Quick lamp makeover

I love spray paint. Seriously. There's no better way to change something so inexpensively and so quickly. Case in point: my lamps.

These lamps, purchased from Ikea a couple years ago, were starting to look a little blah. After a few coats of spray paint, they look totally fresh and new. I also picked up a couple of new shades, just for fun.

And, if I ever get bored with the turquoise (which I inevitably will) I can change the colour again. That is the glory of the spray paint!

In other crafting news, I have been busy recovering a few chairs for the living room (including the orange chair I wrote about in a previous post) which I'll share as soon as they're finished. I've learned that upholstering chairs is harder than it looks. It's kinda hard to make it look professional and neat rather than an amateur Trading Spaces project or something. (Not that I didn't love Trading Spaces. It feels a little blasphemous to take a shot at my beloved TS!)

It's interesting to note that a lot of my creative energy is being taken up by taking a picture every day for my Project 365. I have really been enjoying sinking my teeth into photography and challenging myself to find a new shot each day. However, it has meant that I haven't been sewing/knitting/etc. much lately -- not only because I'm devoting a lot of my attention to pictures, but also because it's a bit of a time commitment to take, upload, and edit a photo each day. I have a long sewing to-do list and I'm hoping to be able to commit some serious time tackling those projects in the next few weeks.

Since I have no new sewing projects to show you I'll leave you with my 365 shot from yesterday: some pretty pink Gerbera daisies (which happen to be one of my favourite flowers).

Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

Moccasins!

Guys. I just signed up for a make-your-own moccasin class. And I'm SUPER pumped.

The class takes place during two Saturdays in March at the workroom, a beautiful sewing studio/fabric shop in Parkdale. (It's run by Karyn, one of my fave bloggers whose photos have made several appearances on this blog -- including the one above).

I have been dying to take one of the workroom's classes for ages, but the timing never seemed to work out.  Well, my friends, the stars have finally aligned. So, not only do I get to take a class at the workroom, but I'll end up with an adorable pair of moccasins. I've never sewn with leather before, nor have I ever sewn anything for my feet. Exciting things all around!

I will keep you posted on my progress once the class starts. One of the best things about it is that I get to take home the commercial pattern - meaning I can make moccasins again and again, if I so choose. Now I just have to contain my moccasin excitement (mocca-citement?) for another few weeks...

Urge for orange

I'm going for it, readers. Instead of my usual standby for painting furniture -- beautiful, classic, neutral white -- I'm opting for bright, in-yo-face, saturated orange.

First coat!

This chair was a curbside find with great lines but battered legs and upholstery. The colour is called "Chinatown Orange," which (vaguely racist connotations aside) is a really lovely colour with just a hint of red. I took off the back rest for painting, but since the screws to remove the seat weren't accessible and it will be re-covered it in new fabric, I just left the seat on during painting.

Glossy!

Why orange, you ask? Truthfully, I have no idea. Maybe the bleak winter weather is making me desperate  for warmth and colour. Maybe it's just my evolving taste. But, honestly, for whatever reason, I just had this sudden desire for ORANGE. And I decided to go with it.

Me, shot by my fella, in my sexy paint-splattered hoodie

Since the chair itself is going to be super bright, I'm thinking something in greys and whites for the upholstery. Something like this, but perhaps a little more subtle. (Sidenote: This fabric is designed by Ty Pennington, formerly of Trading Spaces fame. Who knew?)

So there you go. Orange you glad you read this post?? (Sorry. Couldn't resist).



Yarn bombed!

I was out for sushi dinner with friends on Sunday night and spotted this:



A yarn bomb!

There's been a movement in my hometown over the past few months to decorate a downtown street with yarn. The idea is to brighten up a sterile city space and make the landscape a little more friendly and colourful. I loved this tree so much that I made a special trip on my lunch break today to take a picture of it for my Project 365.

And how is Project 365 going, you ask? Well, it's been going swimmingly so far. I've been pretty obsessed with my camera over the past few days and have been trying to mentally document all of the pictures I can take over the next year. The real challenge will be to keep things going when my enthusiasm wanes three months down the road.

If you're interested, check out my 365 progress on Flickr!