Stencilling the Ottoman Cover

There won't be my regular photos of all kinds of lovely things today as I'm going to explain how I did a stencil for the ottoman cover. Of course, there will be photos, but just the ones I've taken this past week trying to get something pretty made for the ottoman. Read and find out how I did it.

I've been a stenciller for about 30 years. Walls in our home in California and Idaho have been stencilled with many variations of stencils from animals to vines to rose swags to ivy to wisteria to you-name-it. I've been paid to stencil some gorgeous homes. This was a sideline and not my day job, read about that here. I just loved doing it so much that I'd do it for nothing if I could. But I simply cannot do it any more at my age. It's harder on the feet and legs being on a ladder than it is my shoulders and arms. Anyway, that's neither here nor there. This is a story about making a cover for the "world's ugliest ottoman." Bear with me while I tell the story.

The new white shag rug in our dining area. The old one went with our granddaughter back to Washington state when they were here a couple of weeks ago. I love how the new white brightens up the area.

As I mentioned in the earlier post above about the ottoman, I was thinking of stenciling something on it. I sat down one morning and the saga began! Notice the seats of the white chalk painted French cane chairs. Hubby has made boards for it so the cane doesn't get stretched or broken. I'll be making ruffled covers for it soon, but this is how they look at the moment.

I had no clue what I wanted on it except for the phrase "La Maison Rose" since I absolutely do live in a pink house. Hubby queried me saying, "You don't think people KNOW you live in a pink house?" I told him to shut up; that's the main phrase going on the drop cloth cover top.

The problem was aligning the letters properly. I searched for the font I wanted at Michaels, Joanns and finally Hobby Lobby. I could not find a font with caps and small letters in the size I wanted. I settled for 2 different fonts in 2 different sizes. One a size 3 and one a size 1 3/8". I practiced several times on pieces of white paper.

This is Martha Stewart kit bought at Michaels. It just wasn't big enough at 1 3/8".

I then tested it on the drop cloth fabric. Below are 2 different colors. Top is Apple Barrel Dusty Lilac and bottom is Lavender. At first I like the Dusty Lilac best but I changed my mind later.

Then I got a the font size 3" at Hobby Lobby. I combined the two and actually they looked pretty dang good together. My problem was alignment. Hubs helped, need I say more. Total disaster. I had to use Goof-Off paint remover to remove the first stencil. I for sure was NOT going to remake that ottoman cover!

I had to put it away for a day to get over my flop. But I wasn't discouraged because I knew I could do something else.

The "M" below is the Hobby Lobby font and the "A" is the Martha Stewart kit font. Two different fonts that actually went well together.

But I messed up royally on the position of the letters. That's what happens when you want to hurry and see results. I'm sure you can see the disastrous results below.

Another shot.

And another shot. I'm shameless to show you all these but it is a teaching moment, you know. The color of the drop cloth is a very pretty beige with a purplish cast as shown in the above photo. The photo below this photo was taken with lights on and doesn't show the actual color of the cloth. It really is more like this one here.

Then while cleaning out my stencils in a huge artist's portfolio bag, I came across this smaller font. It's a straight sheet with all caps aligned perfectly and I practiced one time on paper and three times on scraps of the drop cloth fabric. While you can't see the faint effects of the paint on the preceding photos, you can see it faintly on this photo. I also used a beautiful stencil I bought from Dee-Signs many years ago called "Armoire Collection" for 2 of the corners. Then I thought I'd very faintly stencil some French words on the top in several places. I've started doing that but I can only do so much in one day. I'll still have to wash it off to get the pencil marks off where I put them, not Love Bunny. ;-) I have now washed this cover a total of 4 times and it still doesn't need ironing. I love this fabric—a simple drop cloth from Home Depot for $20! I'll be buying another one for the chair covers with ruffles.

My son, granddaughter, her hubby and 2 great granddaughters when they were here 2 weeks ago. Our son is her uncle; my daughter is her mother.

This is an old drawer I bought at a garage sale for about a dollar many years ago and painted pink. I'm going to paint it white I think. It looks white here but really is very pink. The camera flash wiped out the color somewhat. But I stuck some faux geraniums I got at Michaels in them and put them on the coffee table in our family room.

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Tidbit: 
The New York City Police Department has a $3.3 billion annual budget, larger than all but nineteen of the world's armies.
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Linking up with NMH Open House. 

A Duh Moment

I've recently been reflecting on prayer. I need to know more about it. I've been meaning to ask my friend if she had a book on prayer that I could borrow but hadn't gotten around to it. I think my prayers lately—or maybe for a long time have been—well, for lack of better words—not very prayerful, just repetitious. I need improvement.

My calling in our ward is doing the ward bulletin. I love it! It's the best job ever, especially for someone who loves computers; it doesn't take a lot of time and I can be creative...to a certain degree. ;-)

But recently I was given the topic for the next Sunday, which I usually put on the front of the bulletin with some scripture or talk from our Church magazine, just to jazz it up a bit and be more interesting. I researched some General Conference talks on the subject and asked my friend for some advice. I finally found a very short story to put on the front of the bulletin.

