Thursday, August 27, 2009

FIY Chair

I have had emails regarding the yellow plaid chair in my last blog - is it new, used, where did you get it? But before I get to my chair I would like to update you on my Dad. For those of you who follow my sister's blog http://www.withthyneedleandthread.blogspot.com/, you know that my dad fell from a ladder and broke his femur. He has had surgery and was scheduled to be moved to a swing bed in his home hospital today. However, yesterday he developed a very large blood clot in his leg that required a procedure to put in a "strainer" (sorry I can't remember the medical term) to prevent it from moving to his lungs. Now it is looking like he will not be going to the swing bed until Monday. Then it will be about 3 months of rehab.

Now back to my chair. My vintage vinyl chair was purchased at a thrift store. I actually remembered to take "before" pictures - kind of. As you can see I drew some lines on the seat before I remembered to take a picture.





The price was right, but I felt that the yellow was a bit bright for our cabin.





I tried various ways to tone it down.

There was a small stain on the chair that I thought possibly was a coffee stain so I tried toning it down by wiping it with a strong mixture of instant coffee. Works for fabric…but not vinyl.

I tried wood stain...did not work.

I tried colored wax…did not work.

Then it occurred to me...how about if I tone it down by drawing my “wavy plaid” with markers.





I have a lot of markers. (Someday when I have grandkids they will love to come to Grandma's studio to play with her markers.) The markers might even get me in the “A” Grandma position. :)





I chose these colors and started out by drawing in the large brown grid. I then added in the green, gold and orange last of all I added in the beige. After I was all done, I realized I should of taken pictures along the way. - Falls in the “too dumb to blog” category. Once I get a design idea in my head I am thinking about nothing but getting to the end result.




I let it set overnight and then I sprayed it with a clear flat spray paint.



Viola!



Now go create.


From my heart,


Sandy



16 comments :

  1. Lovely little chair! And such a great purchase! Oh, and I must say, I have a very similar box full of Prisma markers....

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  2. I should have known. I assumed it was just a cool, funky vintage chair. Now, with a closer look and of course, your explanation - I can see your "mark". Great chair. Hope your Dad's rehab goes well.

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  3. That idea is absolutely brilliant! Congrats!!!

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  4. That is such a cool idea! I love it!

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  5. I'm so sorry to hear about your dad - sounds like he will have lots of attention from his loving family! Love the chair, Sandy, and I will never look at markers the same way again!
    Cheers!

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  6. WOW!!!! That is amazing! Will you be my adopted sister?!!! I absolutely love it!

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  7. Love it! And, I, too would have had to bring it home at that price...even tho I don't have anywhere to put it. I love it. It looks so familiar to some of your plaids in the Flirtations line.

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  8. Love what you did with the chair! Best wishes to your Dad. I hope he recovers as quickly as possible. Blessings, Karen

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  9. My husband had a "strainer" put in last year and it has worked like a charm. I hope your Dad recovers quickly. Love the chair ... really loved the price.

    And I don't know a better word than "strainer" either.

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  10. That chair is so cute -- thanks for sharing the creation process. However, I know if I tried that, it would look like a naughty little three year old scribbled all over a chair! Hope your dad's recovery is smooth and fast.

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  11. OUCH !! Poor Dad !!! Hope he's home and doing better very soon!

    ....and what a GREAT idea with that chair !!!

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  12. your creativity never ceases to amaze me!

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  13. I'm so sorry about your dad. I hope the healing process goes well. I love the chair!!!
    I scanned down to the post on the hair styles. Ohmigosh! You gave me my laugh for the WEEK!! I used all those products, too, and had the pixie cut and the glasses. We could have been neighbors except our basement salon was at Delores' house! ~Joyce in MI

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  14. Hope your dad is feeling much better--breaking a large bone is a long healing process. Love the vinyl chair, you clever lady, marker plaid is an amazing thing!

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  15. OMG!! You have a BLOG!! I love your fabrics! I just made a wedding gift/quilt from a Merry and Bright jelly roll and charm pack for one of my cousins and she LOVED it. (I reeeeeally wanted to keep it, so there may be another in my future.) The picture I took of that quilt made the "Explore" page on Flickr so I was really proud of that- but I think it had to do with the pretty colors more than my sewing skills.

    Sorry to hear about your dad- my Gramps had blood clotting issues a couple years ago and it was rough to go through. He had to get one of those "strainers", too.

    Your "A" Grandma comment made me laugh- my last name sounds like "tune" and when my son was little he called my MIL "Grandma 2", instead of "Grandma Thoune". (Which I think secretly tickled my mom.) As far as the markers go, they will give you a leg up, but nothing beats a candy jar...

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  16. Awesome chair Sandy - now that you've gotten hold of it. I wouldn't have been able to pass it up at that price either. Have read ahead and glad your dad is better. See you at Market. Are you bringing the chair or does it go with your new line?

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