the lazy daisy decorates - our ottoman (finally) gets a makeover!

There is no telling how many hours this project took.  If you could have seen inside my brain and my original intent for this ottoman, you wouldn't have dreamed this would be the result. But I could not be happier!  I just love taking a creative road and winding up down a path I would have never originally planned to travel.  It's exciting but exhausting, and in the end, rewarding.  

Actually, all together, this was probably only about four days of work.  But it's not because it was so hard.  I mean, really.  How hard can stitch witchery, a staple gun, and some basic sewing be? It just took a while because I didn't plan exactly what I was doing ahead of time, so as the ideas morphed, some things had to be undone, redone, and adjusted.  

I have had this material for years.  Yards of it.  I fell in love with it long ago and knew it would come in handy one day for something great.  It's so us, with it's perfect red toile design on top of a bit ruddy, tea-stained backdrop.  In my opinion, it's the exact balance of old, yet refined. Once we received our new couch, and I pulled out the material and laid it over a cushion, I couldn't wait to use it!  I had to come up with something to cover ASAP! 

As you can see in the "before" picture, our ottoman was screaming, "Recover me!"  So, I did. John's mom came in to town, I showed her the material, she had the same reaction I did to how beautifully it worked with the couch, and all of a sudden we were pulling 11:00 and 12:00 bedtimes, because we couldn't wait to see it finished.  Unfortunately, she had to go back home before the ottoman was complete, but I know she's going to love it as much as I do.

The only problem now is how protective I am about it.  Every time the boys put a finger on it, I find myself cautioning them as though it has a sign saying, "Don't Touch - Just Look."  We laughingly joke the whole scenario reminds us of the episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond" when Marie finally takes the protective plastic off the couch after years of using it.  If you need some comic relief, just watch it.  Only four and a half minutes long, and hilariously funny!



So, if you have a project in mind and have plenty of materials for trial and error, I say, "Go for it!"  Sure, I could go somewhere and find something more beautiful, more well-made, and more durable, I'm certain.  But it wouldn't mean near as much to me, and handing over my credit card wouldn't be near as fun as it was tying off the ottoman's  sash and looking at the completed project with satisfaction.  As long as I have time, I'll take homemade and handmade any day.