Friday, May 30, 2014

Lunch with Peter Rabbit

It's been almost a year since we found a tiny folding table and one folding chair by the side of the road. The seat and table top were covered in blue vinyl that had definitely seen better days, but a little scrubbing took off the dirt (if not the stains). My plan was to replace the blue vinyl at some point.

Then, a few months ago, a neighbor threw out another folding chair, identical to the first. This one had a tear in the vinyl but was otherwise sound, so my re-cover project went into effect. I searched and searched for the right fabric, but was plagued with indecisiveness. It had to match the blue seat frame, it couldn't be too "kidsy" (because it spends a lot of time in our living area), and I didn't want something that would look dated too easily. I even bought some fabric at JoAnn's, only to discover that it was the wrong blue when I brought it home.

And then it hit me. Why not Beatrix Potter? It's classic, and it generally involves the color blue. A brief search later, and I'd found the perfect fabric.





A scattered print of Peter Rabbit and family, on a greyish background -- and it wasn't even a one-way design! I topped it with a layer of clear vinyl, because spills were inevitable.




It's a good thing I decided to re-do the chairs, because when I pulled the vinyl backing off of one of the seats, I discovered thick green mold. And that chair had been sitting in our house for a while... *shiver* Fortunately, we had a thin plywood-ish board in the garage that was the perfect thickness when doubled. I cut out two seat shapes on the bandsaw, glued and clamped the pieces together, and voila!




And since I took these pictures, our neighbors ditched another chair with a scarred seat. I had plenty of leftover fabric and vinyl, so we now have a set of three chairs -- and I'm feeling pretty confident we'll one day end up with a fourth! I'll definitely be keeping my eyes open...


8 comments:

  1. That just might be the cutest thing I have seen this week! I want one! Our local public library has had a huge Beatrix Potter display up in the children's section and every time we go, my little one and I spend many minutes transfixed-- we love it so.

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    1. Keary,

      Thank you! Well, keep your eyes open -- maybe you'll find a set by the side of the road soon. :-)

      I'm so grateful that I grew up with Beatrix Potter, and am so enjoying introducing her lovely works to my children!

      Blessings,
      Shannon

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  2. How sweet! I'm very impressed with your ability to turn someone else's cast offs into something so lovely and useful. You are very talented!

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    1. Thank you, Diane! It's certainly very satisfying to take a cast-off and give it new life. It makes me wonder what some of the things *we've* put by the side of the road look like now... ;-)

      Blessings,
      Shannon

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  3. Oh my! I love it! That fabric is perfect. :)

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    1. Thanks, Laura! I was so excited when it finally occurred to me to find Peter Rabbit fabric -- I had been browsing through waaaaaay too many fabric sites looking for just the right thing!

      Blessings,
      Shannon

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  4. Aww, how sweet! What a great job you've done of "upcycling"!

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    1. Thank you, Rachel! :-)

      Blessings,
      Shannon

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