It arrived!

We finally got our snow!



And here comes some more!

Be well! Be cozy!

before and after chair with a little tutorial

With little effort and basic skills you can have a brand new, customized chair in no time. Reader, Briana, asked me if I'd give a tutorial on how I created my new padded chair. I'm not an expert (this was my first time), but here are the steps I took. Luckily, I obsessively document, so I have a few pictures to tell the story.


1. Remove seat and back pads. You will need a screwdriver. Repair any tears. Duct tape works...since it won't show.


2. Make a pattern of your cushion's shape by laying it on newspaper and add several generous inches all around.
3. Choose your fabric; heavy-weight decorator fabric is recommended. I don't always follow the rules and used linen...it seems fine, but we'll see how it holds up.
{ The following are the "detour" steps if you want to create your own fabric. Cut a piece of freezer paper the same size as your cushion and sketch your design directly on to it. Adjust details and placement by laying it over the cushion.

Cut out your stencil...check out my tips here.



Center your cushion onto fabric and create a masking tape frame. This will help you with placement of your design. Now continue with basic freezer paper fabric printing.}


4. When you cut out your fabric make sure that any graphic print is centered where you'd like it.
Place your cushion upside down on the backside of the fabric. Check once more for design placement.
5. Start stapling. Use a heavy duty staple gun and place two staples on each of the four sides to begin. Now follow around, pulling fabric taut as you go. Tuck in corners neatly and evenly.



6. Bolt cushions to chair frame.


7. Enjoy your new chair and feel proud of your furniture rescue! I'd love to hear your stories about furniture make-overs.

an old chair made new

Well, I guess you know me pretty well...how could I not try my hand at refashioning this old chair with some stenciled linen? Since I'd never re-covered a chair, I chose white on natural...my favorite. Now that I know how do-able this kind of project is, I might give this chair a new look again. I could see this becoming my "morph chair". I have lots of other ideas for it, so don't be surprised if you see it wearing a new outfit in future posts.



Upcycling...refashioning... whatever name you want to give it...making something new from something old is my favorite kind of project. My next goal with fabric printing is to try a simple repeat pattern...maybe an entire yard. Lena Corwin has great ideas for fabric stamping in her new book. I also have my name on the wait list at this fun place. I'm incorporating all of your wonderful ideas from my give-away...I'm having so much fun brainstorming with you. Thanks for your enthusiasm and creative feedback!

on my desk...

Well, it's still technically Wednesday...the day I participate in a sharing of what projects are on my desk with this growing group. My desk likes to travel. This photo was taken at nap time when I tiptoed out to the picnic table with my tray of:
~just picked sunflowers
~first apple of the season
~my two idea books and trusty clipboard (filled with notes from my last post's comment section)
~ supplies for a tutorial ...maybe up tomorrow, if I get a chance

So I hope you've had a wonderful day...I've been singing and dancing through mine, thanks to all of you!! I feel like my most creative moment on this blog was asking for your input in my give-away. You're all a bunch of geniuses!! Your ideas are fabulous and I'm writing each one down...sketching them out. This is so much fun! You know how much pleasure I get from creating new things...well I'm so excited to see whose number will be drawn so I can get to my assignment of fulfilling your request. One of my favorite parts about all of your wonderful comments, is meeting so many of you quieter readers, that have chosen to say "hello" and participate. So thank you all for your energy and well wishes... and if you haven't left a comment, please don't feel any pressure...but I do love meeting you. It makes maya*made more of a dialogue than one of my long monologues.

* a special note to clear up any misconceptions that I seemed to hear in your comments... This was not my son's first year at school (he started at age seven), I just get to missing him so much on these first days, because I had him home with me for so long. I know I'm not alone in the mixed emotions of seeing summer come to an end. Relief and grief, side by side.

barn tour part one

Welcome! You've all waited for this tour so patiently...thank you. I will start with an overview, a few rooms at a time, and continue sharing pictures throughout the summer as we change corners around or just to zoom in on something interesting.

The above photo is the view upon entering the front door. This room, at 300 sq. feet, is an open floor plan mudroom/kitchen/dining room/living room. Every inch had to be well-thought out. A large concrete slab inserted into the floor entry serves as a transition from the outside to the inside. The counter doubles as a dining spot and desk...it holds a laptop perfectly. It's paired with mismatched, vintage industrial stools. Another stool holds an ipod sound system.

The wooden sign collage was discovered underneath the barn when it was crane-lifted and moved to its new foundation. After much research on the builder of the barn, Chas Clapp, we discovered that he had a cousin in Ithaca who was a sign painter. This cousin must have given him scrap wood for various projects. The pieced together advertisements from the late 1800's is truly a "found object", an unintentional work of art. Placing it in such a prominent spot seems to honor this gentle and romantic man who built such a solid and lovely structure 120 years ago. On the original walls were various images that we saved and collaged together in a frame. We put them along side the letter Chas left as a time capsule for my mother to find. These were displayed on the dining counter for the day. I don't think he could have asked for a better person to rescue his barn. My mother appreciates every detail he left behind and they blend seamlessly with her own collections. Kindred spirits from different centuries. Ironically, we found out that Chas Clapp was born in 1844, exactly 100 years before my mother.


I could easily dwell on the romance and history of it all, but back to the tour! If you stayed in the front entrance and looked to the right you'd see the kitchen.
Points of interest: 2 1/2 inch thick concrete counter top, vintage farm sink, galvanized steel backing to open cabinets, small and efficient dishwasher drawer, salvaged radiator tucked under butcher block, Marmoleum floor, pendant light attached to galvanized pipe.


Still unpacking...
Custom cabinet above stove hood...has become a wonderful shadow box for rotating display.

Screen door pantry off kitchen

To the left is the living room, with natural day lighting streaming in through a southern window and French doors.

The arm chair is a 1940's metal bouncer. The fan is an original mid-century Vornado, that blows like a jet engine. I've never enjoyed a fan so much. The couch is a repurposed vintage porch glider, spray painted white. Do you remember it from our first pictures of the barn when it was green? A moment of sheer frustration over how to make it more comfortable and inviting, turned to inspiration when we put an IKEA Flokati rug on top. We love it!



The coffee table is a post in itself. With a little help, my mother built it the day before the open house. I'm going to post a tutorial with details soon.

Next up: bathroom, downstairs bedroom, and deck. Please feel free to ask questions, and we'll answer them to the best of our ability. All barn posts are a joint effort with my mother. I'm so very lucky to have found a creative partner in my mom, and I don't take it for granted for a single moment!

before and almost after cubbies

Salvation Army:$3 handmade cubbies....lightbulb! Help for my chaotic studio!

I decided to paint them red. Love red, but can get scared of it's intensity... in some ways it remains a neutral to all the other colors I love...green, blue, orange. My hope... it will tie things together and break me out of the green rut. The afternoon sun made it look on fire!

My studio is exploding with so many simultaneous projects that I'm feeling a bit crowded and overwhelmed. I will take a "before" picture, but am too embarrassed to share it until the "after"can be taken to be posted along side it. Here are the cubbies temporarily in place...already lending a hand.