33 Ways

Betty Blueth took a trip to the doctors today. While trying to do some upholstery yesterday, she took a turn for the worse.  I have been feel a little less than creative lately and this threw me into some dark hole. I threw the biggest hissy fit EVER. I threw my fabric all over the craft room and ripped the bobbin from Betty and then threw that all around the room.  I am a mostly rational person, and save for a few fits when I was in my teens I have not reacted this poorly for a long time.
I need to accept that I will have creative ruts, it's normal.  I guess next time I should just step back and remember that blaming poor, sick Betty is not the answer.
As I was discovering some new blogs today, I came across a perfect list.





Serendipitous <3


Maybe I should practice a little more of 21 and 31.


via Sho & Tell

New Friends Need New Homes

These 2 purses will be joining me for the Winter Wonders sale on December 9th & 10th. They are both still waiting on hardware.

 This lovely girl has had a hard life as a tacky red matrix jacket reject, she got a new haircut and is now ready for her forever home.  She is loyal, will follow you around and sits on command.

This tough cookie needs your love.  Her leather and wool need little maintenance and is content to just be by your side.

Early Festivus

The holidays came early this year!!  In the form of the greatest gift ever...$10/BAG FABRIC SALE AT VILLAGE GREEN THIRFT STORE!!!  These sad little bolts of fabric were just dying to come home with me, and really, who am I to deny them?

I scored 3+ m of unbleached linen.  I have been upholstering chairs in my mind since the moment I spotted it.  In fact, I can barely focus on this post because I am switching between this and stalking unsuspecting chairs on kijiji.
 I could easily describe each of my new friends but I will spare you the lengthy drool fest.

Check out this awesome blog - M Designs.  I have been reading design blogs like crazy and I am seeing a definite trend in salvaged furniture.  Hooray!  I love that less traditional fabric is being used in upholstered pieces and unlikely pieces of history are used to make functional furniture.

This website is a fantastic example of the amazing things that are being done! 

I also found this artist/furniture maker whose work is the bomb...literally.

Getting Down and Dirty

The worst/best part about Tyler working out of town is that there is no one at home to drag me out of the house when it gets cold.  This weekend is apparently going to be mega cold. Cold weekend = me in pajamas in hibernation mode.  I also have the Winter Wonders hand made market to prepare for...and a ton of furniture to be worked on. Including 2 of these pint sized rockers:

A couple has commissioned me to do 2 of these for their growing family.  They picked out this gorgeous vinyl for one and a matching red with brown piping for the other.
I will post the process of reupholstering these later in the week.

You've Got Purse-nality

All of my bags are made from recycled fabrics and hardware which means each piece is one of a kind!  

 This purse is made out of an old placemat. The hardware is from an old bag that has long since expired.

  I thought of this bag while trying to fall asleep the other day and it kept me up for hours. Does that ever happen to you?  I have to get into the habit of not crafting at least an hour before bed because then I just lay awake staring at the ceiling and daydreaming of all the possibilities.

 Vinyl and cotton computer bag.  First commissioned piece!

Vintage lace clutch <3


Please send me an email if you are interested in having a custom bag made.

Betty Blueths First Project = A++++

I am happy to say that Betty Blueth is a real winner.  I have had my mind set on making bags with leather and piping, and with Betty in my corner I was able to do just that.

My sewing skills are improving all the time...sadly my photography skills are not.  Hopefully you get the idea of what it looks like.  Every single thing (aside from the thread, and 10+ needles I broke trying to learn the ins and outs of the machine) is recycled.

Drool Worthy

I wish I could buy each and every one of these fabrics by Skinny laMinx.  The colours and patterns are just so me.  I already have a bit of a hard time letting furniture leave my house once it has been refinished...if I used this it would NEVER leave!  Just thought I would let everyone know what I am currently drooling over.

Lamp Revamp

Here are some recent lamp revamps. I have several garage sale lamp scores waiting to be beautified.  Another winter goal!

Before & After - Bedside Table Edition

BEFORE

The veneer on these bedside tables HAD to go.  I would not have even looked twice at these if they didn't have a great shape to them.  Well built as well!  I spent hours sanding off every inch of the veneer and goopy beige paint.  With a few coats of semi-gloss green and antique white and I think they look brand new.  They now reside in my bedroom <3  Love them

                                                                            AFTER

Before & After

BEFORE

Seriously, this is the condition that this chair and its partner came into the shop in. The springs were all in great shape but the same could not be said for the rest.

AFTER

Please forgive the poorly taken photos.  This is a skill that I lack in severely and is high on my to-learn list for the winter.  Hopefully you get the idea of how it turned out though.  The legs have since been re-stained and it's partner was done in a minty/pastel green.  I have not taken pictures yet but will soon.

Sorry BFFs: You're Out And Betty Blueth Is In

I hate to break it to my best friends this way...but you  are no longer the closest to my heart.  My new best friend is Betty Blueth.  She is robins egg blue, was born in 1964, and is the prettiest thing I've ever seen.

This is the amazing Singer industrial machine that Tyler just bought me! And she sews like a DREAM <3
Now I can work on some of my upholstery from home.  I could barely wait for our friends to leave last night (sorry guys, I love you a lot, but I have been wanting this machine so bad for months now) so that I could sit down and sew.
Even as I am sitting here, Tyler is getting in on the action and taking her for a ride!
All the excitement aside, this is a really good thing for my future.  I have my first 2 solo commissioned chairs waiting in the basement, and now I can just go for it! I can also sew piping now!  May not sound that exciting, but I almost got teary when I banged out a whole 3 feet of piping in a few seconds flat!

Winter Wonders

I am beyond excited to be selling my wares alongside such talented people! Check out the Flock and Gather Craft Collective blog to see all of the awesome talent that will be at the Winter Wonders sale.  If you are in the area make sure to stop by!

Here I Am, Blogging World!

First things first, lets get an introduction on the go! My name is Ricki and I am a local garbage scavenger.  It's not an uncommon sight to see me dragging chairs home from around my neighbourhood.  Once I have manhandled them down into my basement I rip them apart and build them back up!  I have been apprenticing as an upholsterer for the last 6 months and LOVE it.  It is truly one of the most satisfying things to look at the before and after pictures.  I also have a small side project of making bags and purses from recycled fabric under the name Sidecar Creations.  I am in the process of starting an Etsy shop, but for now I just sell my stuff at a few local stores and at local craft sales.
I recently got married to my lovely partner and we have one big fur baby named Neko. Quite possibly the cutest labradoodle on the face of the earth (and no, I am not biased whatsoever).
When I am not salivating over furniture/fabric you can find me at Saskatoon's community radio station CFCR 90.5fm, where I boss people around all day, make the occasional ad and do some other stuff.  It's neat.
I am really looking forward to sharing my experiences on the blog and hopefully meeting some like-minded people.
Thanks for taking the time to swing by!