A New Look

Today I wanted to share an easy DIY project I completed over the Holidays for one of my clients, I am re-doing the bedroom of a 7 year-old girl and I am so excited to give her a her very own big girl room , that will include: a new bed, a desk, tons of storage and plenty of room to display her artwork. Working with a small budget I decided to get creative and complete some cool projects for the space. I took the paint swatch down to the fabric shop and found a sweet floral print fabric to recover a basic cream colored chair the family had. Here are photographs and instructions on how to re-cover a chair.

What you need for the project:

• Chair
• Fabric
• Staple Gun
• New Foam Padding (if needed)
  
  Chair Before:

The existing fabric and cushion are in great condition, however 

I thought a new fabric would be fun for my clients new bedroom!

1. Locate the screws that are holding the pad on the base of the chair.
This one had 4 total screws that easily removed and the seat quickly popped off!

2. This is the step when you would remove existing fabric from the chair and replace the cushion.
The existing cream fabric has a moisture barrier so I decided to leave it to protect the chair pad.

3. Place the seat on the fabric and cut fabric around the seat of the chair leaving enough fabric on all sides to wrap up each side and adhere to the bottom of the seat cushion. Make sure to think about how you want the fabric pattern to appear on the chair. I wanted to center a large flower aligned at the front center of the seat as you can see below.

4. Tightly wrap the fabric up the front side of the seat so that it is even and just where you want it. Then use a staple gun to adhere fabric to the back of the chair seat. Start stapling at the center and work outward, pulling fabric tightly. I put a staple about every 3 inches or so but you can do more if you want. Next, work on the opposite side, continue to pull the fabric tight.

5. Neatly pleat the corners and staple them down to the backing of the
chair seat so the entire seat is tightly covered and looks tailored.
Here is the new seat...

The fabric has these sweet little lilac colored hearts that coordinate perfectly with the wall color!

And here is the new chair!

What do you think?

I am also working on curtains, a custom bookshelf and a cushion for a chest of toys she has at the end of her bed. I will be posting more projects as they are completed and I am excited to share the final design with you soon! I love designing spaces for children and am always accepting design clients so be sure to send me an email to get information on pricing: Blaiseadkisondesign@gmail.com.

Thank you so much for stopping by!



Creative DIY Wrapping Paper & Homemade Honey Vanilla Marshmallows

With a little imagination you can create unique one of a kind wrapping paper for your Christmas gifts this year. All you need is: brown parcel paper, old maps, newspaper, book pages, fabric, festive ribbon, twine or string and sparkly embellishments. You can add intrigue to brown or white parcel paper using a home made potato or celery stamp or create a one of a kind print with a spruce tree sprig dipped in paint. Once you have designed your paper, add twine or ribbon and use floral wire to attach holly sprigs, berries, seasonal greenery or brightly colored buttons.

Here are some examples of homemade Christmas wrapping paper found on Pinterest.

A creative use for butcher paper, sewing tape and a white pen!

 Maps and red ribbon...

Use newspaper and embellish it with ribbon and a colorful homemade gift tag.

 You can use the pages from a dictionary and choose words that you wish to present on top of the gift.

 

Sheet music...

Tear out a crossword puzzle or print one off the internet.

Pretty pieces of fabric remnants...

You can use store bought stamps or you can make them yourself!

This rose pattern is created by cutting the end of a bunch of celery and using it as a stamp. 

I think it is such a great idea and it makes an amazing print!

Instructions found here.

 Personalize your ribbon with a rubber stamp. This ribbon is so simply beautiful!

Instead of a cookie...
Today I wanted to share a recipe with you for Handmade Honey Vanilla Marshmallows from Alissa over at 33 Shades Of Green. I have always wanted to make marshmallows and I am excited to try this recipe, click Here to see the full recipe. Check out 33 Shades Of Green blog for lots of delicious recipes and some creative design ideas, I love the gift tags she designed for the marshmallows, so unique!

Image courtesy of 33 Shades Of Green.

