Upcycling, recycling and revamping

Being creative isn't just about making things from scratch, it can be about upcycling, recycling and revamping too. Over that last few years, things in the house get attacked with the glue gun, sewing machine, staple gun and paint from time to time.

A couple of recent projects, a foot stool that my parents made for me when I moved into my first house in 1997.  This foot stool remained as it was for 20 years, through several house moves, children and cats. Totally worn out, it was eventually recovered a couple of years ago.  I have recovered things with my mom before but this was actually the first time I decided to recover on my own.

I borrowed mom’s electric staple gun and bought my fabric and off I went.  Getting the tension right so the lines didn’t wobble was tricky, as the tension also needs to be tight enough to get a decent stretch across the stool so it doesn’t gape anywhere. I’m still really chuffed with the finished look. I have enough fabric left from this to make a cushion cover, which along with a couple of new throws will look really good on our little sofa.  

However, I like a couple of cushions so I've recently bought another fabric so that I can make two. I think they look great together.  Just have to find the time now !  

There’s an ottoman in the same rooms as this footstool that also needs doing but I have to be honest, I'm putting off tackling that !!  I will attempt it one day. I think when social distancing eases enough for me to go to mom’s with it, for a bit of help, as she’s done a couple of things like this in the past.

I can never find the right lamp shade. I think I'm fussy!  They are never just right. There are a couple in the house that I just don't like very much, so I try not to look at them or they have been put into rooms where I don't go very often so I don't have to see them.  A couple of these, have recently been revamped!  A bit of aztec looking braid really brightened up the very plain shade that is on the standard lamp in the conservatory.

The beaded braid I bought years ago for this lamp shade and made a start but didn’t finish it, so that has been finished and I’m very happy with the result.  I then wondered around the house looking for other shades to attack but because I’m fussy I tend not to buy lamps if I can’t find the right shade so there weren’t anymore to do.  One thing I do want to do is to rub down and paint the standard lamp that this shade sits on as it’s quite a dark wood and I would prefer a paler affect.  However, my lounge, where this stands, is full of wood or all colours, so maybe leaving it as it is, is the better option - who knows what I’ll decide to do with it.

I was going through a bag of materials a couple of weeks ago that mom had given me. I have my Great Aunt's old oak ottoman in the lounge, it really is beautiful and I told mom years ago that when she didn't want it anymore I'd like it, so it duly came to me about 2 years ago now. It's full of fabric and wool and bits of craft items and every now and then I empty it to see what I can find.

On this recent empty and rummage I found an old pillow case, made from quite heavy cotton that would suit a table cloth. This was duly taken apart and made into two new tray covers/large napkins for my children. I decided to bind the edge with bias binding so I could practice going around a corner.  This was the first time I'd done this so I'm really chuffed with my first attempt.

The remainder of the pillow case, I then made into a cushion cover for our dog. She likes to sit on the window sill in the dining room while Mr KMT is WFH. Here she can keep a good watch on the neighbourhood and bark and anyone approaching the house !  However, we have UPVC window sills in the dining room and her feet slide along them. I recently bought the children new summer weight feather duvets, so I have used the previous fibre filled ones to cut up and make a new bed for the pooch and now a cushion for the windowsill.

One of my problems is I get ideas in my head of how I want things to look before I can find the right fabric, or item.  I wanted 2 bins for the bathroom, one for rubbish and one for recycling.  I didn’t however, want a normal rubbish bin.  I ended up buying to bamboo style containers with a linen lining and painting them with an off white chalk paint.  I have a designated cupboard in the garage that is mine and it’s full of tins of chalk paint that have been bought for a project because I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted so I ended up buying something else and painting it.  Picture frames - they're something else I can never find exactly what I'm looking for and end up buying something that's 'ok' and I paint it...

What do you up cycle, recycle, revamp and make do?  Speaking of make do, are you watching Escape to the Chateaux- Make do and mend?  I love it!