Sewing Studio Revamp, More Dolls, and it has been a while!

I have had such a full plate for the last year, so I have not been on here at all, really.  It has been just a pretty overwhelmed-with-life-in-general kind of thing. When you have 3 kids, homeschool them, own 2 shops, work a job, etc... the leisurely things get pushed to the back burner. And that's what happened. But I am back! Blogging seems strange and foreign to me now...but I'll be sure to be more diligent!

So - update!

I've recently redesigned my PeanutEnvy dolls and have added Owl pillows to the shop. The dolls are larger and (in my opinion) cuter. Since I've started using inks for the faces instead of embroidering them on, making them has been *slightly* easier..but overall they are still quite involved especially with all the appliqueing I have to do for the heads alone. But I'm not complaining...I enjoy sewing these lovelies, even if there are, like, 20 steps.

I have also revamped my sewing studio for the better. Now its a place I want to be at all times...and so do the children, but I can't blame them :) You can see the last revamp in this post here. I like this new set up MUCH better. And I have a new sewing machine to boot! The light in the room is perfect! I can even lock the door from the inside as to ward off unwanted intruders...or to hide while I eat something I certainly do not want to share. 

 Now that life is down to a simmer, I can finally get some sewing done. Fall has always been the perfect time for it anyway since all the summer fun comes to a close. And I hope it also means I'll be posting more as well!

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Tulip Dining Chairs: Before and After

Browsing through Craigslist one night..very late one night, I stumbled upon the dining set I've been dreaming of for quite some time: the ever elusive (for me) Tulip style set. All the ones I've seen  on CL were in the $600+ range and I was willing to pay that. My husband, knowing how impatient I can be, kept telling me to wait..One will come along. The one I found was in near perfect condition...but the best part was the price. $75. For the WHOLE set. 4 chairs and a table. Yep...$75.

The only problem was the chair seat covers...best described as Grover fabric. So I got some Anna Maria Horner laminated fabric and recovered these guys.

Recovering chairs like these is quite easy. Here is a quick step-by-step
1.You unscrew the seat from the chair at the bottom and take out all the staples.
2. Once done, you take the original fabric piece from the chair and use it as a template for your new fabric.
3. Trace your template fabric onto the new fabric - first be sure you have enough fabric!
4. Cut your new covers out from the fabric.
5. Lay the new cover up side down, place seat on top, also up side down.
6. Staple it back to the seat, making sure to pull it snug when stapling. Make sure there is very little slack and try to keep it free from wrinkles.
7. Staple all the way around.
8. Screw the seat back to the chair.
Simple, yes?

So here they are all spiffed up. I like them much better to say the least!
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ALSO - New girls heading to my PeanutEnvy shop VERY soon! Here's a preview. If you want a discount code go like my facebook page and get one! You may need to scroll down a bit :)

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