This weekend I will be wrapping up all of my last minute Christmas shopping and am excited to share photos of the presents under the tree next week! Have a happy and safe weekend and don't forget to indulge in your favorite Holiday treats,

Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread & A Holly Wreath

Today was a beautiful day; sunny, blue skies and 28 degrees! I am so lucky to have a gorgeous holly tree in my backyard so today I trimmed some holly branches and used some of our remaining Christmas fir tree trimmings to make a wreath for our front door. Wreaths are an easy DIY that people often overlook. Here are the materials you need to make a wreath: 18" double wire wreath frame, green floral wire, pruning sheers, wire cutters and 6" holly & evergreen boughs.

 Our holly tree...

The frost was so beautiful, it looks like snow.

Materials...

I like to trim the leaves off some of the holly branches.

 First I attach the fir boughs to the wreath frame to give the wreath a solid and full base.

 Then begin attaching the holly around the wreath equally, for a balanced look.

And here it is!

I ran out of thick ribbon so I used a small piece to hang the wreath on my front door. There are also very nice metal wreath hangers at craft stores that are very nice too!

I love making wreaths and recommend you try it too! Nothing says welcome more than a wreath hanging on the front door (especially a candy apple red door!).

Cookie Of The Day: Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars

Recipe courtesy of Annie's Eats.

Ingredients:

For the shortbread layer:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup sugar

For the caramel layer:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup sugar

4 tbsp. light corn syrup

2 cans sweetened condensed milk

For the chocolate layer:

8 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 tsp. light corn syrup

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Fleur de sel or sea salt, for sprinkling 

Yield: about 5 dozen small bars

Directions:

• To make the shortbread layer, preheat the oven to 325° F.  
• Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.  In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir with a fork to blend, and set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until well blended, about 1-2 minutes.  With the mixer on low speed blend in the dry ingredients just until incorporated.  Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and press in an even layer over the bottom of the pan.  Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden.  (If the crust puffs up a bit while baking, just gently press it down while it is cooling.)  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely.  
• To make the caramel layer, combine the butter, sugar, corn syrup and condensed milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted.  Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, stirring constantly.  Continue simmering and stirring until the mixture turns an amber color and thickens slightly.  Pour the mixture over the shortbread layer, smooth the top, and allow to cool completely and set.  (I chilled at this stage to ensure that the caramel layer would not melt when the warm chocolate was added.)
• To make the chocolate glaze, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.  Pour evenly over the caramel layer and use an offset spatula to smooth the top.  Allow to cool for a minute or two and then sprinkle with fleur de sel.  Chill, covered, until ready to slice and serve.  

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Home Made Snow Globes & Coconut Macaroons

Last weekend we made home made snow globes using recycled jars, distilled water, glycerin and glitter. The result was amazing! Here are the directions as well as some of our photos:

Almost any jar works for this project: Baby-food, pimiento, and olive jars are good choices. You will also need oil-based enamel paint, sandpaper, epoxy,  distilled water, glitter, and glycerin.

Look for plastic or ceramic figurines (metal ones are prone to rust) at flea markets and hobby or model-railroad shops. Synthetic evergreen tips are available at many floral-supply stores.

Sand the inside of the lid until the surface is rough. With clear-drying epoxy, 

adhere the figurine to the inside of the lid, and let the epoxy dry.

Fill the jar almost to the top with distilled water; add a pinch of glitter and a dash of glycerin to keep the glitter from falling too quickly. Don't add too much, or the glitter will stick to the bottom of the jar when it's flipped. Screw on the lid tightly, being careful not to dislodge the figurine. 

Turn the jar over and back again and let it snow.

I have always loved snow-globes and it was so cool to make them from recycled jars! I think it is a very easy way to make a home made Christmas gift and a very fun process...

Cookie Of The Day: Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons 
Recipe courtesy of: Real Simple

Makes 32 macaroons| Hands-On Time: 30m | Total Time: 2hr 05m

Ingredients:

• 1 14-ounce package sweetened shredded coconut (about 5 cups)
• 4 large egg whites
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325° F.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the coconut, egg whites, sugar, flour, salt, and vanilla.
3. Drop packed tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart.
4. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until lightly golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
5. When cool, dip the bottom of each macaroon in the chocolate and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, 20 to 30 minutes. Store the macaroons in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.

You can also make these without the chocolate coating...they are so, so, so yummy!