Then at church that day, two new members of our ward were speaking. They gave fantastic talks, really great. I was still thinking about my conundrum in the first paragraph above when I got home that afternoon. Then a lightning bolt hit me!

The subject on the front of the bulletin, my search for something reflecting the topic and the talks that day at church were...are you ready for this?! PRAYER!

It didn't hit me until I got home from Church that Sunday that I had been searching for the very thing I was confused about and didn't particularly learn from it. It was a very huge DUH moment for me. I could hardly believe all this went over my head. I suppose I ought to be more reflective and pay more attention to things. I felt like an idiot, too.
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This is the chair I'm going to buy from Ethan Allen. I love this chair and it will go nicely in my living room.

My 2 French dining chairs are being painted and hubs is adding a cushion to it before I put the cover on them that I made out of drop cloth fabric. I need to paint them white also.

For those of you who had fathers, grandfathers, sons or brothers in Europe in World War II, these are the beaches of Normandy. The American soldier's were dropped on the sand in boats. The Germans were at the top of those cliffs killing them faster than they could get to safety. It was sixty years ago but I remember my parents, grandparents talking about it. The American boys and men had no chance of overtaking them from down below. It was a slaughter but we finally won the war. I also give thanks to all the brave soldiers who fought hard for our freedom. They are my heroes.

What a darling little daybed.

You could probably do this easy in a back yard. Shower off before you come in from the beach or pool. I think it's great!

Beautiful flower garden.

Exquisite up-close shot of a flower.

All pink and beautiful living room.

I have a chandelier that I wrapped the old candle sleeves with paper and they came out sweet.

Venice streets. I don't think I'd care to live on the water like that. It was certainly be damp and moldy.

This camper really looks like a tiny house.

Another nice and bright caravan.

This is Ralph Lauren's caravan. He like the ruggedness in his.

Another one all froufrou-ed up with napkins, tablecloths, banners and afghans.

This almost looks like a rock star's caravan but it is done up in style.

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Tidbit:
At General Motors, the cost of health care for employees now exceeds the cost of steel for cars.
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Rambling Again Today

I didn't have much to talk about today so I'll just ramble with some things that I've noted recently.

At Sundance this year some talent agency executives were "treated" to bawdy shows. Most of them were stymied and disgusted with what had been planned for their "entertainment." The acts were so lewd I can't print them here as I don't use those types of words in my daily activities, but let me just say they were lewd and disgusting. Probably some of those men and women brought their kids there for fun, vacation and skiing. Now, these acts were there for all to see. Again, I have to ask: what is our world coming to? That's despicable and low-life in my opinion. Is that the way the world has drifted—so far from morality to degeneracy? I fear for the young people being born and brought up today. Our church leaders have told us civilization is now worse than in the biblical day of old. I hesitate to mention the times because that might draw the p*rv*ts here and I won't do that. Don't tell me the times are changing; good morals don't change. Sickening in my opinion!
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Then I read in the news where the Japanese Minister said to just let old people die as they're taking up room and food from other people. I simply find some statements hard to believe; this is one of them. Hubs said we should just let him, the Japanese Minister, die in a few years then. Disgusting. People are put on this earth for a purpose. Let's let God decide when their time is up, not the government.
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Then there is a comic book character that some are saying might be gay. It's a comic book character!!!! What in the world are they talking about? Just stymies me. I am not homophobic; I'm a logical down-to-earth woman. It's a comic book character, people!
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 I had a blogger tell me that Europeans know more than one language. Well, some Americans do, too. I'm familiar with several languages as I took them in high school and college; but I don't speak them well enough to converse a great deal. But if you know one foreign language you can read some books and understand them. Some words are easily recognized in other languages. My heritage is Dutch, German, Mexican, French but I am an American through and through. English is from Germanic languages and not the Latin or Romantic languages. But all languages are similar in writing except the Greek or Cyrillic alphabets.
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Something extraordinary is happening to me. I've light ash-brown hair all of my adult life. Oh, I've bleached it a couple of times, mainly in my twenties but I stopped after a few years. I loved the look of gray hair or a champagne beige, still do. I started getting a few gray hairs just above my forehead in my middle sixties on my right side. (If you look at my sidebar you'll see me in various hair shades through the years. The one of me in 1984 with the apple on my cheek (done by one of the men in my tech forums) looks dark but that's because it's a passport photo. It wasn't really that dark but still a light ash-brown.

Well, lately, my gray hair is coming in at its natural color! I absolutely love gray hair and wanted it all to go gray but it never has, just that small section on my right side. Even hubs thinks the gray is going. My friend has the most gorgeous gray hair and she's 15 years younger than me. I've always admired her hair. But has anyone heard of gray hair reversing itself? It has stymied me.
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If hubs had this, I might enjoy camping. But then again, nah, I'd still have to go to the woods.

