Pattern Review: High Chair Cover

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  Ours was wonderful, relaxing, and full of family time. Hopefully those of you who are big Black Friday shoppers were successful in your endeavors.  All of my Black Friday shopping has been online because I am not a fan of the crazy crowds!

Today I am reviewing a pattern that Fisher Price Space Saver High Chair Pattern by Sewplicity.  I want to start off this post by saying that I absolutely love the Fisher-Price Space Saver High Chair.  It can be attached to many different types of dining chairs and it is convenient to take with you when you are going over to someone's house to eat a meal.  My only complaint with it was that it only came with one cover and the cover needs to air dry after being washed.  This doesn't work very well when you have to wash it in-between meals.  While looking for replacement covers to buy (you can buy extra Fisher-Price ones here), I came across the Sewplicity pattern and thought I would give it a try.  I cut the fabric for the pattern way back in July while working on Lyla's teepee.  I finally got around to sewing them about a month and a half ago.  

For the outer fabric of the covers I decided to use PUL fabric.  This is the same fabric that is used on cloth diapers.  I found the PUL fabric for these covers on a website called Diaper Sewing Supplies. The fabrics I used were Wildflower Watercolor and Fanciful Foxes.  I did not use any fusible interfacing like the pattern called for because I was using PUL.

The directions for this pattern were very easy to follow and the covers came together quickly. Because of the multiple layers of fabric and batting that needed to be sewn together, it was quite a workout for my machine.  A sharp needle is definitely essential for this project.  I was a little stumped on sewing free-hand buttonholes for the straps to go through.  The pattern's author does include directions on her blog but after reading a few more blog posts from other bloggers on the subject I figured out that I just needed a clear foot so that I could see my markings on the fabric.  I used a satin foot like this one.  Then I pulled down the buttonhole lever and changed the settings on my machine to the proper ones for sewing a buttonhole.  I just had to manually move the buttonhole lever when I came to the end of my marking to reverse the direction and sew the other side of the buttonhole.

I didn't sew the buttonholes on the bottom part as indicated in the pattern directions because it wasn't necessary for my model of the high chair.

Overall I really liked this pattern and love how the covers turned out.  They are so fun and I like having the ability to really customize Lyla's high chair.  Sometimes I feel like this blog is turning into a sewing blog instead of a house blog but I just love sewing so much!  I have been busy sewing Lyla some Christmas pajamas and I hope to be doing a fun Christmas photo shoot with her soon so check back for those posts.

Mounting Photos on Canvas and a Reusable Running Training Schedule

So you may have noticed the photos in this dining room progress photo.  I finally got around to doing something with some of the photos from our European vacation.  This is a really simple project and I think it adds some variety instead of just doing frames.  I chose 4 of my favorite photos from Rome and ordered them in large format prints from Shutterfly.  I made sure to wait for a sale to get the best deal.

I chose prints of the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps.

Other Supplies:
Blank canvases the same size as your prints
Black paint (I used acrylic paint which I already had on hand)
Several foam brushes
Mod Podge

The process was very simple.  I started by painting the sides of the canvases black and made sure to paint a little of the front and back too just to make sure no white would be showing.

Then I applied the Mod Podge to the front of the canvas and the backs of the prints with a foam brush.

Finally I placed the prints on the canvases and smoothed out any bubbles.  Then I hung them on the wall.  Piece of cake.  You could also cover the print itself with Mod Podge to create some texture but I opted not to do that.

My original plan was to hang the three color prints in the living room and the black and white Spanish Steps print in the dining room but once I hung the print in the dining room it looked really lonely and was too small for the wall space.

 

 So I decided to hang two more of the prints next to it and it looked much better.

I still have one more print that I am not sure what to do with yet but I'm sure I'll find a place for it eventually.

My second project was even simpler.  I am a runner and I am currently training for my third half marathon.  I like to follow a very specific training schedule and I usually make chart for each run I do.  I thought it would be fun to make a reusable training schedule for the exercise room.  I made a simple table in Microsoft Word and then printed it out.  I bought a really cute frame, trimmed the page to the dimensions of the page and then popped it in the frame.  I use a wet erase marker to write in my training schedule on the glass of the frame (you could use dry erase too but I am a teacher and have easy access to the wet erase markers and prefer them because I don't wipe them off as a write.  Darn left-handedness)  It was super simple and I think it is super cute!

Wall Stencil Fun

 

This stenciling project in the dining room has been time consuming and tiring.  With that said, I love the way it turned out.  And it was really easy, just a slow process.  

Here is the stencil in action:

 I started by painting the entire room with the base paint which was Valspar City Storm in flat sheen.  I taped the stencil up on the wall with painters tape.  The stencil is moorish trellis made by Royal Design Studios.  I used Valspar City Storm in semi-gloss sheen for the stencil.  I applied the paint to the stencil with a foam brush.  I like the subtle look of the stencil with this tone on tone technique.  The pattern disappears and reappears according to where you are in the room and where the light is.