Home Improvement Project - my ottoman..

After 4 painful weeks (A total of 12 hours), I finally completed another home improvement project! A quick background, I joined a furniture upholstery class and got to participate in the process of upholstering a ottoman frame.

The frame was built and provided for, so I got to learn how to fix it up from there.

 We began by creating the base for the top of the ottoman.

 The was the most painful physically and emotionally process - securing the coils.

 A new burlap layer to protect the coils.

 The application of foam - probably the most fun part. Spraying glue is definitely therapeutic!

 A layer of decron to protect the foam!

Followed by adding the fabric on top. Yes, I'm obsessed with burlap, thus explaining the choice of fabric. It isn't burlap, but a upholstery grade fabric that has the texture.

 Then, piping was added.

Another layer of decron to protect the ottoman's sides. After which, we stapled the remaining of the fabric all around the ottoman.

Lastly, I sewed the sides of the ottoman together!

And ta-dah~ a completed ottoman.

A very proud and really exhausted owner.

While I was really with the end product, the class was actually quite frustrating. I'm not a fan of the instructor (his attitude) and I felt that the class size was a little large. As a result, we were practically rushing through lessons and when we were unable to finish certain parts, they would just go ahead and complete it for us. So technically, I probably only really completed 30% of the ottoman myself. (And based on the response of the instructor, poorly done too.. Whatever, I'll just let Mr Lim sit on it! =P) 

Even though I didn't think the instructor was unclear, everything I replicated (after watching him) turned out wrong. Several times, I was told to undo what I did and wait for him to come back to demonstrate again. But since the class size was large, he never got around to showing me the 'correct' way of doing it. His assistant would just come by eventually and complete it for me. This sure was really frustrating.

I was really excited about this class initially and even wanted to proceed on with the second level before I attended the class. After this, nay~ I would rather save the money and spend it on my chair obsession! You should have seen my grin when the project was finally completed and I was so glad to get out of there for good.

On a good note, at least it's over and someone seemed to appreciate the hardship hard work put in.

 Yap, as usual, the little monster has to sit on it.

Despite the bitching, I am really pleased with the end product. But that being said, it sure wasn't money well spent. -_-

Cartoon Sam..

Hee, indulged in yet another etsy shopping spree again. I purchased a custom pet portrait of the little monster from PopDoggie. 

This was the photo I sent the artist.

Here's the end product! I absolutely love it and that it's just a splitting image of the little terror!

As usual, I got the little guy to pose with the picture. The dog's default face "I want a treat" face looked so unwilling. 

Thus, after a little chat couple rounds of fetch, I managed to get the boy to 'smile' for the shot!

 Hee, another happy product from etsy (Not to mention that the seller was really nice and accommodating)!

Happy~

Water trouble..

Shit happens. On a nice 'summer' day last week, I rushed out of the apartment (after using the toilet) to meet my friend for a walk in the park. What I didn't realize was that the toilet bowl valve malfunctioned and failed to seal the output of water into the bowl. As a result, it flooded the whole apartment (The water was about 2 inches!). It was so bad that the water actually seeped down two stories before someone discovered the leak. Fortunately for us, as it was a technical malfunction, as opposed to our negligence (e.g. forgetting to turn off the tap), we were not liable for the damage caused. A cleaning crew was called in almost immediately and they left behind 3 heaters and 3 industrial fans to dry out the floor. And those was the noisiest machines EVER. We were told to leave them on for as long as we could so that the floors could dry quicker. To make it worse, we were supposed to keep the windows closed. Arghhhh...

Being a typical obedient Singaporean, I left the fans on throughout the first day. The only time I got some peace and quiet was when I was walking Sam. What an irony. The crazy 42nd street was actually quieter than my apartment. -_-  By the second day, I was so frustrated that I refused to turn the fans on whenever I was home as they were driving me NUTS. 

A peep of the monstrous machines that were driving me crazy. No. 1 camping at the living room. While it wasn't exactly loud, it radiated warm air that made the whole room stuffy.

Two industrial fans in the hallway to dry the wall panels. Another heater and a smaller fan were in our bedroom.

The guest room was actually the worst hit, hence a heater and industrial fan were assigned there.

Well, to make the best of the shitty situation, I decided to have some fun and got the little monster to pose in front of the fans. It certainly does give the MTV effects with his coat 'dancing' in the wind.

 Love the silly looking mohawk!

Thank goodness Sam is super resilient and could not care less about the noise and the presence of the machines.

After a looooong 4 days, they finally removed the fans and *here's the best part*, relocated us to the fully furnished corporate apartment for a week and half while they replace the floors. Not too bad huh. I'm taking it as a vacation and all of us are enjoying it to the max!!

My Etsy purchase!

Following my vintage craze, I found this amazing one-of-a-kind item on Etsy.

Wondering what it is? Hee, hint: It's for the little monster!

It certainly takes an engineer to figure out how to open it. (Well, he didn't manage to. -_-) I was a little surprised that the item came locked and I just couldn't find the key in the package. I tried using my mailbox key and somehow managed to open it. I closed and tried again but failed. After sending a message to the seller, I was soooo embarrassed to find out that no keys were required, instead, I just had to push the lock to the right. DIAO~ Silly me.

Yes.. it's Upcycled Vintage Train Case Pet feeder. Okay, in simple english, it's Sam's water and food bowl!

I love that it's vintage and recycled. I love that it's elevated, so Sam could eat more comfortably. I love that there's storage under the bowls and I could just use it for travel in future. I just love love love love it. And I think Sam feels the same too!

My Sewing Project #4

I completed yet another sewing project. (My first in a series of three projects with Make Workshop). When I was shopping for fabric, I just couldn't get any inspiration. It took a whooping 4 hours (and 2 shopping attempts) before I finally found a fabric that called out to me - the pattern one. Once I found it, identifying the purple fabric took less than 5 minutes! Guess inspiration is really important when doing something creative. 

After 2 hours, the product is completed...

Wondering what it is?

It's a cape!

Nope...

It's a bib!

No...

It's actually a Tokyo tie bag!

Well, it's not exactly my style of bag, but I'm really happy with the end product and especially with how the two different fabrics worked out. The style of the bag was really cutesy and girly, which is completely not my aesthetics. I was really struggling when I was looking for the right fabrics to make the look more me! And I think I succeeded! =D 

Anyway, I'm loving the combination so much that I'm planning to use the remainder of the fabrics to make a pillow case! (That's when my sewing machine arrives.. And yes, I finally bought one!)

Meanwhile, at least the dog is gonna put the bag into good use.

Time for a walk I reckon...