Brown calico was used to reupholster the chairs. Ecru gathered lace made the skirt and a fancy trim was glued around the base.  These are not very difficult to do.  Just use the old removed pieces as a pattern.     

    Valerie's boudoir chair made up nicely.  She used a soft blue for the fronts of the arms.  The rest is done in a shiny peach nylon type fabric.  An applique graces the back.

    These pieces will be used in Valerie's Newberg house, which is now under construction.  The sofa was covered with a red cotton fabric, ecru ruffle enclosed the bottom, and rick rack was glued to add a decorative touch.  The little odd chair has a red padded seat and ruffled skirt.  The contrasting chair is off-white with red arm fronts and the same bottom trim.  The pillow on the couch was a small crocheted bear head we found in a craft store that was going out of business.  She sewed two of them together and stuffed lightly with cotton.  A nice touch!!!

    We don't have the befores on these pieces.  They were originally covered with a red and white checked fabric. They show two different interpretations. The first two are solid plush upholstery fabric which was just glued to the frame.  The doilies are flowers cut from a piece of lace and glued in place.  Gold braid covers the wood under the seat.  The last one is also upholstery fabric. I just removed the fabric that came on the pieces, made cardboard cuttings, covered them with a little cotton batting, added the upholstery fabric(this gave it a more plush cushiony effect), glued in place, added gold cord accents, an accent pillow and you see the result.
                                                                          BEFORE

                                                                                                               
     The wood in these chairs is quite nice looking. There seems to be more of a matte finish to them. 

    Again using the old pieces of fabric as a pattern.  I cut a poster board insert for stability, added a thin piece of cotton batting, covered  with moire and glue into place.  These pieces do not work well with bulky padding.  A gold trim is glued across the back and a fancy pillow added the finishing touch.  The same fabric covers the backs of the chairs.  A moire seat tied the odd chair to work in the same room.

    This version of the same chair covered with vinyl has a leather-like look..  It is the same front and back although our scanning makes it look like different colors.  This would go well in a library or den.

    Here are samples of other treatments.  The first chair is red velvet (to be used in a Christmas dining room setting).   The second matches one of the couches above.  It graces the corner of a dining room.  The third has two strips of gimp for a seat.  It looks like a textured brocade.  This, too, makes the dining room scene.  The last chair is cotton check, it is being used in a kitchen with a green and white checked floor. 

    Here are several of the wooden pieces that were redone.   The first two were in really good shape (the second one looks a little distorted cause the vibration of the scanner moved it slightly).  All that was done to the first two was the addition of the butterflies.  They were cut out of some return address labels.  The last one needed a complete overhaul.  As you can see I'm no artist, but the overall effect in a child's room is not bad.  We did not strip, sand or in any way prepare the wood.  We just repainted with an off-white semi-gloss paint, added gold bead knobs and very fine gold trim around the top and bottom of the pieces.  I'm sure some one more talented could do a much better job.

    This was a "jackpot" piece.  We got it along with wrought iron chairs, tables, bookcases, rockers and plant stands. I completely lined the interior of the carriage, made a pillow and trimmed it all with baby lace.   The umbrella was also covered with lace.  Little pink rosebuds and green streamers added a finishing touch.  As you have probably guessed, I do better with fabric than I do with painted flowers.

ALL THE ABOVE PIECES WERE DOLLAR TREE ITEMS

DURA-CRAFT PUNCH OUT FURNITURE

    This bathroom was finished with a pink base coat and a pearl finish.  I think one of the keys to finishing this type of furniture is the sanding.   We are quite happy with our results.

    Although Valerie has done a whole pink kitchen, we're only showing the treatment of the table and chairs.  They are painted pink.  The chairs have a patterned wallpaper to which she added the little pink punch out which was left over from the bottom of the chair. The table top has a piece of linoleum glued to it which makes it look like a Formica top.

    These were some of the nursery pieces that I used in the 3rd floor dormitory of the Southern mansion.  These pieces, combined with other punch outs and Dollar Tree chests  were all repainted in the same theme.  This type of furnishings was basically all I used to complete the rooms.

    This assortment of pieces Valerie did from a nursery sheet.   The toy chest has a padded top, which was hinged by simply adding ribbon strips which go down the back of the piece.  This same concept can be used for a hamper. The doll buggy has added painting and a ribbon bow on the hood.  It has sequin hubcaps. The crib foot has a novelty bear (found on a jewelry scrap table) added.   

    Above is the bed, the bentwood rocker , the highchair, and rocking horse Valerie did from punch outs.  The bed has little rosettes on the foot. The rocker has a velvet seat and arm rests with an applique touch. The high chair is as yet unfinished.   A clear coat of shellac could just be added.  The little horse has a fur strip for a mane and a ribbon bridle.

FURNITURE BUILT FROM SCRATCH

    The sofa was made using a pattern I made from the side of a chair I saw in miniature shop.  The back and side has a cardboard center padded with cotton batting.   The seat is a block of wood covered again with batting and fabric.  The buttons are beads with side openings.  The bassinet is two baskets.  One on it's side tucked into the other. The trim and lace were glued in place.

     The white brocade boudoir chair and ottoman were made from scratch.  It's uses the same principal as the one above, but has only one cushion.  The ottoman is a covered block of wood topped with a foam cushion.  The legs are pony beads.

    These pieces all used woodsies in their construction.  The chairs used little wooden spindles for the legs.  One woodsie was used on the first chair back.  The second back was completely made of woodsies glued side by side.  The bed headboards also used woodsies, simply laid out and glued together.  The first one is a four poster.  Left over banister rails,  dowels and a punched out center from a window  completed the effect.  The posts are balsa wood which I tapered and finished with wooden beads.  The second was used in a teenagers room. It, too, used left over scraps.  The handrails with the groove are ideal for fitting with small strips of left overs.  Experiment with woodsies the possibilities are endless.

    The computer work center is Valerie's brainchild.   The table is just a piece of scrap wood with left over fancy dowels. The keyboard is a small scrap of wood with tiny seed bead for the keys.  The CPU unit is a chuck of wood with a flat piece attached to the from.  It is mounted on a woodsie base. The front image was a downloaded from Jim Collins site. http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/1832   All the pieces are balsa wood. The desk blotter is made of construction paper. Brown was used on the ends for contrast.  There is a wooden bead holding toothpick pencils, an ashtray, complete with cigarette and ash, and a coke can.  (She has since kicked the habit.  I'm pleased to say ash trays are no longer a desk accessory for her). The mouse is half a bead with a small felt mouse pad.

    The checker board table was my undertaking.  The checkerboard is 3x5 card with the alternate blocks done with magic marker.  It was covered with clear contact paper.  The checkers are flat wooden beads painted appropriately. (Stick them to tape and tape to a surface sticky side up.  Just press on the beads and it makes for easy painting.)  The table is simply a fancy dowel to which a square piece and a round piece of wood were glued,  I marbleized it by streaking black paint into wet white paint. The base was painted gold. This effect can also be used as a pedestal for a statue.

If any one would like more details about any of the above, please E-mail us.