Slipcover Chic

Regal Lady in Pink

2012-01-23T23:58:00.002-05:00

"Regal Lady in Pink"

Before I tell you about my client......... I must say that I am still living....got through Christmas, traded all my presents in that didn't fit or work out..... for an IPAD 2!. Then on to the new year, a case of Bronchitis....then I found PINTEREST! Oh My! If you haven't discovered Pinterest yet....this is your first warning.....you will not be able to get off this new online pin board for all your favorite pictures, tutorials, recipes and of course....SLIPCOVERS! When I figure out how to put a "PIN IT" button on my page I will. If you know how to do that....please inform me. Also if you know how to "PIN IT" on an IPad 2, either you or your 13 year old (if you know what I mean, tee hee) please let me know. Oh and Follow me on Pin It! Especially let me know about the pretty slipcover pictures you have seen. About the time I get something figured out in the blog world or computer world, something changes. I have always said, I will clean my house, cook our food.....I just want a secretary. What about you?

Every once and a while you meet some really nice folks. That is what I think about my" Regal Lady in Pink" client. She is so kind, funny, complimentary and so positive. Her daughter is the same way. Her daughter found me through Google and I was delighted that they called. In this business, it is nice meeting folks that are kind and are appreciative of the work that you do. They are so funny when I call and keep me in stitches. Working with them was a real joy. When I met my client I thought she looked so regal, because of her pearls, and skirts which she always wears and how she carried herself. I am sure her family loves the both of these ladies. And I appreciate someone that likes my work and compliments me. Thank you Ladies!

This is the one of two matching chairs that I made for my "Regal Lady in Pink" client. I took one chair to my shop and made two slipcovers.

Side view of the chair. All the skirt panels match and are the same on both chairs, as well as the scenes on each section.

The fabric my client chose was from Fabric.com . It is a beautiful Chinese print. My client told me the scenes that she wanted to see predominately. She asked for pillows for each chair and a few extra to put on other furniture. Each pair of pillows had scenes from the fabric that matched.

This is one of the other chairs with the pillows I made.

My client had me to make a slipcover for her sofa a few weeks before. It is the prettiest sea blue and goes beautifully with the chairs just finished. The fabric is a type of duck cloth from Artee Fabrics here in Wilmington, NC. Just ask for Dixie! Tell her I sent you!

I call my client the "Regal Lady in Pink", because she looooovvvveeeeees pink! Just like I do. She also loves the colors of the ocean, lots of pretty blues and greens. When I told her I loved pink , she gave me a tour of her living and dining room! Wow! It was so pretty. Like something out of a Lilly Pulitzer catalog. Check out the pink walls and the pink sofa.

Also, note the Staffordshire Dogs on the tables and on the wall pieces! I adore these. I have been wanting some for about 5 years, and I can't seem to find them in my price range. And here she has 3 sets in this one picture. So AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Please check out the mirror over the sofa. My clients grandmother was given this on her Wedding Day. And my client is over 80, so who knows how old this mirror could be. It is a beautiful silver metal of some type and the art work is three dimensional. I have never seen anything like it. She has so many pretty ocean paintings from Hawaii, from her time living there.

This fitting was right after Christmas and she had her Christmas tree up. It is over 25 years old! So striking and totally stark white, with pink, blue and green ornaments. All her pretty colors.

Close up of the Snowy White tree.

As I got ready to leave, the dogs showed up for a final photo! What a wonderful client family, colorful, happy home and a very "Regal Lady in Pink"

Cheers y'all

2011-11-21T21:52:00.001-05:00

Cheers Y'all as we say in the south!! That is what I am calling this set of chairs!!

I have the sweetest neighbors... Arlene and Bruce. They have great taste and are always finding projects for my husband to renovate and me to slipcover!! Their house is a showplace. This chair is one of two that I did for their sitting area off the kitchen.

This was the chair before. It is cute as it can be..but it was showing some wear....so we did some updating.

The fabric is a soft prewashed denim. I washed it again just for safety sake. Arlene wanted a skirt to the floor since there was so much wood in the sitting area..

I made some lumbar pillows out of coordinating fabric, and some arm covers. As you can see the arm covers are piped just like the chair. I have always wondered why you would put an arm cover on and cover up the pretty piping.

Another view.

Arlene and Bruce were relaxing with a glass of wine when Brian and I came over to deliver the chair...so after getting the chairs situated.. we sat back down and enjoyed some neighbor time with a glass of wine.

You can see both chairs in this picture. Isn't the room pretty also?

I also covered barstools for this same area in the coordinating fabric. I like to add cording to a chair like this to finish it off. It makes it a little prettier I think. Arlene has great taste and I think she did a great job on the fabric selection. The chairs are very nice and cozy and worth the time and effort she put into this project.

Bruce is enjoying his wine and the new chairs already...before I could even get the barstools all completed!!

Well, we didn't have to travel far to deliver this beautiful pair of chairs and I loved the way we ended our delivery.....with nice neighbors and a cold glass of wine. Arlene's coaster says it all "Cheers Y'all"!!

My Son's Rehearsal Dinner

2011-11-10T18:34:00.000-05:00

I am not the best Facebook or Blog "keeper upper"....(if that is a word). I am so behind and I have noticed in Blogland lots of others are just about as slow in posting as me. Life seems to be so busy right now. I thought when my children got older it would get better. Still waiting. Speaking of children.......

My son Andrew got married to Lauren and they are so in love!! The wedding looked like something out of Southern Living Magazine. Lauren's mom, Barbara, did a great job pulling Lauren and Andrew's ideas together. I will post those pictures later.

I thought that I would share a little of the Rehearsal Dinner that my husband and I hosted along with my sister Margaret and her husband. It was a buffet supper at my sisters club, Walnut Creek Country Club in Goldsboro, NC. My friend Ellen helped me pull together an idea that I had from about 5 years ago. My son always grew up with blue and white ceramics, in our home, so I wanted to incorporate this with Lauren's colors of Navy, Green and Pink.

Ellen found the beautiful luxurious table cloths at a rental place in Wilmington. She then took grosgrain ribbon and wrapped around small votives. We rented navy blue napkins and had the menu printed on a creamy colored card, printed in navy blue.

The ceramic pieces were picked up at a local store, Tomlinsons, it is a warehouse store with all kinds of neat things including everything from hunting gear, to beautiful lamps and diamonds. This was the Bride and Groom table. My friend Ellen found these picture frames and spray painted them white for the table numbers. This table was special with 3 flower arrangements, which Ellen just put together that afternoon while we set up.

I also found some of the blue and white ceramic pieces at a local second hand store. I had to look for quite a while for the right blue and white designs.

Isn't the green table cloth pretty and shimmery?!!

White roses added some elegance to the main table.

Each table had one of 3 or 4 different ceramic center pieces. Yes, we do know that some of them were tall and folks may not be able to speak over them. But after a while of looking it was either my wonderful design idea or come up with something else. In the end I decided not to worry about how people could see each other on the other side. I figured that they would most likely talk to those on either side of them and just went with the ceramic pieces that I found. No one complained and the tables were beautiful.

