Vintage Finds . . .

I was so happy last week to spend a day with my daughter, her friend, and my granddaughter at a large neighborhood gararage/estate sale in southeast Portland. It is such a beautiful neighborhood with large trees and older homes with gorgeous architecture. We had a wonderful time walking from home to home in the warm, sunny weather.

 

two vintage rose bouquet pics (I just love old prints and pics)

4 yds. of this toile fabric ~ isn't it gorgeous? and only $3

 my daughter spotted these toile chargers ~ love them! {used them in the toile tea party tablescape}

lot of vintage ric-rac ~ I will use it for gift wrapping

 

An antique sideboard that is the perfect piece for my nightstand dresser in our bedroom

and, the best deal of the day . . .

2 gorgeous, shabby chic wall sconces w/shades ~ only $1 for both!

I think they will have to be new additions to our shabby chic guest room

Thanks for stopping by. Let me know about your vintage finds.
Have a great week!
~ Julie

DIY: Antique table update

This week I tackled our coffee table in our family room.
The table was a craigslist find for only $20 {Portland, Oregon, has the best craigslist ~ We furnished Starting Grounds Church & Coffee House with antique furnishings almost entirely from craigslist}.

I wanted a round coffee table so it wouldn't take up too much space in the room, and I debated whether this table was big enough; but it was just too pretty to pass up. 

Before

As soon as I saw that it had a removable board top, I knew I wanted to add an upholstered cushion, and I loved the pretty vintage style and painted accents around the edge.

With a removable tabletop board (covered with a fake looking leather), it was an easy upholstery project. {It might have had a glass insert before; I'm not sure. So, if you have a glass top table, this would be easy to do.}

While I was at Joann's getting more fabric for the outdoor wicker cushions and, since all of the decor fabric was half off . . .  I picked out the table fabric, got a 2" padded cushion . . .  came home, got out the staple gun and went to work.

About a half hour later . . .

The fabric is a moire plaid, which was a little too formal for our room, so I just used the back side which looks perfect. The fabric almost matches our door drapes, which I wanted, but is no longer available. This plaid has more yellow, which I like, and love it on the table.

How to do this project:

Trace around the top of your table on the foam cushion and cut.

Cut the fabric at least 3" larger  around the cushion.
Place the cushion and fabric on the board and staple to the back. If using plaid, you may need to line up the plaid so it is straight across. Staple one side and then the opposite side, pulling fabric tight.

Flip it over and make sure the fabric is straight. Add a few more staples on each side to secure and repeat on the opposite sides, pulling fabric tight.

Continue stapling around table top, overlapping and pulling fabric tight to keep it as flat as possible on the back side.

 

After

Fast and easy project.

Thanks for visiting! Hope you have fun with your upholstery projects!
~ Julie

White . . . in the garden

Today I thought I would share white things from the garden. The white flowers are beautiful and really stand out against the purples, pinks and yellows.

Clematis

White Dogwood Tree loaded with blooms this year

Mock Orange
~ fabulous fragrance drifts through the entire garden

A Bunny? :)

Companula

David Austin cabbage roses

Ester Reed Daisies
(was one of my mother-in-law's favorites ~ 

whenever I see them, I think of her)

Arbor and a Bench to sit and enjoy God's creation

Wild Daisies

Gazebo
(all white now before the cushions, but tomorrow it's getting dressed for summer!)

Thanks for sharing our garden.
Have a great week!
~ Julie

Check out more white on WHITE WEDNESDAYS at fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com

Red, White and Blue Toile Tea Party

Toile Tea Party in red, white and blue for the 4th of July!

Just purchased the red toile chargers at a sale last week.

Blue toile plates include two Spode, Johnson Bros. Old Britain Castles and Liberty Blue, and Liberty Blue mugs (I was fortunate to inherit a complete set of Liberty Blue dishes ~ they are beautiful colonial toile ~ perfect picks for July 4th),

an estate-sale-find Spode red sugar bowl, and Johnson Bros. red teapot,

toile napkins and pretty flowers from the garden. The Sweet William reminds me of fireworks,

and a vintage white tablecloth with lace border of teacups from a relative.

Enjoy your 4th!
God bless America!
~ Julie

Check out more pretty table settings at
 http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2010/07/welcome-to-98th-tablescape-thursday.html

Today I started laundering some vintage linens that I've had stored in the attic; most were inherited and some from estate sales. It felt good to hang them outside, even though I don't have a clothes line and just used my drying rack. I discovered 6 matching napkins and table runner with pretty stitched baskets, old tablecloths, and cross-stitched pillowcases. When I brought them inside, I noticed the fresh outdoor fragrance that my grandmother used to describe and loved about hanging clothes on the line to dry; something you can't get from today's dryers and also . . . no static. I still have two more large bags to clean. I'll probably add pics on future blogs as I decide what to keep and what to sell on etsy or maybe a flea market. I just love old linens ~ they are so beautiful!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a nice 4th of July!

God bless America!

~ Julie

DIY: How to make a custom table cover

With this easy-to-make cover, you can transform any table ~ a fancy table into a craft table, a shabby table into an elegant table, or change the look of a coffee or end table with pretty fabrics . . . Make the sides as long as you want.

I needed to make a custom table cover for a table at Starting Grounds Church for a large, mahogany table with a leather top. We wanted to use it in a classroom and protect the table for craft projects. I purchased brown tablecloth vinyl which has the soft felt on the back side. It's not very colorful, but it goes with the room and is great for crafts; it just wipes clean. You can use whatever fabric, oil cloth, vinyl or whatever you want, and cover any size table.

Purchase enough fabric to cover the width and length of the table and enough to do the sides around the entire table (I made these sides 5"; but you can make the sides as long as you want). Just add 1" for seam allowance and 1-2" for hem if using fabric (you don't need to hem vinyl).

The best way I found to mark the cloth to fit the table top is to put it wrong side up on the table, place a couple large books on it to keep it from moving, and then use a piece of chalk and mark around the edge of the table. It worked perfectly.

Cut the table top 1" larger than the chalk line to allow for the seam allowance.

Decide how long you want the side length to be and add 1" for seam allowance and any inches if needed for a hem. I cut the sides at 5.5" to have a 4-5" length.

Cut as many strips as you will need to go around the table. (If you want gathered fabric sides, you can double the fabric).

Sew your side strips together, end to end, with right sides together, using 1/2" seams. Press seams open if you are using fabric. {If you are going with the gathered/ruffle look, after sewing together, you'll need to baste around the top and adjust your gathers to fit the table top and pin with right sides together}.

Sew the sides to the top with right sides together, using 7/8" seam.  Leave about 5" unsewn at the beginning so you can sew the final side seam together for a perfect fit.
Continue sewing until you are about 5" from the end. Stop and cut the final side piece adding 1/2" on each side for the seam. Pin and sew sides together.

 

Finish sewing the side to the top.

 

 
Finished top (back side)

You can make this table cover out of any fabric; a bed sheet, recycled tablecloth, vinyl or oil cloth for easy cleanup (great for crafts) or any fabric to match your decor.

Have fun! This is easy. Now you can make a custom fitted table cover to fit any table!

http://www.theshabbychiccottage.net/2010/06/table-transformation.html