Flip-Flop Fridays with The How-To Gal

 Today we have Anna Rose from The How-To Gal swappin with us! She is just awesome and also an old friend of mine. She has some amazing talent! Check her out!

I'm so excited to be swapping with Scraps n' Strings today! I have actually known Sammy since we were little girls. We lived in the same neighborhood, went to the same elementary school and played on all the same sports teams growing up. I moved away in the 5th grade and we lost touch. However, thanks to Facebook and blogging, we've reconnected! How awesome is that?

Anyway, let's get to the good stuff, my favorite thing in the world, DIY projects. I started my blog, The How-To Gal last year to keep me busy as a SAHM. I post daily how-tos, furniture makeovers and craft projects, so come visit me!

Today Sammy asked me to share this rocking chair makeover that I completed last year for my darling baby girl. The story goes like this:

When I mentioned that I wanted a rocking chair for my baby's room, my grandmother gave me the rocking chair seen below which had been passed down to her from her mother. I love the details on the chair and thought a face lift was just what the doctor ordered. To compliment the chair, I found this awesome spool at a thrift store for $2.00 that I decided to use as a footrest.

I carefully removed the seat from the rocking chair's frame. Then, not so carefully, I ripped the existing fabric and seat cushion off of the frame. This chair has been through a few remodels...it had three different fabrics covering the base. Each layer was attached with a different set of furniture nails- all of which I removed.

As you can see, this antique chair was actually padded with straw and burlap!

Reattached the springs by nailing them to the frame (whatever was holding them down in the past was long gone)

Covered the springs with several layers of batting- looking back I should have used a square piece of foam covering with one layer of batting. My seat turned out super comfy though :)

Stretched the fabric piece (I bought one yard and easily covered the seat) over the edge of the frame and stapled it into place. Then I tucked in the corners to make a uniform edge.

Sanded the chair to make sure the paint stuck and then repainted the rocking chair with two coats of chocolate brown. I let a dry for a day in between each layer, but read the back of your paint can. It usually suggests 2-4 hours. When I was satisfied with the color and the dryness, In coated it with a layer of polyurethane. After the polyurethane cured for a 24 hours, replaced the cushion and took it up to its new home!

For the footrest I followed a similar process. Removed the old cover, repainted the base chocolate brown, let dry, recovered with a double layer of batting/fabric and stapled it into place.


Voila!! I am so happy with this project and love rocking my baby girl in her new rocking chair!

My total project cost: $42.00
Footrest: $2.00
Paint: $8.00
Brushes: approx $3.00 (already had...so for me, nothing!)
Fabric and batting: $32.00 (this could have been A TON cheaper if I would have used my 40% coupon at JoAnns- don't make the same mistake I did :) )
Staple gun: approx $20.00 (already owned...but priceless when it comes to DIY projects)

I firmly believe, that having beautiful things doesn't mean you have to pay a fortune for them. Through creative means and a little elbow grease, anything can be beautified. Join me in my journey at The How-To Gal to transform the ordinary into one-of-a-kind treasures.

Thanks Scraps n' Strings for featuring me today!

Now make sure you go check out her blog (we are visiting her today, too). I promise you won't be disappointed!