DIY Recovered Ottoman

Today, I'm sharing a little re-upholstery project to update an much-abused ottoman.

I've had this one finished for quite awhile but haven't shared it because I was hoping to find a good "before" image - but this is the only one I could come up with...

It doesn't look so bad here, but fast forward a few years, and the brown microfiber fabric was stained and worn. Not pretty. I'm still kicking myself for not taking a "before" photo, but this is one of those projects that just took over and before I knew it, I was done.

The ottoman matches the little brown couch in the photo and lifts up for storage. We love having it, but after we got a new grey couch and loveseat for the family room, the ottoman didn't quite match - and it was extremely ugly. I had a chunk of blue corduroy fabric in my stash that was sturdy and practical - and I had a matching blue polka-dot fabric to recover the new pillows to build a grey / blue theme. (And I have yet to start that last part to date - oh well...)

So, staple gun in hand, I went to work recovering the ottoman. I unscrewed the top lid and recovered it first, folding and stapling the fabric in place, making sure to punch holes where the screws needed to put back in.

I didn't even bother taking the old fabric off - I think it would have been almost impossible (and maybe I've mentioned this before, but I'm a little impatient).

I stapled the fabric around the bottom sides of the ottoman next.

And before I knew it - I was ready to attach the top back to the base.

It looked so much better...

...as long as you ignore the un-recovered pillows (not a fan of that purple fabric that originally came on the pillows - I'm hoping to get those recovered soon).

We are super happy with the change - we've extended the lift of our tired little ottoman. I think it's a lot happier now too...

Sharing at these great parties:

      

Featured Posts from MightyCrafty Mondays Rounds 3 and 4

Hello there! I've been MIA for a bit because we've been on a family vacation, and I'm just getting back into the swing of our daily routine. I apologize for just now posting the featured posts for the 3rd and 4th link parties - but better late than never, right?

Again, I hope you're enjoying sharing your projects with everyone. Our link party is still growing, so please share it with your friends and followers. I would so appreciate your help in getting the word out. And this week's link party is still going on, so be sure to link up your latest projects.

Now on to the featured posts from weeks 3 and 4...

iz originals shared these adorable Coffee Mug Mustaches. A cute way to customize your coffee mug...

Joy shared her trip to a local quilt shop - loved seeing these great projects...

Thank you everyone for posting your projects. I'm looking forward to seeing what this week brings. If you were featured, feel free to grab the badge below and post it on your blog.

<a href="http://mightycrafty.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZssJHJ9UGPiMkAmASJkryhsar2l27PG2-PkiTLSQd4sDqGzNOeTyfrdrXbgdY5PbsLafzmnhLSWoYXi8dkWjtoCDAv1i8syswTJ-JMwxvbuWfFcsoB9NGKcXb7djMaIddUjl/s1600/MightyCraftyMondaysFeatured.jpg" alt="I was featured at MightyCrafty Mondays at MightyCrafty.me" width="175" height="175" /></a>

MightyCrafty Mondays - Round 5

It's time for the fifth round of MightyCrafty Mondays...

Here are the Pin-up Party rules:

1. Share your crafty project in the linky list below. Anything goes! Recipes, home decor, scrapbooking, cards, knitting - anything you've made with your own 2 hands and want to share with us.
• Link directly to your original post - not the homepage of your blog.
• You *must* be the creator/owner of the project you're linking up.
• Don't link up to a store or a giveaway.
• Don't link up to a post that's just a collection of photos from Pinterest or Google. 
2. Link back to this blog in your original post. Grab the link party graphic below. (I'd also love it if you'd leave me a comment here too...)
3. Visit the projects in the linky list and pin them to your Pinterest boards. (You can also leave some comment love if you have time.)

