fabric is, it is in fact navy.  It reads a little black in the photos in the nursery but it definitely looks navy in person.  Also, I found that adorable fox pillow at Homegoods.  Isn't it cute?  I am not sure what project I will be working on next but hopefully I won't make you wait too long for another post!

Baby Announcement Gifts

I am back today with a post on the gifts that I gave to my family to announce my pregnancy.  I told my parents pretty much right away but I waited until Christmas to announce it to my brother and sisters. I was 10 weeks at the time.  I thought it would be a cool idea to announce it through Christmas gifts so I scoured Pinterest for ideas.  First, I found these great necklaces from an Etsy shop: JennsHandmadeJewelry.  

You can choose the bead and chain that you want so I chose a pearl bead for each of the necklaces that I purchased.  I love the simplicity of the design.  And the bonus was a great price and fast shipping.

It was a little bit harder to figure out a gift for my brother but I finally decided to make a stenciled ceramic mug.  I also made one for my dad.  I designed the stencils in the Silhouette software.

It took some experimenting to figure out what size would be right for mugs.  I made a little stencil so I could do a little test with the paint first.  I used adhesive vinyl for the stencils.

I found the mugs at Michaels.  They came with cute little ceramic spoons but I broke one of them :(. I used the broken spoon to test the paint with the stencil.

I had considered using sharpies for the mugs but I found mixed reviews on the durability of sharpies on ceramic mugs so I decided to use Martha Stewart glass paint instead.  I purchased the paint at Michaels as well.

I placed the stencils on the mugs.  I made sure that their weren't any bubbles or wrinkles in the stencil.  It takes some time to get it on there perfectly because of the curve of the mugs.  I did end up with a tiny wrinkle in the Grandpa mug but it didn't affect the design at all.

I then used a small stencil brush to apply the paint.

I didn't let the design dry completely before I removed the stencil because in my test I found that the paint would peel off with the vinyl if it was too dry.

I then followed the online directions for curing the paint in the oven.  I am not completely sure that the paint is dishwasher safe so I would hand wash the mugs.

I love the way that they turned out.  The gifts were such a fun way to announce our pregnancy to my family.  My brother and sisters are all teenagers so their reactions were pretty muted (typical teenagers) but it was still fun.  I have started on the glider chair this weekend and I can't wait to share but unfortunately it will probably be a while because it is a complicated project.  Hopefully it won't take me too long!

A Small Living Room Update

I am back today with a tiny update to our living room that involves the curtains.  I believe that the living room curtains were actually my first sewing project for the house.

I liked the way they looked a lot but after making the grommet curtains for the bedroom I decided that I wanted grommets in the living room curtains as well.

So here is a look at the living room curtains now:

Just try to ignore the clutter and the sleepy cat in the photos above.  I just wanted to get a quick blog post done so they aren't my best photos.  

You may have noticed a few less blog posts than normal lately.  That is due to the fact that I have been very tired the last few months and haven't completed very many projects.  And the reason for this tiredness is (drumroll please)...

I am beyond excited about this!  And now that I am a few weeks into my 2nd trimester and most of my energy has returned I am ready to get started on the nursery.  I have been pinning ideas to a secret Pinterest nursery board for a long time.  Actually, I have to admit that I created the board well before we found out that I was pregnant. 

My first project will be to create slip covers for the chair pads on a glider chair that I found for $20 at a local thrift store.  I found an excellent, detailed tutorial that will hopefully make it easy (it involves zippers which is not my forte so there may be a little frustration involved).  The fabric should be arriving today so I hope to get started on it this weekend.  Here is the fabric that I will be using:

I will also be back this weekend with a post on some Christmas gifts that I gave to my family to announce our pregnancy!