Ellen found this frame in a bronze color and spray painted it white. I did some fancy typing for the table guest list. Ellen hates computers and printing. She likes to glue and paste! The blue and white geometric is a fabric.

My hubby helping set up the room. The view of the golf course was beautiful.

This is a tired crew. We set up everything very fast. My sister, a friend of my daughter, my daughter Caroline, husband Brian and Ellen, checking out the lunch menu at the club. We were tired, but finished!!!

These are the wreaths that I made for the front door. Using the mesh and colors of the wedding. I tried to keep it as masculine as possible, since it was the rehearsal dinner.

"A" for Andrew and "L" for Lauren

I enjoyed planning the rehearsal dinner by looking on blogs and in wedding magazines. But I kept going back to a photo that I tore out of a magazine years ago of a party that someone had on their back patio. I thought the blue and white on the green was so pretty. I had also seen an idea similar in a Charleston bridal magazine. Ellen, one of my best friends was so key to this whole event. She was my encourager and planner and she would keep me calm. She helped me take this idea and run with it. Other friends helped pick up flowers, and the grooms cake. Thank the Lord above for good friends. I will show you more photos and ideas later. Congratulations Andrew and Lauren!!

$15.00 Scratch to Nap Chair

2011-09-20T23:12:00.001-04:00

This chair is in it's new home. It has been there for a couple of months. I went over to it's new home tonight for a visit with my friend Lynn.

She loves this chair! She has already slept in it, lounged on it, had snacks and supper in it.

She has fought the family for it....... for a nap.

It was so awesome in it's size...we chose not to add a skirt...just take the sides down almost to the floor.

Check out the before photo here of the arm...seems like a kitty decided to do some scratching here..... hence the "Scratch Chair".

Now see the arm here....the kitties hard work....totally hidden.

Slipcovers to the rescue!!

I removed the attatched cushion. It seems like the attatched cushions are always very mashed down and out of shape. I prefer detatched cushions.

Now the cushion is loose and pretty.

In the shop before delivery.

Back view

Ohhhhh and what did the chair look like before??????......

This is how the chair and ottoman looked before and while it sat in my garage. It's story is awesome.... I found it on Craig's List for $15.00! I had my husband help me go and pick it up. He wondered who would buy it. I was so happy and surprised to sell it to my friend so she could have an awesome, "Scratch to Nap Chair".

But shhhhhhh!!!!! don't tell her husband what the chair looks like underneath, he doesn't know and she is not telling! Tee Hee!!!

Adorable Ottoman

2011-08-17T00:01:00.001-04:00

OOOOOOOOO!!!!! (Is this a word?) Isn't this one of the cutest, most adorable ottomans you have ever seen?????

A client had me pick this ottoman up when I delivered her sofa slipcover. She didn't have the fabric, but continued to look around town. Then she called me...she had found the perfect fabric for her old outdated rose colored vinyl ottoman! And wow did she find the perfect fabric at Mill Outlet in Wilmington, NC.

Isn't it beautiful? It is the most gorgeous turquoise color with large white coral design. The color would just go with about anything anywhere.

Check out the beautiful design.

As you can see...on part of the boxing....I found enough area to use just turquoise to cut down a little bit on the business.

The top of the ottoman took quite a few minutes trying to place the coral in just the right configuration so that it looked correct.

I just had to go upstairs and place it in front of one of my white chairs. I just love it. I wished it were mine!! Now I am on the lookout for ugly round vinyl ottomans with wheels!

Check out the knife pleats. The customer gave me permission to come up with a design. And this just screamed 1 inch knife pleats. What do you think? I used the Quick Pleater by Angie that I have mentioned on this site before. She just shipped me the 1/2 inch size that I am going to use for some pillows!!!

The quick pleater is so easy to use! And look what it can do for an ottoman like this!!

I want one!!!

See these cute pleats!

More pleats!

I left the skirt so that it just rides above the floor.

Needless to say the client,loved her new/old ottoman. (Thanks Suzanne!) I thought she did a great job on taking that sad ottoman and choosing this beautiful fabric, so that it could be turned into this ADORABLE OTTOMAN!!!!

A Wing And A Skirt

2011-08-10T22:15:00.000-04:00

Wow, what a difference a skirt makes!! Check out the long skirt on this wing chair. Just wanted you all to know that I have been very busy this summer with slipcovers, trying to take some time off on Sunday's, going to wedding showers for my son, getting ready for the wedding....whew! It has been busy. So don't think I am not sewing, just not blogging like I should!

Look at the pretty legs, it is a shame to cover them, but sometimes, you just have to so that you can get a new look.

Check out the upper curve on this chair. This can be a tricky spot when you are sewing. I don't think I have ever had one so curved.

This is a side view. Check out the top of the arms, they are flat, just like another chair that I had slipcovered this spring. In constructing wing chair slipcovers...there are just so many seams!!! Just look at this chair from this side and you will see what I am taking about. See the vertical seam on the side of the arm. Lots and lots of seams and different tuck ins.

Another view of this very pronounced upper back area. Such a pretty curve.

Here is a view of the skirt at the corners. You can see that the leg is pushing from the inside. It still looks pretty and it certainly does change the looks of the chair.

Another view of the top of those arms and all the seams that have to be made.

The client was pleased and so was I with the way the chair slipcover fit. I didn't have to put a zipper in and look how nicely the cover hugs the chair.

Wing With A Fling!

2011-07-06T22:55:00.000-04:00

This cute wing chair with it's graceful legs is sporting a knife pleat skirt. The knife pleats were done with the Perfect Pleater that I have mentioned before on a previous post. Check the it out at http://www.homefashionsu.com/ . Angie really had a great idea when she started marketing this item.

Side view. Look how cute these pleats are!

Another view of the adorable legs peaking out.

I think this chair, and the fabric was a perfect fit!

This knife pleat skirt is a wonderful way to totally change the look on a wing chair...don't you think?!!!

It is a "Wing with a Fling".

Perfect Pleats... Love & Match

2011-06-13T21:14:00.001-04:00

Check out this Chaise. It was so pretty and comfortable (I had to give it a try!), but the owner wanted a different look for her home. The fabric before had a Tropical feel, or a Tommy Bahama look to it. It was cream colored and very heavily textured. The client felt that with a dog and two children always on the chaise....it was time for a change for that reason also.

She picked out a beautiful white fabric by Robert Allen, from Fabric Solutions in Wilmington, NC. It washes like a dream and comes out so pretty that ironing is just about unneccessary. While I am on this subject, let me give you a little advice. When you are looking for fabric and you don't like to iron....do a little investigating first before purchasing. Always bring home a small piece....trace around it on a piece of paper....wash and dry it, then lay it back on your tracing to check for shrinkage....and general appearance. If it is hard and wrinkles are set in, it may be difficult to iron the wrinkles out. Give it a try. I have had to sew before on very hard fabric and the wrinkles were almost set in. So, do a little investigating before purchasing fabric. Oh, and use plenty of fabric softner in the rinse cycle!

