second hand

Stag Head Cushion DIY

by Chavah Kinloch on May 30, 2011

I spotted this on Pinterest a while ago:

I wanted to add the link to the original post but it seems the blog has been deleted. I don’t know if someone DIYed this or if you can purchase it from a store somewhere.

Totally inspired by the look of this stag head I figured I could use it as an idea for my daughters room! I wish I was capable enough to do appliquéd patchwork type of stuff but that’s a little out of my realm of creativity. Maybe one day I’ll give it a go. If I ever get together with you Joanna, you can show me how it’s done. :D

For now though, this is my take on the idea:

Total cost = $1 (That’s how much I paid for the cushion) Everything else was on hand.

I made this while I watched The Shining last night haha.

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B is for Boston

by Chavah Kinloch on May 10, 2011

This is one of the little accessories in Boston’s bedroom. It’s from a bag of letters I picked up from a second hand store for $4. Score! I did this B sometime last year and just never got around to posting it up. I have a thing for words/text/letters/initials/monograms. There is one more 40cm B that I’m working on for Bostons room. I’ll share what I’ve done to that one as soon as I’m done this time around.

I still haven’t bought the fabric for his curtains (insert eye roll) but he’s been living in his room for a while and is sooo cute every time he’s in there. Every time he wakes up he has to open up his curtains. Every day he asks to be lifted up to touch his photo mobile that hangs above his bed. He looks at the photos and names the people in them, “Haaas(Nas), Aya (Vahnija), baby (him)” it’s gorgeous. He jumps on his yellow chair (which still needs a little bit of work too) and plays with his brothers and sister in there. It’s no wonder we call him Boss, that’s exactly how he walks around. He really suits his name.

To go back and see Boston’s room process you can visit here (scroll down to see the list of posts) and here.

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DIY Project: Boston’s Comic Book Drawers

by Chavah Kinloch on October 7, 2010

What do you get when you cross this:

With this:

You get this!

Do you like them? I know they won’t be everyone’s taste but I, personally, LOVE them. I can’t believe how great they turned out! They are going to look so good in Boston’s room.

The children can’t stop going near them, so I think I’ve created a hit.

I went searching for 2nd hand comic books locally but had no luck, I found two tiny ones. One was totally weird and I just had to buy it because it was so weird. Andrew and I had a good laugh reading through it; I’ll use it in another creation some day. The second comic I found was an Archie comic. I loved reading my cousins Archie comics! I’ll also use that for something else in the near future. I got those two comics plus another really pretty colour book for all of twenty cents. So as you can see, I didn’t get what I wanted for this particular project but I bagged a bargain; even if it wasn’t what I set out for. :P

Growing up my brother had a tonne of comics so naturally, I would borrow them to read. Xmen, DC comics, Asterix etc. Loved them all! Now that I have a house full of boys (and one lovely little lady) I want to introduce them to all sorts of things I enjoyed as a child and show them how to be creative. I thought these drawers would be perfect for that.

After having no luck locally, I was still determined to create the set of drawers in my mind so I hit up the internet, of course.

I picked these comics up for from Trade Me. I got five of them delivered to me for $3.50.

The set of drawers were hand me down drawers, to Boston, from his big sister. The drawers I’ve been working on here and the old blanket box I tidied up here, are now hers and I figure instead of buying new things in these renovations, I’ll just use as much of what I have, as possible, to keep costs down and make it unique.

Side note: I have actually finished those drawers now, well the first set anyway but I’m saving the unveiling until I get around to working on her room….so you’ll probably see them sometime next decade.

Anyway, $3.50 for the comics and $21.50 for the totally overpriced furniture glue (IMHO), means the the total of these drawers was $24.50.  Great price for something like this but still too much for my liking.

Now just because I want to show you more angles of the drawers, here are some extra photos:

*The drawers aren’t totally closed in that middle photo.

ETA: I’ve just added this to the Design Refuge – October This is Me Challenge. I think this project is a pretty good representation of my fun, upcycling, eclectic, authentic me style.

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Update on a DIY Project for Boston’s Room

by Chavah Kinloch on September 21, 2010

Last night I got back to work on the chair for Boston’s room.

Did I happen to mention that I’ve never actually upholstered a chair before? I think it turned out pretty well for a first attempt! I’m not finished with it yet. I have to add the finishing touches to cover up my tracks but I’m feeling confident that I can actually pull this off. Exciting times!

The yellow is so incredibly bright, the only way I’ll be able to get a shot with it’s true colour is to drag it outside when the sun is shining. The above photo has been enhanced but it’s still not there. So lets hope, that come the time I finish this chair, the sun will be shining and I can finally show you just how powerful the colour is.

I confessed the other day that my sewing skills are almost non-existent, so obviously I’m attempting to reupholster this magnificent little beauty without touching a sewing machine. This next stage may need me to try to sew a straight line but that’s as far a I’m taking it!

I figure that it’s best I attempt to create my own little yellow chair instead of going bankrupt trying to purchase the likes of this:

Oswald armchair with hakon yellow velvet. RRP of £1495 which equals $3212.90 NZ.

If I had the money spare to buy such luxuries, I would. I do appreciate designers. They are, after all, artists. Like the average stay at home Mum though, their gorgeous products are a little (read: a lot) outside of my budget.

If I had the ability to choose exactly what I wanted to buy; nothing spared, no worrying about money; my home would be a  mix of both high and low end items. I’ve never been a label snob, I like what I like, it doesn’t matter if it costs $1 or $1000. Handmade items are a favourite because of the love that goes into creating them while an expensive designer item has always guaranteed me quality.

Where do you sit on the scale? Are you a bargain hunter or designer diehard?

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A DIY Project for Boston’s Room

by Chavah Kinloch on September 16, 2010

Sometime time last year I picked up this chair from Habitat for Humanity. I knew I wanted a really comfortable single chair in the corner of Bostons room so I went looking around. I came across some really fun chairs being sold at furniture stores and online; but their price tags were in the thousands of dollars region… a little out of my league.

So on one of my trips out to my favourite second hand stores I spotted this chair.

I found it really comfortable for an oldie but it was in dire need of some love; so I brought it home.  The chair only cost me $10. Not bad I think.

I set about removing the old fabric, it was a hideously dusty job.

I must have picked out a million nails, pins and old staples. Very tedious.

I flipped it over and painted the legs.

Then lined the bottom cushion of the chair with clean fabric.

I went out today and bought some new fabric to cover the chair with. I LOVE it. It’s so bright and cheerful, I can’t wait to see the end result.

Want a sneak peek of the fabric?

Let’s hope I can pull this off!

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Sexy New Subjects

Welcome to the first official day of my regular routine! I’ve loved my time off but am really excited to be back painting my paintings and venturing into finishing and starting new furniture projects to take from wreck to ravishing. This is my current project. I was going to make it extremely artistic but now I’m [...]

Update on the Yellow Chair

It’s finished! I finished it last week I’ve been hanging out to get this post up to share it with you all. I had SUCH hard time finding the right fabric for the cushion. I knew exactly what I wanted but no matter how gorgeous the choices of fabric were, I couldn’t find it! I [...]