<a href="http://mightycrafty.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nfNouaZALh3m7t9sa5obJXKmhguwNMMnjTGT5jccb0EzvtfH4ajjO_EArVR25SkA4jD0RUzAhW36A5W_snfOr5hfk4ElrMN7KCf4TlrMmtdU7RlkVKFpQL8tW1YYWwF7NWg5/s1600/MightyCraftyMondaysButton.jpg" alt="MightyCrafty.me" width="125" height="125" /></a>

I'll be visiting / pinning / commenting on all the blogs who participate - and featuring the top views too. This is a fun way to share what we're working on and get lots of new ideas. I love to see all the creativity going on. Have fun and pin on!

MightyCrafty Mondays - Round 4

It's time for the fourth round of MightyCrafty Mondays...

Here are the Pin-up Party rules:

1. Share your crafty project in the linky list below. Anything goes! Recipes, home decor, scrapbooking, cards, knitting - anything you've made with your own 2 hands and want to share with us.
• Link directly to your original post - not the homepage of your blog.
• You *must* be the creator/owner of the project you're linking up.
• Don't link up to a store or a giveaway.
• Don't link up to a post that's just a collection of photos from Pinterest or Google. 
2. Link back to this blog in your original post. Grab the link party graphic below. (I'd also love it if you'd leave me a comment here too...)
3. Visit the projects in the linky list and pin them to your Pinterest boards. (You can also leave some comment love if you have time.)

<a href="http://mightycrafty.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nfNouaZALh3m7t9sa5obJXKmhguwNMMnjTGT5jccb0EzvtfH4ajjO_EArVR25SkA4jD0RUzAhW36A5W_snfOr5hfk4ElrMN7KCf4TlrMmtdU7RlkVKFpQL8tW1YYWwF7NWg5/s1600/MightyCraftyMondaysButton.jpg" alt="MightyCrafty.me" width="125" height="125" /></a>

I'll be visiting / pinning / commenting on all the blogs who participate - and featuring the top views too. This is a fun way to share what we're working on and get lots of new ideas. I love to see all the creativity going on. Have fun and pin on!

Featured Posts from MightyCrafty Mondays Round 2

I'm having a lot of fun hosting these link parties - I hope you're enjoying sharing your projects with everyone too. Our link party is still growing, so please share it with your friends and followers. I would so appreciate your help in getting the word out. Remember - this week's link party is still going on, so be sure to link up your latest projects.

Now on to the featured posts from last week...

One Thrifty Chick shared another piece of her awesome Army birthday party - DIY MRE Meal Kits with a free printable - thanks Jenn...

Joy shared some beautiful and unique birdhouses made from reclaimed materials...love these...

And finally, Monica shared her Minimalistic Harry Potter Posters - as a huge Harry Potter fan, these are so wonderful...

Thank you everyone for posting your projects. I'm looking forward to seeing what this week brings. If you were featured, feel free to grab the badge below and post it on your blog.

<a href="http://mightycrafty.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZssJHJ9UGPiMkAmASJkryhsar2l27PG2-PkiTLSQd4sDqGzNOeTyfrdrXbgdY5PbsLafzmnhLSWoYXi8dkWjtoCDAv1i8syswTJ-JMwxvbuWfFcsoB9NGKcXb7djMaIddUjl/s1600/MightyCraftyMondaysFeatured.jpg" alt="I was featured at MightyCrafty Mondays at MightyCrafty.me" width="175" height="175" /></a>

MightyCrafty Mondays - Round 3

It's time for the third round of MightyCrafty Mondays...

Here are the Pin-up Party rules:

1. Share your crafty project in the linky list below. Anything goes! Recipes, home decor, scrapbooking, cards, knitting - anything you've made with your own 2 hands and want to share with us.
• Link directly to your original post - not the homepage of your blog.
• You *must* be the creator/owner of the project you're linking up.
• Don't link up to a store or a giveaway.
• Don't link up to a post that's just a collection of photos from Pinterest or Google. 
2. Link back to this blog in your original post. Grab the link party graphic below. (I'd also love it if you'd leave me a comment here too...)
3. Visit the projects in the linky list and pin them to your Pinterest boards. (You can also leave some comment love if you have time.)