In the above picture, you can see I am already starting to pinfit the slipcover. The arms are curved and very pretty.

This is the results after hours of working on the skirt. I hand pieced the skirt. Wow...that took a very long time. There is an extra price for this type skirt. It is a 3 inch boxed skirt. I will no longer have to hand fold the skirts from now on, so it will not be as tedious. I purchased the Quick Pleater tool from Angie over at http://www.homefashionsu.com/ . It is $29.95 plus shipping and worth every penny. She has several sizes and it can also do knife pleats. It is absolutely amazing. Check out her store...she has several items.

Here is the side view of the chaise.

And here is my happy customer! See.... she is all dressed up for a tennis match. So, there we have it.....perfect pleats....love the chaise.....and match.... for a perfectly sweet client to a perfectly lovely piece of furniture!!

360 Photography and Elevated Photography

2011-05-31T22:44:00.000-04:00

Hey everybody.....check out my brothers website. He does 360 photography and elevated (50 feet) photography. It is so neat. Let him know if he could help promote your business! http://www.nvpnc.com/ When you click on the link you can check out the link to UNC Kenan Stadium Tour....for all you die hard Carolina Fans. Or go to the link http://www.newview360.com/. The UNC link is cool. Lots of folks, even some of our soldiers are reliving their days back home by viewing this link. Let me hear some feed back and shoot some feedback to my brother. This type photography is great for Universities, New Home Construction, Large Corporate Construction, etc. Thanks for checking it out.

Not Your Mother-In-Law's Chair Any Longer!

2011-05-30T23:47:00.000-04:00

I had a call from a sweet young decorator, needing 2 matching chairs slipcovered. She is pregnant and you know how that is...doing the whole nesting thing!! She is absolutely adorable, and by the selection of her fabric she has great taste. It is the most dreamy linen with the hot new gray color in different shades and some golden shading in it also. It felt so good to sew, I know to sit on it will be delightful also!!

Seems that my client was fortunate enough to acquire these two chairs from her mother- in-law. They are expensive chairs and were still of course very sturdy. I took off the skirt, and exposed the pretty legs underneath. This chair was getting a new look. From very traditional, to an updated very young new look. Traditional with a twist!

Chair before (with skirt already taken off)

Check out the back and side. I didn't have to add a zipper.

As you might have noticed. I changed the back cushions. I boxed them for an updated look.

Isn't it pretty? I do like making slipcovers, and changing the look of a piece sometimes is quite fun. What do you have that you could change to make new? Don't just see it as it is....dream a little. And after you are finished dreaming...check out your mother- in- law's attic or garage!!!!

Slipcovered Headboard

2011-05-23T17:34:00.001-04:00

Wow! Have I been too busy sewing to even stop and put up a posting. Thanks for coming by and checking things out anyway. I see that other bloggers have been busy also, by the looks of their entries. I always heard that it was busy in the spring and fall for those of us that sew home goods for clients, and I have definitely found this out!

This headboard was done for a clients 3 year old daughter. Seems she likes to jump on the bed and the parents wanted a soft landing....tee hee! So the mom traced this headboard, the dad cut it out of very heavy plywood and then the mom glued the foam on the frame. I was commissioned to make a washable slipcover. The fabric was purchased from Artee in Wilmington, NC, then was prewashed. I made the slipcover with a zipper so that it could easily be slipped on and off.

Here you can see how I pinfitted the slipcover.

Another view of the pinfitting in the boxed area on the top of the slipcover. Pay no attention to my messy work area!!

If I do this type headboard again...I am going to attatch the cording to the large pieces first, eliminating all this pinning. You know..... sometimes, you just overlook the obvious!!!

This is a view of the front of the headboard. I had to add fabric at the bottom to make the length work.

Added length, with the bottom edge alread hemmed.

This is a view fo the headboard from the back, showing how it was put together.

Close up of the zipper that I installed so the cover would come off easily for washing.

View of the boxing and cording work.

One last pictue before it goes out the door to a beautiful little girl and her fairyland bedroom!

British Colonial Chippendale Loveseat

2011-03-29T10:15:00.001-04:00

Check out this very traditional Chippendale Camelback Loveseat. The client wanted to add a skirt and put a Tommy Bahama screen print outdoor fabric on it. The pattern is TBO Bamboo Gate, and was purchased through http://www.fabric.com/ . This is a great place to find fabrics of all types if your local hometown fabric store doesn't have what you are looking for or the amount you are needing. This fabric is a soft, outdoor fabric. Easy to wipe spills off! I think it turned out great.

Oh, this by the way is the before photo. The client has a cat that did some damage on the front of the arms. I had to do give it a "haircut" before I started.

A view of the very curved out arm. Check out the pattern, boy, it was fun to match that!

View of the front of the cushion and skirt.

This is where I add the zipper if one is needed, in the back corner. This may sound a little over the top. But if I think about it I will find out how the furniture is placed in the clients room and put the zipper on the side that it will not be noticed. Check it out though, it is not noticable. I put the zipper up next to the cording. Not all furniture needs a zipper! This is going in a lovely home at the beach, where all things British Colonial reign!

Candace Chair

2011-03-15T11:49:00.000-04:00

A client brought this "Candace" chair to me. She has two fo them. Kelly at muchtodowithnothing.com told me that this is what this chair is now called. It was made right here in Hickory, North Carolina, and it is beautiful. It has very curved edges and had a lot of seams that needed to be dealt with. I should have prepped for a better picture. When I delivered the final piece, it was all smoothed out, sorry about the wrinkling. I used this one chair to make both slipcovers. That way the client can keep her other at home and make use of it.

This is a before shot of the chair. It is in great condition. The client just wanted a washable change.

Check out the side of this chair, and all the curves. Whew!

This shows a little of the upper inside arm. See all the rows of stitching that have to be done in this one area!
You can see cushions in the background for a client. They were cushions and chair pads made with painters drop cloth.

This shows another view of all the pinning. Where the pins are located....there will be a seam. I made the inside arm wrap all the way around the front and to the back of that arm curve. You wouldn't belive what size piece of fabric you need for this piece.

Here is a shot of the arm after it has been sewn with the welt cord added.

This shows a side view fo the chair. Again I should have smoothed it out before taking a picture. But you can see the detail of the sewing process that had to be done for this chair. My client picked a prewashed white denim for this particular project. Thanks for checking this out. Next!

"Honey Do..." Shower

2011-03-08T13:56:00.001-05:00

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted in a month! I have been very busy slipcovering, fighting allergies, planning a shower for a friends son! Whew! I am so ready for spring to get here and warm weather. Speaking of the shower....I thought I would share the idea for a HONEY DO SHOWER, that my friends, Wendy, Terry and I put on for David and his bride Rebecca.

I am friends with David's mom and my husband does home improvements for David. Because of the groom connection with this shower, we decided to get David hooked up with some tools and "Honey Do" items! David loved the idea. The Invitations went out, with the notation that David was Registered at Home Depot! Home Depot will register gifts for showers and weddings. Awesome! We picked out at cute invite with pictures of tools by a recliner. They were adorable. From the invitations, we got our colors, yellow, chocolate brown and lime green.

