Linen Chair Slipcover

I have to tell you I love this fabric!  It's a Linen called Blue Ice. It has a slight shimmer to it and the feel is soft and kind of silky!  Absolutely GORGEOUS!!

Here is the chair before-

During-

AAAANNNNNDD.....AFTER!-

My client is in love with it!!  She wanted to have it reupholstered at first then thought about a slipcover- So I made it fit pretty snug to look like it was reupholstered.  the best part is it can come off and be dry cleaned without having to clean the whole thing!  TA-DAH!

ENJOY!!

Ciao Ya'll!

Jennifer

Following along so far?! I haven't posted lately for the following (really good) reasons;

Hey gals (and fellas) if you follow!  I haven't been posting because I've been really super busy!

1) I've repainted the kitchen and dining room - I went from a yellow faux-sponge-stone-tuscan-mustard look to a more neutral-buy-my-house look!! I did this treatment 4 years ago WAAAAAYYYY before I became professional at doing wall finishes! Every time I looked at it I thought "WOW! If what I know about wall finishes, plaster and texture and paint today is the equivalent of having gone to college and obtained a degree, then that yellow faux-sponge-stone-tuscan-mustard look would be like my kindergarten project!"

AND after that I then decided that my red kitchen walls "HAVE TA GO!!" After long deliberation, scratching my head, and trying to decided on the perfect shade looking at paint swatch after paint swatch- I went with two cans of ooops paint in my garage!! Imagine that!  The perfect shade right under my nose! Prairie Dance by Valspar- Definitely a neutral-buy-my-house color.  But it does make everything look very fresh and updated!  I HEART it. A lot.

2) I've decided that I don't have a place to work in- I mean a real workroom/office/crafting/sewing/painting/ all-about-me space!  So I decided that since we don't use our 'formal' dining area and it's a large space- well....I'm converting it to my workroom/office/crafting/sewing/painting/ all-about-me space!  So- now that it's freshly painted and the baseboards are repainted and cleaned up- it's a brand new space with lots of  potential!  I just have to figure out how to arrange the desks, tables, and the space in general.  Rather than wait for it all to come together by ear- I decided I'd better use a 'design board' you know clip images of stuff I like and tack them to a board.  So.......this post will be my 'design board'!  Maybe you folks will have other suggestions and ideas??!!!

Here are a few pics of my BEFORE's-

 Notice the "faux-tuscan-mustard-stone-sponged" finish!!?? Yeah, told you- KINDERGARTEN!!

 That hole got covered and patched- it's an old phone jack the circle kind with the strange plug!  I figure whoever buys the house later on- will have a cell phone.  I mean who has land lines nowadays?

They (whoever 'THEY" are in the 'THEY BUILDING', wherever 'THEY' work) says that colors in your kitchen can affect your eating habits.  This site contains info on picking colors for your kitchen here.  So according to them- I should feel twice as hungry and eat twice as less- YEAH RIGHT!!  Tell that to my waistline and hips! HA HA!

My pretty blue lamp- I did a makeover on her go here to take a look- not a bad deal for only $6.00 at the local GW.  I also bought a new harp $4.00 and finial $2.00 - totaling $12.00. 

So stay tuned for the 'Big Reveal'!!!


Thanks for sharing in my journey!
Ciao Ya'll!

Jennifer

Crafting With the Stars

I have entered my RUG Makeover into Sew Dang Cute's Crafting With the Stars contest!! I'm excited BECAUSE -it's a great idea!  So go on over to her page and take a look at all the entries! There are some great projects and really creative ideas!

Rug Makeover!

I guess this project would definitely fall into the 'Other Junk' catagory!

Do you ever see those rugs in the magazines and stores and ooooooh and ahhh over them and then see the price tag (and then it's not so oooh and ahhh!) I know I do! So I thought "Hey I paint everything else- WHY NOT!"

So I purchased two rugs the other day at a local discount overstock store 'BIG LOTS' 

This one is 5'x6' and it will be the next rug I plan to paint (I threw away the tag from the one I had just painted and can't find the dern thing!)

 

This is the one I will be painting and it's a 3'x5' at $8.00

I tacked it to a door and leaned it against a wall -(I didn't want to put tacks in my newly painted wall!)

 

I then printed out a design on transparency film-

And I projected it up on the rug with my Handy Dandy projector!

I then traced it out on the rug with a paint pen- however you can use a magic marker-

Here is the rug after I traced the design

I used an outdoor flat paint because I don't want the paint to flake or wear off from being walked on or from regular vacuuming.  (Outdoor paint  is great for this type of painting- think about it it's outdoor paint.  It gets rained on, snowed on, hailed on, and generally beaten up by the elements!)

Here is the after! (Notice my teenagers foot?  He's about to walk on it and I told him
"NO! It's not dry yet!" he looked at me like I was crazy!) As a matter of fact I laughed when I came up with this idea and thought maybe I am crazy- Or maybe just craz-ily creative!

Thanks for sharing in my journey!  Sooooo go out and buy a rug and create your own designs!  Please share your rugs with me I'd LOVE to see them!

CIAO YA'LL!

Jennifer

My Biggest Fan!!

 So I was deep cleaning my living room the other day and got to the ceiling fan and IT. WAS. DIRTY.  AND Gahhhahh-ROSS!! So I got up on my ladder and thought- "Okay...well... I paint everything else why not!  AND it would make an awesome makeover and even better it would make an awesome first blog makeover!"

So I'll take you through the steps:

1) Take it down- if you are not handy with tools or a ladder get your significant other or friend to help with this step!

2) Clean the DERN thing!!

 3) Take it apart- this will vary depending on your fan make and model. 

A few pieces needed sanding and cleaning they were kinda rusty!

4) Prime with metal primer, let dry then spray paint with your choice of color.  As you can see I chose a brushed nickel.  I wanted something light and airy I was tired of old grungy and dirty!

5) Prime and paint the fan blades- I chose Krylon Almond for this - again going for light and airy!

Primed light assembly

Close-up of light assembly painted the brushed nickel-

READY TO RE-ASSEMBLE!!

AAAAANNNNND!!!....... WAH-LAH!  A makeover for a new fan! 

Which cost me:

$2.98 - Spray paint (already had primer)

$30.00 for 6 new glass shades ( I hated the old tulip looking ones!)

I could have gone with a coppery paint or even a distressed white Frenchy Country look or even went black. The shape and scroll-y light arms kinda imitates a Steampunk-y look! 

Please leave comments and link back to me if you use my photos!  THANKS !

ALSO-- I would LOVE ! LOVE ! LOVE! to see your fan makeover!

Thanks for sharing in my journey!

Ciao Ya'll!

Jennifer

Welcome to FauxReal Designs and my very first post!

I live in Texas.  I'm a mother of a 15 year old boy teenager. I have found the most wonderful guy- we're not quite married but we both feel we are more to each other than boyfriend/girlfriend.  I love creating. I love working with my hands and my mind (the left side- the creative part or is it the right!?) and I HEART paint!! AND plaster!  My favorite saying - "I love the smell of paint and plaster in the mornings!"
You will find my inspiration comes from many sources- my own imagination, books, nature, collaberation with other artists, and necessity- the mother of invention- or in this case the mother of creativity!

I plan of having tutorials on basic wall finishes, refinished and or reupholstered furniture, and helpful painting tips- OH and definitely crafts! Or as my sisters calls them Arts and Craps!  And I plan on getting my son and his teen friends involved with teen crafts - COOL stuff, not ducks, geese, and glue guns!

So...I hope you'll follow me and share in my journey!  Can't wait to see where it ends up!

Ciao Ya'll!

Jennifer