urine luck, part deux

I just got the couch of my dreams last night. Here it is:

Hahaha oh...*wipes away a tear* IF ONLY.

Anyone remember last year, when I posted this, about using my iron to sear some hot cat pee into old satin?

Well it looks like I've inherited another project of the cat pee variety, and I'm super duper excited about it. Okay not the cat pee part, but the project. Meet my new baby.



Tada! Oh boy. I found this on Craigslist, and was instantly in love. And like the true waste-not dumpster diver that I can sometimes be, I said, "Cat pee? Pshaw. I've dealt with that before. Total reupholstering? Easy! I've already reupholstered a wingback chair (that I found next to a dumpster)! How hard could this be?"

Um.

It was free? That's all I can say in my defense. And she's got good bones, really solid, nice wood, and I love her profile. And this time around I kind of know what I'm doing. For example, I know that I need to get fabric I'm sure I'll still love in 5 years, aka the gray velvet I've been longing for these past four years. I need to get a staple gun for the air compressor because last time around I got carpal tunnel from using a squeeze staple gun 40,000 times in two days. And I need to refinish the dumb wood BEFORE I reupholster. Ha.

Really though, as much as I don't look forward to tearing out antique fabric covered in at least a gallon of feline whizz, I really enjoy making or re-doing furniture. I mean, I made this bed for my youngest:



I built this bench to go with my table.

Years ago, my sister-in-law scored a really messed up orange table that was a prop at Urban Outfitters. The table top was crap, but I loved the legs. After a few years of sitting in my husbands shop, I recently  took them down, painted them, used a wire brush on the painted-over brass toe caps, and attached them to a small pine table top. 

Oh and see that chair there? It was six bucks at the scariest ghetto thrift shop ever. Here it is before:

 I tore off the seat cushion, stripped the wood, sanded the heck out of it, and used some leftover leather I had to re-cover it. I gotta admit, I was pretty proud. Even my perfectionist husband was impressed with that outcome.

I've really made or fixed quite a few things, so I'm hopeful about this new project. Now I have a question for you all: does anyone have any experience with button tufting? Because I'm seriously thinking about changing that smooth back to a tufted one. Thoughts? Opinions? I'm just curious.

dirty mind

Not that kind of dirt. The kind ya grow stuff in, sheesh.

For a real long time now, I've been hoping that a compost bin would appear somewhere in my yard, and that I would be able to amend my icky Florida soil with black goodness free of charge.

Well after three years of grimacing whilst chucking kitchen scraps in the trash, and waiting for the compost fairy to arrive, I've decided enough is enough. I've got acres of oak leaves, mounds of coffee grounds, eggshells out the wazoo...not to mention a big ol' pile of chicken poo sitting useless under the coop. I've got to stop hoping and procrastinating and just make a compost bin already.

I love the idea of a tumbler like this one, but I admit I am averse to all that plastic.

Source: madness0.blogspot.com viaJenn on Pinterest

I love how pretty this bent willow one looks but seems impractical.

Source: garden-photos-com.photoshelter.com viaJenn on Pinterest

This beehive inspired bin is super cute. But I'll be honest--it looks complicated to make and my goal is to get this done soon.

Source: tillysnest.com viaJenn on Pinterest

Honestly I'm probably just going to get some pallets and build something like this one. Because it's easy. And cheap. Did I mention easy?

Source: rebuildingcenter.org viaJenn on Pinterest

So my question for you is this--Does anyone out there compost, and if so what kind of bin do you use/recommend? Would you do a separate bin for leaves to make leaf mold? I'm a total amateur so any advice would be great!!

some projected projects

once i'm finished with my quilt and current painting, i've got a few more projects lined up that i really want to do.

first, i want this headboard from urban outfitters, and i'm pretty sure i can make it for about forty bucks (as opposed to 300-=sheesh!) the only difference is mine will be orange!!



i also want to make some of these pillows from anthropologie for my couch (again for considerably less dinero)




i'm also diggin' this cute mobile:



of course, with my attention span i'll likely start one of these before my quilt or painting are done. sometimes i just have to have instant results--it's the only thing that keeps me going...