Cynthia Hawkins
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Posts from the “Writer By Day” Category

The Unfinished Picnic Table

Posted on August 6, 2016

The Videos:

Part I:
Part II:
Part III:
Finished:

Further Instructions:

Industrial Coffee Table

I used a traditional yellow pine picnic table that had been sitting in the back yard.  I simply took the top off of the supports, cleaned and lightly sanded the surface so some of the old paint layers were still there.  I checked with the manufacturer to ensure that this is untreated wood.  Treated wood would have arsenic in it and would not be environmentally safe furniture for indoors, let alone to eat on.  I gave it a final clean-off with Simple Green to cut through any remaining layers of grime from being stored outdoors so long.

My goal was to create a rustic “barn-wood” appearance out of the planks, so I lightly brushed on different colors of chalk paint I had handy, in blues and varying shades of grays, concentrating colors on separate planks (though a little blending adds to the barn-wood aesthetic — so if it happens, it happens).

After the newest paint layers dried, I used a rotary sander to reveal some patches and stretches of bare wood, particularly around the ends, corners, and edges — thinning the paint layers just a little in the center.  Chalk paint stands up pretty well to sanding, I’ve found, so have at it.

Next step for that cohesive barn-wood look: a water based stain.  I ended up using Minwax Natural, concentrating on the bare wood and wiping it off the paint quickly so the paint colors didn’t become too saturated with the golden hue.

Final touches.  You could easily skip these last steps, but I love obsessing over the minute details, the depth and shading.  I used a soft furniture wax all over and buffed it off. I could be persuaded that one is better than the next, but I’ve found all of the clear soft furniture waxes to be similar, so I tend to go for the cheapest.  The one I used came from Michael’s: ArtMinds Clear Wax.

After buffing, I applied Amy Howard’s Dark Antique Wax more strategically to corners, edges, and up and down the planks on which I wanted to bring out the darker colors to contrast with the lighter planks.  Howard’s is the first Dark Antique Wax I’ve tried.  A little pricey, but it goes a long way and is easy to control.  I also splurged on the Amy Howard waxing brush.

AND I splurged on Amy Howard’s Dust of Ages, which is basically a can of dust you pay for.  Using this makes me feel like a sucker, but, I have to say, it compliments the dark antique wax nicely, offsets the wax’s amber tint with a little gray, and brings out a lot of texture.

I’d found a schematic for an industrial coffee table base made out of pipes and pipe fittings that I passed on to Joe to adapt to my new coffee table top. Our top is a different size than the one used on the Sadler House blog, but it’s easy to make the adjustments to suit.  We used the flange fittings at the base of the legs instead of the end caps.

Industrial End Table

For the matching side table, we used the remaining bench-seat wood.  My dad dismantled and cut the bench wood in half and then squared the ends.  Unlike the picnic table top that was already useable once detached, dad had to brace the bench wood planks to join them into a single table top.  We wanted the side table to sit higher, so we modified the original industrial base schematic to accommodate a 33” square table top that would be 26” in height.  The refinishing of the wood was exactly the same process as it was for the coffee table.

Categories: Box of Monsters Blog, Writer By Day

The Patchwork Ottoman

Posted on July 19, 2016

Instructions for Ottoman Cover

  • measure the width and length of the top of the ottoman
  • piece together enough remnant fabric to match that measurement plus 2″ added to both width and length for seam allowance — remember, in fact, to account for at least an inch seam for the fabric you’re piecing together as well
  • sew your pieced-together fabric with the right sides of materials together
  • measure the end your ottoman, then the side — height and width
  • for the ends and sides I over-shot the length by a good deal so I had some leeway when it came to staple-gunning the fabric in place on the underside — at least leave 5″ plus that 2″ seam allowance for where you will sew it to the “ottoman top” piece
  • once you have your ends and sides ready to go, pin, right side fabric together, to the coordinating sides of the “ottoman top” piece and sew
  • the finished result will look like that “collapsed box top”
  • cover the ottoman with it to test for accuracy of coverage
  • if all is well with the fit, sew the flaps together, edges of right-side fabric facing, to create the ottoman corners
  • slip the fabric “box” over the ottoman
  • if you do not want tufted buttons, turn your ottoman over, pull the fabric taut over the underside of the ottoman frame, and staple the fabric in place all around
  • I trimmed the excess fabric off of my ottoman after stapling fabric

Instructions for Tufted Buttons

  • you will need waxed upholstery thread, a covered button kit, and upholstery needles ( I purchased mine on Amazon, but they have these supplies at most craft and/or fabric stores)
  • determine how many buttons you want on the ottoman top
  • I went with 6 because I’d added decorative stitching intersecting the fabric strips, and I thought it’d look best to stick with the number of intersections created
  • you may want to mark the spot for button placement with chalk because you’ll be flipping your ottoman while working with each button
  • follow directions on your button covering kit (super easy!) to prep the buttons — tip: a thinner fabric works best
  • thread upholstery needle with a generous stretch of thread and insert needle into first button location
  • VERY IMPORTANT — hold one of the threads so you only pull the other thread through
  • poking the upholstery needle through faux leather, I had to use something to push the need through — I pressed it down with a hammer head
  • thread through the button
  • rethread the needle
  • send the needle through the same spot to secure the button
  • use a strip of cotton batting, muslin, or a 4″ X 2″ rectangle of remnant fabric to place underneath the first knot you tie in the wax thread on the underside of the ottoman — be sure to pull as hard as you can to sink the button on the surface
  • NOTE: if you want to deeply sink the button and produce that lovely puckered fabric effect, you’ll have to cut holes in the original top/foam the size of the button — some go all the way through the foam with those holes — on other projects, I’ve just created a dent about half of the depth of the foam
  • some upholsterers staple gun the threads on the underside to the wood frame on the underside — I’ve used both methods and, so far, haven’t seen a visible difference on the surface
  • tie the upholstery thread multiple times to secure
  • repeat for all buttons
Categories: Box of Monsters Blog, Writer By Day

  

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