Around here folks are making these cute wreaths out of netting. They will charge about $70.00 to make one for you. So I decided to try and make one myself. Since the theme was "Honey Do", I decided to add some bees. Do you know how hard it is to find bees? I found some with blue on them, why blue I don't know, and they didn't have black and white stripes, so I repainted them. I also put a small flag with a honey bee out by the sidewalk on the lantern post.

This is the invitation. Didn't show the message part, because it had private info on there. But wanted you to see the cute invitations.

Next step was the theme decorations on the table. My son has an antique tool box, so we used that for our centerpiece. I put some foam in the bottom. Cut pieces of plumbing pvc (for toilets,ha ha) then added some nice wire brushes used on drills for what I don't know...but they looked like flowers to me and my friend Lynn, when we went shopping! Then I added the ribbon from the corsages to them to look like petals hanging from the flowers. I found some other bees that I stuck in the mix, added some flower seed packets, a cute ceramic worm on the side and 3 paint brushes. Then to finish off, I used the filler that you use in gift wrapping. I thought that it looked like wood shavings. What do you think?

As you can see... we used paint cans for the cheese and metal buckets for the fruit.

We used metal paint trays for the secret bbq sauce chicken, and the cocktail weiners. We used a paint spatula to serve the apple carmel dip. And honey pots for dipping sauces. Check out the caution tape down the center of our painters drop cloth..table cloth.

I can't believe that I forgot to take a picture of the cupcakes. They were done by Lauren and Kim Smith over at Carolina Candy Company...delicious! The cupcakes were chocolate with buttercream frosting...and little black and yellow stripe sugar bees! Adorable...uh, excuse me this is a man's shower, so I shouldn't use adorable and cute in my vocabulary. The cupcakes were served in an industrial metal looking cupcake server, found at Home Goods. Beside that tower of cupcakes was a big metal silver colored dust pan filled with cupcakes. It was....not cute....uh....neat. The groom got to keep all the items that we used in our decorating as part of his gift.

We also used the paint sample cards in our theme colors (of course) for name tags. I used my sewing pins that are shaped like nails....to put them on our guests. On the counter behind, (and I forgot to take pictures, we served lemonade, and we also served little bottled Cokes, in a metal bin of ice right on the counter. The guests loved the little Cokes. I saw a couple of those little bottles leaving unopened with some guests!

We found a wheel barrow in our green theme color. Then my daughter and I went to a place called Captain Fatty's and had them make the vinyl lettering and the honey bee. Captain Fatty is a superhero of the tinted car window and vinyl letter business on this side of town.....who knew! The guests placed their gifts in and around the wheel barrow as they arrived. We had everything from small screwdrivers to ladders, gas powered leaf blower and a post hole digger around that wheelbarrow!

This is where we sat our bride and groom. Another added decoration, gift was the "swag" tool belt holder, some screwdrivers and work gloves. We made a bow and put caution tape acroos their seats.

This is the happy couple, David and Rebecca. Love the hand holding! Check out his corsage, if you can zoom in...I forgot to get that photo also. They both had corsages made of a brown "his" work glove and a green "hers" work glove. Small screw drivers and a wrench were fashioned in the brown and white plaid, very small bow. We didn't want to many bows at this shower! Rebecca wore hers at her waist tied on her belt loop. My friend Lynn was the corsage maker. She did this as a gift to the groom mother, Ellen. How nice!

We had a great time planning the shower. David and Rebecca loved it. All the men loved the food, secret sauce bbq chicken, man dip (made from sausage, cream cheese and rotel) cocktail weiners, meatballs, cheeses, fruit, apple toffee dip, cupcakes, lemonade and bottled cokes. Meat, cheese and meat. Sounds perfect and very manly.

We did play two games. I asked David questions about himself, such as...what was his favorite super hero growning up, what is his favorite outfit that Rebecca wears, his favorite meat, etc. As she correctly got the answers, he got to open the presents. Of course we let her slide on some! But she did a great job. As guests arrived we had two glass jars. In one they were instructed to write a problem that the married couple may face in the future. On the other slip of paper ( I almost wrote slipcover right there, weird) they were to write the solution to the problem. The cute part was, at the end of the shower, Terry carried the jars around, each guest read a problem and then they took a solution from the other jar. Which means the solutions didn't go to the problems...so the results were hilarious. Everyone seemed to like these two games. We even had a comment from someone that normally doesn't like showers, and she said it was the best she had ever been to. The men all appreciated it. Now several other young men that are getting married, want their own "Honey Do" shower, including my son! I hope that you enjoyed this cute idea for a shower. Now I will get back to my slipcovers!

Where Do I Sit?

2011-02-04T22:41:00.000-05:00

Where to I sit? Sometimes folks ask that when they come in my shop. I usually have lots of furniture around, some of it waiting for a new look. This chair is no exception. I don't know why, but I forgot to take a "before" picture. Basically it was very stained, from a ceiling leaking on it while it was in storage. It belonged to my clients grandmother. I did two of these and I thought that they turned out very nice. They looked so cute sitting there in the newly painted living room.

This is another chair that I completed recently. I believe that it was a hotel club chair. They make great finds for you home if you can get them. They are very sturdy, and putting a slipcover on them, changes their entire look.

This is the chair in it's new slipcover! The fabric is very soft, like a chenille. It was very tough to sew, and I don't think I will be sewing with this type fabric again. My industrial machine was very taxed with the thick layers. During the sewing, the fabric pushed down on the throat plate and screws came loose!

Side view of the chair,with it's new skirt.

The cover fit perfectly! Client was pleased. Yah!! If you ever come to my shop, I always have plenty of places to sit.

Inside A Sleeper Sofa

2011-01-19T21:30:00.000-05:00

Got you with that title didn't I?!? You will see in one of the pictures below why this post has the title it does.

This sleeper sofa was very dated and tired. It's fabric had seen it's better days. I didn't take a before picture, but it matches a love seat that I had done earlier. You know the blue/burgandy/green plaid that was very popular a few years ago......when we were all about jewel tones!

Check out the new fabric. Soft, cuddly, curl up on the sofa.... creamy off white linen. The fabric was bought at Fabric Solutions on Market Street, here in Wilmington, NC. Fabric Solutions has most fabrics for $7.99 a yard. If you get by there tell them that I sent you!

The sofa had attached backs, which I removed and made cording and in some cases moved some stuffing around inside the cushions. After you have sat on the cushions for a few years, they tend to get flat, and the back cushions are all "whoppy jawed" as me and my friends say. Don't ask me where that saying came from...it's one your grandmother says, so you just pick it up and start saying it also.

Here is the "Inside A Sleeper Sofa" part!! I had to open the bed, lift the head part of it and crawl inside the sofa where I stapled velcro on so that I could attatch the tuck ins! I felt like I was in a casket! At one point I had this terrible realization that I was inside and what if I couldn't get out! Nobody else was home at the time! When my daughter came in, she took this picture! Well the one thing you can say about this position inside a sofa....you can see how it is made. Quite simply atually. I even looked around and thought that I could make one of these. Then I quickly let that thought go to a place and never to return!