<a href="http://mightycrafty.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nfNouaZALh3m7t9sa5obJXKmhguwNMMnjTGT5jccb0EzvtfH4ajjO_EArVR25SkA4jD0RUzAhW36A5W_snfOr5hfk4ElrMN7KCf4TlrMmtdU7RlkVKFpQL8tW1YYWwF7NWg5/s1600/MightyCraftyMondaysButton.jpg" alt="MightyCrafty.me" width="125" height="125" /></a>

I'll be visiting / pinning / commenting on all the blogs who participate - and featuring the top views too. This is a fun way to share what we're working on and get lots of new ideas. I love to see all the creativity going on. Have fun and pin on!

Boys Rule Sketch Layout

So I'm just now posting this layout based on this second great sketch at the Boys Rule blog for June 2012. I again used the June 2012 kit from Boys Rule. Love these colors...

I used a dark blue mist on the background with a little piece of multi-circle chipboard from my boys' latest Pokemon purchase as a mask. I then used the blue Distress Stickles from the kit to accent the circles. I misted the wood frame and added glitter too.

Love those rosettes as accents - even if I'm the worst at making them and end up cursing a lot.

Once I was done with this layout - and since I had already done another sketch layout with this kit - I had just a few things left in the kit...

So I challenged myself to use up the rest of the kit - and created this layout, based on a collage layout by Nichol Magouirk.

Again, love the happy colors and those rosettes!

Thanks Nichol for the inspiration - I love her layouts so much. And thank you Boys Rule scrapbooking kits for the awesome kit. I've used up almost everything in this month's collection. Can't wait to get started with July's kit...

Featured Posts from MightyCrafty Mondays Round 1

It was so fun to host my first link party last Monday and to see everyone's contributions. This week's link party is still going on, so be sure to link up your latest projects.

Now for the featured posts from last week...

First up, we had amazing DIY t-shirt screen printing for a super cute Army party from One Thrifty Chick.

Next, we had Joy's preview post on What To To With Old Fencing? I can't wait for the full reveal.

And finally, we saw the super cute 2x4 Wood Flag just in time for the 4th of July from I Gotta Try That. (Loved her gorgeous 4th of July cake too.)

Thank you ladies for posting your amazing projects. I can't wait to see what you have in store this week. If you were featured, feel free to grab the badge below and post it on your blog.

<a href="http://mightycrafty.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZssJHJ9UGPiMkAmASJkryhsar2l27PG2-PkiTLSQd4sDqGzNOeTyfrdrXbgdY5PbsLafzmnhLSWoYXi8dkWjtoCDAv1i8syswTJ-JMwxvbuWfFcsoB9NGKcXb7djMaIddUjl/s1600/MightyCraftyMondaysFeatured.jpg" alt="I was featured at MightyCrafty Mondays at MightyCrafty.me" width="175" height="175" /></a>

MightyCrafty Mondays - Round 2

It's time for a second round of MightyCrafty Mondays. It was so fun to see all the projects linked up last week. I had fun pinning the new ideas to my Pinterest boards. What did you all think?

So let's do it again this week. Here are the Pin-up Party rules:

1. Share your crafty project in the linky list below. Anything goes! Recipes, home decor, scrapbooking, cards, knitting - anything you've made with your own 2 hands and want to share with us.
• Link directly to your original post - not the homepage of your blog.
• You *must* be the creator/owner of the project you're linking up.
• Don't link up to a store or a giveaway.
• Don't link up to a post that's just a collection of photos from Pinterest or Google. 
2. Link back to this blog in your original post. Grab the link party graphic below.
3. Visit the projects in the linky list and pin the ones you love to your Pinterest boards. (You can also leave some comment love if you have time.)

<a href="http://mightycrafty.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nfNouaZALh3m7t9sa5obJXKmhguwNMMnjTGT5jccb0EzvtfH4ajjO_EArVR25SkA4jD0RUzAhW36A5W_snfOr5hfk4ElrMN7KCf4TlrMmtdU7RlkVKFpQL8tW1YYWwF7NWg5/s1600/MightyCraftyMondaysButton.jpg" alt="MightyCrafty.me" width="125" height="125" /></a>

I'll be visiting / pinning / commenting on all the blogs who participate - and featuring the top views too. This is a fun way to share what we're working on and get lots of new ideas. I love to see all the creativity going on. Have fun and pin on!

