Folding Chair Rehab

 

John and I recently received an antique table that my Granny no longer had space for.  It's beautiful!  But, the chairs that came with it were pretty ugly (and not antiques).  We sold the chairs off, but short-sightedness has left us with only folding chairs sitting around our dining table!

They're pretty beat up

And the seats are pretty dated

Not too cute.  So, I decided to do a little rehab on the chairs and make them look like new!

To do the same, you will need:

• Sandpaper
• Rust-proof spray paint
• Fabric
• Staple gun and staples (as small as you can get- 1/4 inch or so)
• Fabric shears
• Screwdriver

First, sand down your chairs. I like to do this outside so that I don't have to deal with cleaning up the paint and metal bits that come off while sanding.

Now, hopefully your old folding chairs will have their seats attached with screws.  Just undo the screws and pop out the seats!  But, if you're unlucky like I am, you have a seat that is riveted to the chair.  Rivets.  Seriously.  But don't worry!  If you find yourself with riveted seats, use a small drill bit to drill all the way through, then a large one to drill away the rivet.  It should pop off after that!

Next, you'll want to take your sanded chairs and spray paint them the color of your choice.  I stuck with black.  It's timeless, right?

Allow the chairs to dry.  While they're drying, take the seats and use them as a guide for cutting squares of fabric.

Then, simply staple the fabric around the edges of the seat.  Start on one side, then do the opposite side.  This prevents big wrinkles on the seat.

Trim the excess fabric.

Pop the seat back into its frame, and reattach the screws.

Done!  And so much better than before!

Lighten Up: Front Porch Lighting

 

Last month, bunches of my posts involved using up old craft supplies.  Now, it seems that I'll have a ton of home improvement projects, big and small.  Up first is a quick fix that anyone can do: updating the light on the front of your home.  Our whole street is full of houses with itty bitty lights out front.  Tiny porch lights are neither welcoming nor terribly illuminating.  So, I decided we needed to go bigger. 

Check out the before and after pictures and see if you don't agree: bigger is better!

Before

After!

Before: so small!

After: big and bright!

We also put in a tube to make our light go from dusk to dawn, saving energy!  What do you think?

Saturday Snapshot: Inside an Iris

Orange Sorbet Moscato Float

This is perfect for hot days when you're entertaining!  The tart orange sherbet makes a perfect pair to the sweet pink moscato bubbly :)

Simply scoop the orange sherbet into a large wine glass and top with moscato!

Have a fantastic weekend!  Stop by tomorrow for a snap of our irises :)

Peach Rhubarb Cobbler

The title says it all: yum!  I actually had intended to make rhubarb cobbler, but the 5 cups I cooked didn't go as far as I needed it to.  So, I grabbed a half used bag of frozen peaches, thawed them, and threw them into the mix.  What a happy accident!

You will need:

• Filling:
• 5 cups rhubarb
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 8 ounces peaches (I used frozen)
• Topping:
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Dash of salt

Place the rhubarb, sugar, and water in a pot and bring to a low boil, stirring occasionally.

While the rhubarb is heating up, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Then, combine all of the topping ingredients except for the butter in a large bowl.  Stir to combine.

Cut the butter into the dry mixture and use a pastry knife to combine them into coarse crumbs.

By now, the rhubarb should be very soft.  Pour into a 9x13 casserole dish.

Add the peaches.

Top with the crumble and bake for 40 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and cripsy.

Allow to cool for a little bit, then serve with a scoop of ice cream.  Yum!!

June Book Club

For the month of May, I read Hiding in the Open, which was a fascinating read!  While the writing was occasionally less than impressive, the story of how she survived the Holocaust was just so unbelievable that I couldn't put it down!

My book club group met up to see The Great Gatsby instead of our usual wine and snack-fest :)  It was a beautiful movie to watch, and even though I had a few qualms with the way the book was brought to film, it was overall a really fun experience :)  Have any of you seen it?  What did you think?

This month, I will be reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.  There are many books that, as someone with a background in literature, I shake my head in wonder at how I have missed reading them.  This is one of those books.  Can't wait to read it!  What are you reading this month?

Saturday Snapshot: Bluebells