I added ties that reach down and around the legs from the inside, depending on your sofa, you may be able to staple velcro instead of using ties.

This shows the inside back corner where the velcro is attatched along the inside back tuck in. That part velcros to the part I was stapling when I was in the sofa.

This photo shows, all parts tucked in, velcro'd and tied.

Here is the final look of the work completed on the decking. As you can see, my client wanted to be able to use her sofa as a bed for her guests, with the pretty slipcover still in place. So all she has to do is take off the cushions and lift the bed out. The velcro and ties will hold the slipcover in place. How divine! (As Candace Olsen says)

Here is the new slipcover on the sofa back at home. My client had purchased some khaki pillows to go on the sofa and she is on the hunt for the perfect blue pillows, so she can pull colors from her beautiful oriental rugs. Alas, my adventure in the inner workings of a sleeper sofa is done, and my husband is glad that he didn't have to lift it another time. And I have another happy client!

Redo of a Grandmothers Petite Sofa

2011-01-10T00:46:00.000-05:00

I got a call from a young woman that had inherited her Grandmother's very petite sofa. She said that she wanted a white slipcover made for it, because as you will see the floral pattern was very dated and not fitting in this very upscale remodel for a smart nursing student. I told her to bring the sofa to me and I would be glad to slipcover. Well, when she got out of the truck with her very tall and kind boyfriend, I could see that they were just not going to fit on this sofa. They were both tall and the sofa was very short. They were about the cutest couple I have seen. What a delima! So tall and a sofa so short. So I suggested that we elevate the sofa from the bottom and we could add some new and stylish legs! She loved the idea and so did he. My hubbie Brian, who by the way has a construction business and does all kinds of jobs, none to small, and is avaialable for hire.....got the job of buiding up the sofa bottom and adding the legs. How did you like that plug for business??? Call himl!!! Didn't he do a great job?He stained the legs a dark mahogony and varnished with a satin spray. Thanks hubbie!

This is a sneak peek of the sofa. As you can tell it was near Christmas when this went out of my workroom.

Check out the leg system on the bottom of the original sofa. WOW! Those babies were heavy! It was a type of spring system, there were two of them. It made the sofa sit kind of odd. And the granddaughter did not want them anymore. Your wish is my command!!

This next photo shows the dated floral fabric. The back was attatched to the sofa and it was tufted to the sofa.

As you can see, I have taken the back cushion off. The gray area on the inside back of the sofa was actually pieced together with very old round staples, I removed them so they wouldn't stain the new slipcover and hand sewed upholstry batting over the area. Now that the skirt has been ripped off you can see the spring legs. That skirt had a ton of staples in it! Whew!

This next shot shows the bottom and the changes my hubbie made. The boards were cut in a curve, because of course the sofa was curved. It seems I never get a square bottom when I have to add height!! All of this wood gets covered with the fabric scraps from the slipcover. I just wrap and staple.

This shows the sofa before the work began!

This is the finished product. She didn't want tufting in the back cushion. You really can't wash it if we tufted, and she wanted it to be washable, Now the back cushion can be flipped around and used on the other side before having to wash. I thought that the slipcover came out beautiful. When we delivered the sofa, the tall boyfriend sat down and it was the perfect height! Now everyone is happy and we hope grandmother is also! Because her old piece that she cherished is now in its new home, updated and beautiful and very loved with its new look. Yeh! for happy endings.

Audrey's New Chair

2010-12-10T20:37:00.000-05:00

Audrey's chair looks beautiful now, but it didn't start out this way. This is how it looked before I sent it to it's new home. The fabric is an outdoor, soft fabric by Robert Allen @ Home. It is a beatiful periwinkle blue, with little white dots. The cording fabric matches a chair in her den and the trim on the sofa that we had already completed. Now, the new look in the den is all pulled together, as if it were bought in a showroom all at one time. I wanted to show you a little of how we changed the looks of this chair. I found this sad chair in a Habitat for Humanity store. It was $10.00. I bought it having no idea who would want it, but I knew it would find a home someday. The bottom had a spring loose, which my husband easily fixed. The fabric was old, but it smelled good. Always smell the fabric! I showed this chair to my friend Audrey, she and her husband had been looking for a her a new chair to go with her husband's new chair. They had no luck in the stores so far. Somehow I convinced her that this sad, tired ten dollar chair could be her new beautiful chair. She must have believed me, because she showed up with the fabic, and the adventure was on!

I took the cushion cover off, and much to my delight and all my hopes, the cushion was down filled!! Yea! You can't get a down filled pillow for ten dollars. Then I put the back cushion in the dryer on high heat, just to make me feel better about it and to give it some life. I then put the bottom cushion in the sun to air it out. Then ripped the bottom skirt off. Audrey wanted the chair to be taller. So Brian, my husband added two, 2x4's to the bottom, after cutting off the old legs of course. Then, I wrapped the wood in the new fabric. He then added the newly stained legs and the metal brackets. I love the legs, they are so English looking. Audrey picked them out because they match her husband's new chair legs. See where we are going here....wanting that expensive look without the price! Below is the picture of our handiwork in progress.

This next picture shows the fabric that has been wrapped and stapled over the 2x4's. All of this gave the chair the extra height that Audrey wanted. The height of chair seats and the overall chairs a few years ago were much lower to the floor than they are today, so we fixed that!

This next pictue shows a close up of the leg all stained and pretty, as well as how I treated the hem, with the cording, no skirt this time. I put a zipper in the slipcover along the cording on the back corner.

Now, here is the finished chair, in its new home. Audrey is happy, hubby is happy and the room looks pulled together. What an awesome recycle for a very comfortable chair. I hope this gives you some ideas about what you can do with a chair that you find one day. Just because it looks one way, doesn't mean that you can't change it to a beautiful piece that will fit in with the rest of your home.

40's Boudoir Chair

2010-10-26T20:15:00.001-04:00

Check out this 40's Boudoir Chair. Boudoir....meaning ladies bedroom/dressingroom. My client, Susan, emailed me from Goldsboro, NC. Goldsboro is my sisters hometown and also home to City Girls. A cute consignment store. Susan loved the chair and the cute size, but not the ill fitting slipcover. So City Girls gave her my card, she bought the chair and the rest is history. Under the very bad fitting slipcover was a beautiful gold silk upholstered chair. But alas, thefabric was very stained and very old.

Susan picked out this beautiful fabric from Cloth Barn in Goldsboro. I didn't have to put a zipper in the slipcover, it fits beautifully. The coordinating pillow fabric is so soft and it is kind of puckered. I put a down pillow insert in that I purchased from a consignment store for 3.99! Consignment stores are a good place to check for down inserts and Ross Stores are also! The pillow cover may not be to your liking...but go for the down insert!

