Painting things white & Dutch white lead

I am going to try and do more 'how to's' and post more photos, as well as the odd vintage add or article from my vintage magazine collection of course.  Here are two ads I thought relevant, given my new love of white paint:

1942

and 1932'

Just remember - if you have these paints in the shed still - DON"T use them!  I can remember dad painting the house and using pink lead undercoat.  Those were the days!

And here is the chair after a three coats of paint -  one base/sealer coat and two coats of vivid white (it's what I found in the shed, although gesso works well as a base coat, you can buy it from craft shops, and milk paint gives a lovely effect, if you are buying from scratch or want to  make your own).

Tomorrow I will sand it a little and add some grey distressing to make it more rustic, and give it a clear protective coat, before I recover the seat.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

Deb xxx

Covering a couch – part 1 choosing fabric & a quick scotty dog cushion how to

I finally went to my local Spotlight today , on my day off, to get the gingham fabric to recover the couch.  Luck day! It was 30% off (the original $7.95), so I got enough to do the outside setting as well.  Spots and stripes were also on sale, and I found a gorgeous cherry print I thought would make a great dress, but now I am considering it for a chair.

So this is the lounge before I started:

  

To make sure abut the fabrics, I have ‘draped’ the lounge room in the fabrics I am considering.  This way we can live with them for a day, and make sure we like them.  I have also rearranged things a little. Excuse the photo quality, I am using my phone as my camera needs a new memory card.

 

The kids love it – they now have their favourite chairs “spotty chair” or cherry chair”.  Hubby’s opinion?  “It looks cleaner and nicer” – big praise!
After all that draping I thought some sewing was in order, so a time for a quick cushion cover.



A check shirt bought for $1, and a remnant of black (40c), a quick sketch and a bit of sewing an voila!
A scotty dog cushion, with a button opening at the back.

  
Tomorrow I sew real covers

Happy draping, Deb xxx