Horrid Little Staples!

Projects

I decided our dining room chairs were looking passe and worn. It was time to reupholster the chairs. We had done this once before so we knew how to go about it.

The first time we reupholstered, we replaced the foam and the backing fabrics as well. this time, we only needed to replace the main fabric. I ordered the fabric and cut it to size. Then it was time to remove the upholstery staples. I had the special upholstery staple remover tool from last time we did this. I remembered this step being a bit of work. I started to remove the staples but it was not going as smoothly as I had hoped. The staples were breaking! I did not remember the staples breaking last time I did this. This was now becoming an increasingly slow process as I had to use pliers to pull out the broken staples and hammer in the pieces that were too short to pull out. Horrid little staples!

My husband stapled on the new fabric. He reassured me that he did not use as many staples this time plus he bought a different brand. We are hoping the new staples will come out in one piece. The funny thing is, we looked at reviews for staples and no one comments on the ease of removal. People only care about how they go in and stay in. Luckily, we will not need to find out how they come out for a while. We are both very pleased with our “new” chairs. They look so much better and really make the room look more up to date.

As always, Good-luck with the DIY Projects!

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Drying Lavender

Projects

Have you ever gone into a boutique and seen the bunches of dried lavender neatly tied with twine for sale? I always thought it would be nice to purchase such lavender bunches. The only thing that was stopping me was my pocket book. Dried lavender can be pricey.

This is where my DIY mode sets in. I decided growing my own lavender would not only be cheaper than buying dried lavender bunches, but I would also have plants to fill in my bare yard. Bonus!

Growing lavender is easy (see my blog under gardening). Drying lavender is also very simple. Just cut the lavender stem above the lowest leaves. Cut enough to make a nice bunch and wrap a rubber band around the bottom of the stems. Hang this bunch upside down until they are dry. Voila!

I put my dried lavender in a ceramic wall pocket . You could tie a pretty ribbon around them and display them in a basket or make a floral arrangement with them. Crushing the flowers and putting them in a DIY hand sewn satchel would bring a lovely scent to your drawers. Gifting the lavender would also be a nice option or using them to decorate a wrapped package.

So if you like the thought of lavender indoors, why not bring it outdoors first. The bees will be happy and your garden will look lovely.