The skirt was made longer for it's new update. I actually hauled this chair in a Volkswagon! Getting it in there was one thing, getting it out of the VW was another! Susan was happy with her new Boudoir Chair and she says she has other chairs waiting to be slipped.

Workshop Visitors

2010-10-26T19:58:00.001-04:00

Look who decided to come visit me while I was sewing! A beautiful White Heron. I don't know if you can see, but she is about 4 feet tall. Exquisite. My sewing machine sits right in front of a 5 foot window. I looked up from sewing and she was just standing there, just a few feet away. I slowly reached over and got my camera and snapped these pictures. We live on a tidal creek and the Cape Fear River is 2000 feet from our home. I have never seen a Heron come so close to our house. She was so regal and walked so cautiously.

I hope she comes back soon. Right now a squirell is my back yard friend. She is busy burying something everyday! It is weird to see a squirell, because the only trees I have in my yard are palm trees.

Speaking of visitors! My mom and friend Lynn were visiting my shop and plopped down on sofa that is waiting to be slipped. I love having friends, feathered, bushy tailed or not...stop by and visit for a little while.

Beauty At Last

2010-10-26T19:22:00.000-04:00

I had a wonderful designer contact me and I have enjoyed working with her so much. She is Eliddia Mader of EJ Designs in Wilmington, North Carolina. Eliddia has great taste and likes a challenge. She has a very nice client with a very nice home in a very nice neighborhood!! Well, this very nice man needed a deep seated sofa. So they looked high and low and finally found one in an upscale consignment store. It must have been for a beach home because of the fabric choice and the blue brush fringe that was on it before.

The back cushions were just too soft for the client, so she did some changing! She picked out the most beautiful tobacco colored fabric(cured tobacco, that is) for the sofa. It was a blend of some type.( I washed and dried it 2 times in hot water for pre-shrinking.) Then she had an upholsterer fabricate some new back cushions. She topped them off with these custom silk pillows. I put a zipper in the back corner of the sofa for easy on and off.

After we delivered the sofa, she called and said the client thought that the sofa was a "masterpiece"! Wow! She and I and the upholsterer pulled it off. Isn't it beautiful? Wish you could see the beautiful golden color. Speaking of tobacco...growing up in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, I used to love the fall. The smell of fresh cured tobacco would permeate the air. It smelled divine. This sofa color brought back a lot of those memories! Smell memories are the best! Don't you think? If you need a decorator, let me know and I will put you in contact with Eliddia!

This is the sofa before it was slipcovered and the too soft cushions. It stayed in my workroom for a while waiting for all its parts.

This pile of sofa's, chairs and lots of cushions from so many different clients seemed never ending.

Whew, cushions made from drop cloths...done. Pillows for a beach house....done. Cushions for a chair..... Cushions for a rocker...done. Sofa....done. Beauty At Last!!

Busy, but updating for the troops, tee hee!

2010-10-26T17:20:00.000-04:00

I know I know.....I have been slack with my postings! I am so sorry to all of you in blog land! I have been very busy sewing! The fall seems to be a busy time for folks wanting slipcovers, cushions and pillows made! I really appreciate all the folks that read my blog, just like I appreciate those of you that write blogs. But you never know who is reading your blog and some of you really are kind, sweet and in some cases just down right pushy...(just kidding) telling me to update my blog!! One of those folks that read my blog is all the way in Iraq! Cody patiently waits for me to update my blog and tells his mom to get after me. He is very kind, but I think he likes the connections of folks back home, not that he is an interior decorator or anything! His wife Jill likes to do that. We love to see him when he is home. Cody is one of those brave young men and women that serve our country over and over. Pray for Cody, when you pray for the troops.
Cody... here is one of the things that I have been working on.....your grandmothers rocking chair cushions! You can sit on them when you get home. Be safe. We love you!

Couch for Cousin

2010-09-30T15:20:00.000-04:00

Wow! Check out the before and after on this couch! See the beautiful print on this sofa. It is a PK Designs. This project was referred to me by a local Window Treatment Designer. Turns out her client was my cousin! My cousin, is her best friend, and didn't know that I had started my slipcover business. Her sofa is one that is made for a slipcover and it had velcro in several places, but with the way I make slipcovers, velcro is not needed. I had to add a zipper in the back, next to the cording, you can't even see it. I think it turned out beautiful. Her husband and grandson, made me so happy, they just gushed over it. Now, I am working on a matching chair! Her den will be so pretty with these new additions. Thanks, cuz!

The Story of a Beautiful Chair

2010-09-21T21:13:00.001-04:00

This is the story of a beautiful chair. Melissa loved the chair, but her hubby really had an aversion to the fabric. He called it names, lets just say. Melissa told her husband she would keep the beautiful chair, but would give it a little change for a while. So Melissa looked through the kingdom high and low till she found someone....Me....to make her some beautiful white slipcovers. Alas, they are done, the chairs are calm and serene for the nice new white look that Melissa desired and her husband didn't know that he really wanted. Everyone is happy in the kingdom, white is the ruling color for the living room now... and all is well.

This is the new look for Princess Melissa and her high flying husband. They each have a chair in which to sit upon. Ahhh, thank goodness there are new clothes for the furniture. Fairy tales do come true. The End.

My Momma's Side of the Road Chair

2010-09-11T14:07:00.000-04:00

Margaret Howard, my Momma (as we say here in the South) found this horrible, stained chair, all ripped and torn, on the side of the road when she went to visit her friend JoAnn. She told JoAnn that she found a chair but she needed some help getting it in the car. So those 2 grandmothers went back and put this chair in the back of my momma's car! Momma liked the lines of the chair, especially the upper back. We wanted to update it so we added a very long skirt. The fabric is woven like duck cloth, at least that is what Shannon of Fabric Solutions told us. It is the most beautiful gray-brown and when pre-washed, it became so soft. My camera doesn't do the color justice.

Momma cooked a good country meal of roast beef, cabbage, butterbeans, rice, gravy and the most wonderful keylime/lemon pie for dessert, while I was downstairs in my workroom sewing. The Key Limes were from the tree outside my workroom. It bore just enough for that pie and some good margarita's this year. I enjoyed mom coming and seeing my work and she was a pretty good assistant cutting out welting and blocking the pieces for her chair.

There is no stopping her now! No telling what she is going to put in her trunk next!!!

Momma's Lemon or Key Lime Pie Recipe

1 graham cracker premade pie crust

2 eggs seperated

1 can Eagle Brand Milk

1/2 cup Lemon or Lime Juice( you may use either real or concentrated)

1 tsp. grated lemon rind

Mix above and pour into pie shell.

Then immediately top with meringue:

2 egg whites

1/4 cup sugar

vanilla

Bake 350 degrees till meringue is done.

