how to: refinishing your vintage finds (part two)

This is part two in a two part series of refinishing your vintage finds. Or semi-vintage, as is the case with these folding chairs inherited from Partner-in-Crime's grandmother. Fairly comfortable due to the padded seat and back, these chairs were not so easy on the eyes. But I knew there was still life in them. A few hours later, they looked like this:

In part one, I covered how to spray paint a great find. But what if your find includes some um, less than current, fabric like these beauties? Part two will teach you how to do a basic re-upholstery job. Often with simple chairs, you can recover the seat without having to actually sew anything because the back or bottom is covered or not visible. That's the case with these folding chairs. Recover your chairs in five* easy steps after the jump.


*Okay, okay. Six. But the sixth one is reattaching the seat.

how to: refinishing your vintage finds (part one)

Early in the treasure hunting for new home, I found this telephone table. I love the shape but the pale wood was less than inspiring. Luckily, painting wood is quite simple especially if you desire a bright spray painted look. Today I'm going to show you how to completely transform your vintage find in five simple steps. This tutorial works on wood, metal and plastic so it's time to get treasure hunting!

treasure island

Saturday morning Partner-in-Crime and I woke early for a treasure hunt. An actual treasure hunt as we headed to Treasure Island for the TI Flea Market. We arrived around 10am, and the island and bay were still foggy, which created a haunting view of San Francisco. The flea was a great mix of vintage house goods, knicknacks, clothes, and furniture. More of the sellers, especially for larger pieces, were on the 'carefully selected' side than the 'jumble sale' side that can be much cheaper, but prices were typically reasonable if beyond my personal budget. We didn't find the larger pieces of furniture I was hoping for, but found a few items to bring home-- a natural wood planter with succulents for the living room and vintage leather backpack for me. I'll definitely go back in the future, and will be purchasing some of the incredible African beads that were priced lower than I usually find. By the end of the morning, the fog had lifted and we celebrated with a trip to the Berkeley Farmers Market and ice cream from iscream.

pyrex dreams

[Click to see what I found flea shopping in Cheyenne]

halcyon rummage sale

Looking for something to do this weekend? Besides Richmond Fashion Week, that is?* Check out Halcyon's rummage sale. New things being put out constantly.

[Mine.]

[Also mine.]

Plus, you can get your cards read! Ask inside or look for the van in the alley (yes, I'm serious.)

*Newest post up on GayRVA.com about the Runway at Center Stage event. More coverage on this blog soon. Until then, mosey on over.

weekend review: condensed

Instead of the usual 2.3 day weekend, I had only a 1.5 day weekend but being the first I had off in a while, I was not going to let that hold me back. The weekend contained some classic Richmond gems- a food festival, French bistro dining, and an afternoon grilling at the farm.

[The Filipino Festival]
A cute, family-friendly festival that avoids the crowds of the Greek Fest. The lechon (roast pig) was especially delicious, we got there around 3pm long after the roast was over. I recommend going for lunch to get the food at it's freshest.

[Look closely. Legs.]

[Wait for these to reappear. I have a plan.]

[Dinner.]

A very dark Can Can meant that my pictures didn't come out so well, but the lamb sausage in my "Lamb Two Ways" was incredible. The almond creme-brulee was also great but paled the the intensity of the strawberry ice cream that accompanies it.

[Um, did you know they have a restaurant at Bass Pro Shop?]

[Gratuitous puppy picture]

[Apple picking]

[Impromptu green bean & strawberry salad with balsmaic vingerette]

[Our full meal at the farm]

waiting at the train station

I love trains.
I wish we still had bustling train travel with ladies carrying hat boxes and dining cars with white table clothes.

Sadly, nowadays trains are almost as expensive as planes and never run on time. Which means that when waiting for my little sister to arrive I had a lot of time to wait around. So I took pictures.

My new favorite necklace.
Made from a vintage necklace, pin and tassel from another vintage necklace.

vintage find of the day

[Collar and ring.]

quite the pair

When I moved in to the house there was no table or place to eat other than TV trays, so first I found a round wood table for $10 on Craigslist and a couple of chairs to go with it. I only have two chairs, but there are just two of us and it allowed us to stick the table in a corner so that it works well in our space. The chairs were nice but a little beat up, so they needed something to make them pop. Thanks to IKEA I had the perfect solution.

How was my first upholstery job?

sending all my love to you

I sent my boyfriend these amazing vintage science-lab glass containers. I figured he could use them with his bar set (that I also sent him) to hold syrups to make cocktails. I had to get these for him cause he's a science-y minded guy (phd candidate in engineering. I make him explain many things to me!) I even included two glass swizzle sticks. One of my favorite cocktails is a whiskey double ginger made with homemade ginger syrup. A drink that works with every season but is especially good for fall! Hope you enjoy.

Ginger syrup
4 inch piece of ginger
1.5 cups sugar
1 cup water

Peel the ginger and cut into 4 or 5 pieces. Place in a saucepan with the sugar and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved and syrup has slightly thickened. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Take out the large ginger pieces and strain to remove any smaller bits. Store in the refrigerator.

Whiskey Double Ginger
2 oz whiskey
1 oz ginger syrup
ginger ale

In a double old-fashioned glass, pour whiskey and ginger syrup over ice. Top with ginger ale.

The ratio of this is totally up to you, however I recommend the following. A medium priced whiskey is fine, especially with the ginger ale. Go with Jim or Jack or even Evan Williams. You can just spoon a little ginger syrup onto whiskey on the rocks, and then I'd recommend something nice like Makers or Knob Creek. Never ever use SoCo. It is acceptable on in college when doing SoCo and lime shots.

(Additionally: when at college bars, do not order a whiskey and coke with anything other than shelf liquor. You are wasting your money ordering Makers that is then completely diluted. No Southern girl is impressed.)