A Few Lightroom Tips

It's no secret that I love Lightroom. Organizing my photos in Lightroom has literally changed my life - and I have to thank Kayla and her wonderful Finding Your Photo Flow class for turning me into a Lightroom convert. Thank you Kayla!

I'm getting pretty good and fast at using Lightroom on a daily basis to organize, edit, and print my photos. Each time I work with the program, I learn a little something extra to speed up my workflow.

One of the best tips I learned was from Kayla - it's a little feature called Auto-Advance. It's the way to make your workflow speed up to lightning-fast. Seriously.

As you go through purging and rating your photos, this setting will automatically advance you to the next photo. Sounds like a little thing, but it makes all the difference in the world as you're using those hotkeys to move through your photos. Kayla explains it all here and if you use Lightroom, you need to turn on this feature right now. You can thank me later.

Another thing making me very happy with Lightroom is the print template feature. I love creating and printing my own photo collages. To me, it's so much faster than working with clipping templates in Photoshop - and I end up with a single print with lots of photos that I printed at home. Plus all the settings for editing and printing are right there to adjust, which (in my mind) seems easier than the way you have to do it in Photoshop.

The one frustration I was having was adjusting the crop of my photos just right before placing it in the print template. I was never quite sure how to crop it before I went over to the Print panel, and then was frustrated when it didn't look quite like I wanted it to. So I'd re-crop my photo, then re-insert it into the print template. It was a cycle that quickly got old.

I need to adjust the crop on that middle photo..

I finally had an ah-ha moment when I realized Lightroom automatically re-loads your re-adjusted photo for you. (I'll insert a "Duh" here for myself.)

So you can re-crop your photo after you place it in your print template by going back to the Develop panel and adjusting the crop.

Adjusting the crop in the Develop panel

And voila... when you go back to the Print panel, your photo will be re-loaded with the new crop.

Lightroom has re-loaded the photo with the new crop

Love that I finally noticed this. (Don't love how long it took me to see it.) It's super helpful when you aren't sure what size you're going to want to print the photo until you see how it looks in your print template.

So, all in all, Lightroom is the best. I'm still working in Lightroom 3, which is fine for me - but I'm hoping to upgrade to version 4 soon. I hear it has a lot more features in the Print module, which sounds exciting to me.

Do you have a Lightroom tip to share? I'd love to hear it...

4x6 Photo Love Sketch Layout

Happy 4th of July! We are having a laid back day today, after shooting off most of our fireworks last night. So I'm taking a few minutes to do a quick layout share...

I'm a huge fan of Shimelle Laine at Shimelle.com. She's an incredible scrapbooking artist and Two Peas Garden Girl. She shares so much at her website each day, and I love to see her videos and tutorials.

One of the classes she led last year at Two Peas was 4x6 Photo Love. Each month, she shared a sketch featuring a 4x6 photo - and the number of photos corresponded to the number of the month. So, for November, it was 11 photos on a single layout. Pretty impressive. I loved the November sketch, and it was perfect for a stack of photos I had been wanting to scrap.

Yep, that's a little 3-photo sleeve in the middle.

And here's the back of that little photo sleeve...

I so love this design - genius from Shimelle. Using the 3-photo sleeve in the middle is the perfect way to add up to 6 more photos to a layout. I'm going to be using this technique again, I'm sure.

And here's how it looks without the extra sleeve...

Shimelle does a video to go with each sketch to show how she puts her layout together. I love that she shows you how to create great embellishment collages and gives you more ideas for how to finish off your layout together. She's the best...

Not sure how I didn't notice that Happy tag was off-kilter when I was taking this photo...oh well.

Thank you Shimelle for giving me the inspiration to get this layout put together...