Another Satisfied Customer

2010-08-31T21:39:00.000-04:00

Very Happy Real Estate Agent Melissa! This client, (a new favorite person, I might add) was so excited to see her burgandy couch put on some new clothes....that she did a happy dance!! My husband, daughter Caroline and niece Ashley all helped take the sofa up 2 flights of stairs to a beautiful home right on the waterway in Carolina Beach. Melissa has wonderful taste, and she is redoing her living area which happens to have a view right out to the gorgeous water! So out with the burgandy, in with the clean crisp white slipcovers. I picked up chairs to redo in white also. Her hubby will be happy, because I hear he actually calls the fabric names!! So they are both ready for a change. Melissa is even coming up with a different look once cool weather comes. Which for us all here on the coast could be quite a while! A hurricane is brewing and heading our way. So Melissa will just have to sit on her cozy newly slipcovered couch and keep an eye on the weather channel!

Thank you Melissa for your excitement, encouragment and your cheerleading capabilities... oh and your happy dance...... and all the clients you will send my way!! Tee Hee!

Cool Classics

2010-08-23T12:25:00.000-04:00

Cool Classics are what I call these slipcovers! These were sewn for clients recently. The chair and ottoman are done in a white duck and the sofa is in a khaki denim. These are wonderful classic shaped pieces, nice furniture that doesn't need to be thrown by the wayside, but updated and kept in use. I thought they both turned out great. In the middle of doing these projects my sewing machine broke a timing belt and I had to purchase my first industrial machine! But I got them done and the clients are happy. I washed these pieces in hot water and put lots of downy in the water, so they are preshrunk and very soft. There is nothing like white for a crisp look and so cool and classic!

The First Thing I Ever Slipcovered!

2010-08-09T23:19:00.000-04:00

While I was rummaging for some fabric, I walked into the guest room and saw my little ottoman sitting there looking so cute! I thought I would show y'all out there in blogland my first slipcover. I did this about a year ago. I had a little fabric left over from making the window treatments, bedskirt, shams, etc. My mom mentioned I needed an ottoman in the room. Well, I just happened to have a stool that my husband made when he was in the seventh grade down in the garage. It had narrow legs he had stained and it was covered in a little bit of padding and black vinyl. Lovely. Anyway....I have never been able to throw it out, if you know what I mean! So I got to hunting, found a bed pillow that was all lumpy, but the cover is what I needed, because I didn't have any white fabric. Then I found some batting from a project that was never finished. So I got out my handy stapler and began wrapping and stapling the batting and the smooth pillow cover that I had cut up. Then I just figured out how to put it together, with some cute pleats. I love mixing patterns of the same colors.

Thought I would show you the rest of the guest room while I was at it. The bed was found at Thrill of the Hunt. I painted the mahogony, white, much to my mother's dismay. Then I got hubby to cut out the plywood for the upholstered part and I covered it with the pink and white fabric. My mom made the bed skirt....I hate making those. I made window treatments that you really can't see in the picture. I made the shams, pillow and coverlet laying on the chair. I found the pretty curved dresser in a friends garage, while we were having an oyster roast in her garage one winter. The mirror was from a consignment store. I painted these two pieces white also and sprayed the handles on the dresser a soft silver. I call this look "Palm Beach" or "Lilly Pulitzer"! Everyone that stays in the room says it's cozy. Thought that I would share this with you!

Monogrammed Ottoman

2010-08-06T00:03:00.000-04:00

What a great place to sit and apply makeup!! That is just what my client is going to do with this ottoman. Lynn had cream colored fabric monogrammed and then she picked out the beautiful navy and cream striped fabric. It is "Sequence" by Village. I suggested to add the cute skirt with the inside of the skirt corners the navy blue to match the welt. I think it is a definite keeper. Matching the stripes for the skirt was a little challenging because the bottom of the ottoman is smaller than the top part. Lynn loves it and so do I. What about you?

How Very English...

2010-07-30T13:13:00.001-04:00

There is just something about this piece that speaks England and all that is very English!! It is a beautiful sofa with an what some folks call an English arm. It has beautiful turned legs with brass casters! Thrill Of The Hunt (in Wilmington) commissioned me to fabricate the slipcover for the loveseat. The fabric is a blue and cream, Robert Allen. It is piped in yellow and has a yellow and blue paisley on the top of the cushion and blue and white stripe on the bottom. We had just enough fabric to do the boxing, so we didn't worry about match there, but everywhere else it was matched. Linda at Thrill of the Hunt loves to mix fabrics. She is always buying fabric for future pieces and we had just enough to put this piece together!! Talk about pressure! Don't mess up...Don't mess up!! My friend Ellen, who is a decorator in her own right, says this piece looks like the style that ANTHROPOLIGE is all about right now. I love the crab pillows that Linda added as we rolled the loveseat in it's place amoung all the other beautiful pieces she has for sale. It even sits on a antique beautiful wool rug. How very English!
On August the 6th, this was a featured slipcover for PinkandPolkadotblogspots, Friday's Featured Slipcovers! Thank you Pink and Polka Dot.

Dining Chair Gets A Cottage Look

2010-07-07T17:29:00.000-04:00

This is one of a pair of dining room chairs that I have slipcovered! I love the green fabric with the raspberry colored polka dot which I purchased at Fabric Barn in Goldsboro, NC. But I wanted some new "Clothes For My Furniture" on those chairs, so I worked with this new fabric which I purchased at Printers Alley in Wilmington. The fabric was on sale for $4.99 a yard. Deal!!! It gives the chairs a beachy cottage look! Love both looks, but I love the change! I origanally got the chairs from Sue at Primrose Cottage (a consighment store) in Carolina Beach years ago. I think they were red, white and blue before. I told Sue I was putting her picture on my blog, her daughter prodded her into posing! Aren't the chairs adorable!!!

Just Your Normal Day At The Beach With Gina

2010-07-06T21:52:00.001-04:00

Well, What can I say? Another normal day with me at the beach!! Anything can happen!
My friend Brenda, Wendy and her beautiful daughter, Stephanie went to the North End of Carolina Beach. We drove out on the sand, threw our chairs, umbrella and cooler out and began our wonderful day on the beach! We hadn't settled in to long before we saw a newswoman from a local channel wanting to turn her camera on all of us unsupecting, no-makeup wearing, bathing suit wearing, wouldn't want anyone see us on tv, suncreen covered women. Whew! I told her to take advice from me, don't ask anyone for an opinion or put them on tv, unless they are a hot young girl or a man. Men don't care, and we would rather see pretty young women!! So, as you can see Stephanie was prodded by us to give her opionion on camera! Doesn't she look pretty? The rest of us made sure that we weren't anywhere near the lense!! Just another normal day on the beach with Gina.

Side of the Road Couch

2010-07-06T15:25:00.000-04:00

I met this really nice mother and daughter through an advertisement I put on Craigslist. The daughter had found this adorable couch on the side of the road!! Can you believe it?? You better keep looking on the side of the road, there is no telling what jewels you may find. This was awesome. The mother made the upper back cushions, but wanted me to make the seat cushions, adding cording and zipper. The fabric is so happy and modern looking, and it is an outdoor fabric! The daughter painted the sofa, added the cushions and a couple of pillows, one was a little gift from me... and ta da....a beautiful find that she will cherish forever! Thank you Pam and Erin for bringing me your project. Now everybody, start your engines and get out and hunt!