Or even this! Love the ruffles and decor.

A round table in a camper? I've never seen that before.

This looks like a party place. How sweet.

All dressed up in pink.

Red and bright pink with polka dots.

Now this is elegance with a footstool and 2 "couches" to relax on.

This one looks pretty dang big!

I dearly love red and white checks mixed with a toile like this room. Any kid or teenager would love it.

Pretty little vintage tins and pot.

Another homeowner with an overhead pot holder. I like what she's done with it though better than mine. I may have to redecorate it soon.

Just real eye candy for ya.

Yum!

This looks so Christmas-y I had to show you its cuteness.

Our Albertsons pharmacy looks nothing like this cute one in France.

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Tidbit:
Switzerland's sick are hospitalized longer than any other country's: 9+ days on average.
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More Memories Of San Diego

Just in case you've missed my Pinterest page, you might want to go there and see over 8,100 photos posted there, just click here. And also, I'm only posting on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from now on unless something extraordinary comes up. I'm leaving weekends free.
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Our granddaughter, her hubby and their 2 girls have been here for eleven days and we have loved having them here. Do I even need to say how tired this ol' lady is having 2 great-granddaughters in the house? One is 3 1/2 months old, one is almost 3 years old. Caroline is a pistol and keeps us hopping.

She also loves perfume!

When she saw the perfume she had to smell every single bottle. Her favorite is Cabriole, which is close to her name so we call it Caroline. She runs around with bottles in her hands most of the time. Hubs was afraid it would spill but I've tightened the caps and tried to retrieve them when she was loosing interest in them and put them back.

Then the other day I caught her in there. She had moved the chair in our bedroom over to my dresser and got up. A few days later, we went in there and she wanted to see the perfumes—on a wicker tray—and I told her she'd seen them enough. Well, that little chick got the little pink ladder I had sitting in my bedroom over to the dresser and climbed up it herself. I cannot believe her problem-solving skills! This will serve her well later in life. She's really, really smart, but we all think that of our progeny. Right? This kid is something else though. You tell her something and she does NOT forget. We've had to hide things from her because of that.

Then there was the melt-down at Michaels. She loves craft stores. But she cheated herself out of some craft items by melting down so we had to leave the basket of items behind while we took her home to bed. Then she saw Target and told her mummy to go to Target. We asked her why and she replied, "Just trust me. Go to Target, mummy." We didn't! 

They're leaving tomorrow so we're going out to Jack in the Box tonight for salads or whatever they want. I love those kids!
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We lived in a house on West Mountain View Drive in San Diego during the mid-1960s and loved it there. The family across the street was also a Marine family we knew. I introduced them to baked beans and they introduced me to...well, let me explain.

We were going to have a BBQ one weekend and I said I'd bring the baked beans. This family was Hawaiian so she said they'd bring teriyaki chicken. It was absolutely fantastic and that's how I make it to this day. Chicken marinated for hours in soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Then put it on the grill. That's it. Better than any bottled sauce ever.

She said her kids didn't like baked beans. I made them anyway thinking they can at least try them if they want. They did and loved them. I had to give her my recipe for baked beans then.

Then one day while my kids were playing with hers I sat and talked with her in the kitchen while she was making something for their dinner. As she prepared it, she gave me a piece to eat. It was fishy tuna fish with some vegetables and rice wrapped in seaweed. I gagged. Luckily, I had a napkin to wipe my face and surreptitiously wiped my mouth and discarded the food into the napkin. I thought it was horrible but I'd never say that to someone. I then excused myself to go home and throw it out. Quite embarrassing actually. I love fish but this was very fishy-tasting tuna. I can't stand it if it has a strong fish taste. That's why I'm not eager to taste something from someone's kitchen anymore. I just say no, thanks, I'm not hungry and let it go at that.

This couple had 4 kids and she became pregnant with her 5th. When I asked her what she was naming it, she said, "Zelda, because it's our last one." I thought she was kidding; she wasn't. ;-) Lovely family.
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Love this little living room. Just cozy enough for me.

One of the most darling wreaths I've ever seen created! Oh my.

One of my ideal patios to have.

Who makes these gorgeous cookies? Stunning bows, roses and flowers.

Sigh...

These can't be real cupcakes. How did they make the pearl centers?!

I'd consider this one of my favorite kitchen tables.

A darling handbag.

Frilly pink gloves.

Gypsy, BoHo or Magnolia Pearl? Beautiful!

Another adorable kitchen...for people who like to cook. Not me!

I've done a similar thing to my entry into the family room, but I'm thinking of doing it to the living room into the dining area now. It just needs something more.

Another gorgeous living room I love.

Just too cute for words.

I thought you'd like to see this picture frame. Isn't it cute and unique?

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It would take a jumbo jet about 120 million years to fly across the Milky Way galaxy.
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Linking up with NMH Open House Party.