I've Been Featured!!!!!

2010-06-25T23:10:00.000-04:00

Well, tonight I am checking the blogs I follow ....and to my surprise I see that I have been featured on Pink and Polkadot blog as the Friday slipcover!!! Wow, I couldn't believe it! How honored I feel!!! They have some awesome features, great work and wonderful ideas on their site. Click on the button for Friday's featured slipcovers and go check out their site! The sofa they featured is actually my first sofa I slipcovered. I was proud that they choose my work and am excited about making slipcovers for others. Now I can go to sleep and dream about other things I am working on. What a perfect day...it started out with a wonderful 3 hours on the beach and ended with a featured slipcover on Pink and Polkadot! Can't wait to see what tommorrow brings.

Retro Chair Has Cushions!

2010-06-24T21:11:00.000-04:00

Today, Betty and I went to the WCAA meeting together. Before joining her, I stopped by and checked out the retro chair with the cushions at Thrill of the Hunt. This photo doesn't really do the chair justice....it is so cute!!! If I must say so myself! Betty is probably going to get me for adding her photo. What are friends for? But you see.... she is a follower of my blog and her photo is just one of those strange shadow people and I wanted you to see my friend. Betty has Betty's Interiors and she specializes in window treatments. Her work is supreme and always so elegant. She has been in business 20 years. If you need window treatments, drop her an email... bettysinteriors@ec.rr.com. Going to the beach in the morning and sewing slipcovers for dining chairs in the afternoon!

WCAA Meeting with Jeanelle Dech

2010-06-24T20:55:00.000-04:00

Today our local WCAA, (Window Coverings Association of America) met for the 3rd time. We are a group of professionals, (if you can call me that!!!) that fabricate, install window treatments, do upholstry work and slipcovers. You may check out the website at www.wcaa.org/ for professionals in your area and links to other sites. Our guest speaker was Jeanelle Dech. Jeanelle is from Pennsylvania, has her own business in fabric/textile design, where she designs her own line of fabrics. She also teaches at Custom Home Furnishings in Charlotte, a school for the trade. You may check out the school at this blog....www.chfschool.com/about_us.php. Jeanelle has a wonderful DVD on Slipcovers and you may contact her at Jeanelle@chfschool.com .We have emailed back and forth and today I met her for the first time. She is kind, funny and very smart. We were honored to have her come to our meeting and share with us "How to Find Your Niche". I love this business!!!

RetroLook Club Chair

2010-06-23T23:57:00.000-04:00

Finished another chair for "Thrill of the Hunt", in Wilmington. Linda, the owner is getting beautiful pieces in every day. Such pretty pieces...my husband made sure I didn't find do many things that I liked! This chair will have cushions that Linda is supplying. But I just wanted to show you the finished work. Linda loves mixing things up with fabrics sometimes. I love the colors in this chair. A friend that I fondly call "grandmother", said the fabric made her miss the curtains that she had in her beach house back in the 50's! Linda's little newly shaved dog took an interest in the chair also. If you like the chair stop by and purchase it from Thrill of the Hunt.

Father's Day at the Beach

2010-06-21T23:33:00.000-04:00

Father's Day at the Beach and the only chair I was looking at was a beach chair. Andrew and Caroline Planned the whole day right down to the grilling! Caroline had to go to work at Port City Java later in the afternoon, so we stopped by and got a cold one to go. Happy Father's Day to my great husband and a wonderful father, Brian........Back to sewing slipcovers! It does look like Brians chair could use a new cover. Everything I see now could use a slipcover!!!!

Grandmother Would Love The Custom Slipcover

2010-06-21T23:21:00.000-04:00

Well, I told you I would show you the "after" photo of Calvin's mom's sofa. The welting actually matches a chair that you are unable to see, that sits in another corner. But note how the welting looks so neat with the green chair. Audrey and Calvin's newly created den, is all pulled together with the custom slipcover! Audrey will be adding pillows out of the same fabric as the welting.
They are happy with their new look and I was glad that I was able to help them keep a piece of furniture that has sentimental value, but just needed some updating.

Grandmother's Sofa Is Still Good

2010-06-10T22:35:00.000-04:00

This is the piece I am working on now. Calvin's Mom had a wonderful Rowe sofa and ottoman that she left them. Audrey wasn't wild about the fabric, but wanted to keep Grandmother's sofa that was in great shape. Audrey and Calvin picked out a soft, dark blue denim, with bright green, yellow and bright blue check to use for the cording. Will post the "after" picture when I have finished. Hang on!!

New Life For A Tired Sofa

2010-06-10T22:21:00.000-04:00

I have had this sofa for about 10 years and recovered 2 times. The above pictures are before and after. The fabric was a muslin, but I couldn't wash it and it was sure ready to get a change somehow. So, I slipcovered it in a beautiful white matlasse. It is so soft and cushy. It was my first ever sofa slipcover. I thought it turned out beautiful. I am changing my entire den to white. It is so soothing and cool for the summer. I will be making pillows and slipcovers for other chairs in the room. Will update you later! Got to go lay down on the sofa! Ahhhhh!!!

Goodbye Man Cave, Hello Workroom!

2010-06-10T22:12:00.001-04:00

Well, as sad as I am to say it, Brian has lost his Man Cave. He felt like it was the best area for my workroom. We went ahead and moved some things down in the area, even though it is not ready, because I have a client that is very allergic to my cat and her fabrics could not be around little Coco for anything! The workroom will be painted a beautiful bright green and we just picked up a double window I found on Craigslist. It will go where the AC is and the AC is being moved to the left. I hate window AC, but we are in the flood zone, so the AC has to be up high. Brian will build my tables one day....stay tuned, more later.

Cushions for Kay

2010-06-10T22:07:00.000-04:00

Kay had some worn out porch cushions that she was so happy to get replaced! She picked a wonderful Exterior Williamsburg Fabric. I refurbished 5 outdoor cushions for her. She loves the fabric so much I will be making some pillows for her front porch rockers out of the same fabric.

Slipper Chair Gets A New Slipcover

2010-06-07T22:18:00.000-04:00

Just delivered a Slipper Chair Slipcover that I made for a wonderful shop, Thrill of the Hunt. It is a very funky chair and I think it turned out great. I added a little pillow with french pleats to finish it off. Linda, the owner of Thrill of the Hunt, on Oleander Drive in Wilmington, was tickled with the chair and I picked up 2 new pieces to do for her business. Her business is a wonderful place to shop for the Shabby Chic look, and Beach home. I have found many beautiful piece over the years for my home. Linda is doing a total new look in the store and it is fabulous. Can't wait for you to see the new pieces I am doing for her, they will be very unique.

Getting Started

2010-06-02T02:30:00.000-04:00

So excited about starting my slipcover business. The name is so important. I have spent weeks deciding what the name of my business should be. For something so simple as Slipcover Chic, you would think it would have been easy!! I wanted it to be descriptive and I believe that it is...Slipcover for the work that I will be doing and "Chic" in French means stylish and elegant.
Soon I will be adding pictures.