How To Tea Stain IKEA Linens

I love IKEA. When I visit a store (which is not that often), I'm usually overwhelmed and amazed...floor after floor, room after room, so many things to see. It's like walking through a catalog or magazine. It is so easy to become a kid in a candy store. "I want one of these, and one of these, and one of those, too!"

There are some bargains that are just too good to pass up. Take, for instance, the IKEA feather down pillow inserts. SO cheap! And the pillow covers? You can find a zippered cover for $6. I couldn't make one for that price.

So last winter, I came home from an IKEA shopping trip with some of these lovely buffalo check Smanate and Akerkulla pillow covers. And while I loved their crisp colors in the store, they just looked too stark in my home decor.

This weekend, I had the bright idea to tea stain these linens.

I put on the tea kettle and got to work.

To begin with, you will want to wash the linens ahead of time. Do not use fabric softener. Just rinse with water. Let them dry completely. (I will show you why this matters later).

For starters, you will need big bowls, or a work sink or bucket will do nicely. I used five Lipton tea bags, fully caffeinated. I let the tea bags steep for at least fifteen minutes, then removed them and inserted my pillow cover.

I let the cover soak for at least an hour, turning frequently so that the coverage was even. After that, I squeezed out the tea water and put the pillow cover outside to dry.

Jemma thought they smelled pretty good, too!

While I still had all of this perfectly good tea water waiting, I decided to stain the Akerkulla cover as well. I had washed it, but it was not fully dry when I began the process. For this reason, it did not stain quite as darkly as the other cushions, but I was fine with that. I really just wanted to bring the white down a notch or two.

An hour or two later, and the covers were still a little damp, so I threw them in the dryer with some old towels we use for rags. I let them tumble dry, then quickly removed them and pressed them with the iron. I think this does a good job of heat setting the dye. You may want to protect your ironing board cover by laying a towel over it first. I did not, and didn't have any tea residue at this point as the items were completely dry.

IMPORTANT!
* Only use towels you don't care about, as they will become a bit tea stained as well.

*Remember to wipe down everything after the job, including that drying rack! It would be a terrible thing if you laid your nice white denim jeans on that rack and gave them a funky striped tea stain pattern. Unless that's the look you were going for...but I doubt it.

And here's the finished result!

Perfect! The tea stain softened the gray, and took the harsh white down to a nice ecru. This looks so much more like the decor in my house now.

And here is the Akerkulla embroidered cushion cover next to the Smanate cover. You can see that it's just a bit lighter. I love it! It now looks like the sort of vintage linens you'll find at a flea market. Jemma loves it, too!

A little bit of autumn is creeping in to my home decor. I can't help myself! I love this time of year, when all the world mellows to a golden hue.

The front entry is now ready to embrace fall.

Blessings on your Monday, cafe friends!

A Kitchen Table Update

Yay! I finally finished painting the kitchen chairs for the table in the sun room! I really love the look.

I also re-oriented the table and moved some furniture around in this space. I like this configuration so much better. Even though the light fixture is not directly over the table (the Mr. Monk in me was bothered by this before), I think that changing the direction of the table now gives the illusion that the light fixture is centered somehow.

Don't get freaked out by pumpkins in July! I just liked the black wool appliqued runner for the center of the table better. And I like pumpkins all year round. Yeah, I'm weird that way.

I've worked and worked and worked to make the kitchen and sun room and family room a more unified space, and I think I've finally done it. It only took one year to make it happen, but it's totally worth it.

The black elements in the family room now tie in to the black chairs and dark light fixtures, which ties in to the dark counters and tiled back splash.

And now, the small check of the curtains ties in to the pillow and chair cushions in the sun room.

We couldn't update our kitchen table and chairs without giving Jemma a fancy new table, too!

Yep! I think it's a winner!

Another job crossed off the Fixer Upper list! Hooray!

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

Creativity On The Go

It's been a busy summer!

We've had a steady stream of visitors and activity this summer, along with more than a few miles of road travel. And when I haven't been cleaning or cooking or driving, I've been in the garden weeding and watering.

It doesn't leave a lot of time left over for crafting, and when there is time, I'm not really keen on the idea of spending a beautiful day in the basement.

I put together a Creativity on the Go kit this summer. I gathered together a journal, a pack of watercolor papers, my new Prima watercolor pencils, a collapsible water cup, some brushes, and Prima water pens.

I found this bag in my closet just looking for a new purpose. Voila! Everything fits inside perfectly!

Now, on a nice evening, my husband and I sit on the front porch with drinks in hand...he with a book, and me with my bag full of goodies.

I'm using my journal to inspire me. It's part bullet journal, part scripture journal, with lots of lists and quotes and ideas thrown in to the mix.

I purchased these Prima watercolor pencils at the beginning of the summer, and oh are they ever wonderful! They apply to paper in a creamy, consistent fashion, and then blend so beautifully with just a little water. You can also combine colors for blending, and you can either apply pencil directly to paper, or you can pick up color directly from the pencil tip with a wet brush and paint. For about ten dollars, you can get a tin with a dozen colors. I think that's a great deal.

I made a few color swatches that I keep in one of the pockets of my journal for easy reference.

Creating outdoors, crafting on the road...savoring summer any way that I can.

A Weekend Project

Hello, cafe friends! I hope you had a lovely holiday weekend!

As many of you have probably guessed, I am addicted to houses. After five moves in ten plus years, it's only natural. What started out as a necessity has slowly, over time, become more of a hobby. We buy houses, we renovate houses, and then, when the winds of corporate change blow our way, we sell houses.

Naturally, with our life in a constant state of flux, I spend a fair amount of time plotting and planning the next move. I research cities and schools. I look at cost of living and property taxes in various locations (and don't even get me started on the property taxes in the suburbs of Chicago! Outrageous!). I typically try to prepare a lot on the front end, preemptively as it were, because most of our moves happen so quickly that there's little time for due diligence. If I had done my due diligence with this last move, I would have realized that we settled for a third pick town in a much lower ranked school system.

When it comes to moves, we seem to be successful on every other move. I'll let you figure out if this one is one of them. ;) My hope is that the next move is our last move...a forever home, close to family, where we can plant some roots and let Sam finish out his school years in peace and comfort, without the worry of upheaval.

So last week, I was perusing house listings in Zionsville, Indiana...a charming and quaint small town outside of Indianapolis with top ranked schools, parks, trails, and gently rolling farmland nearby. (It was my first ranked town of choice on our move of 2008, but unfortunately, we ended up in our third ranked town instead.)

And just for kicks, I looked at a few million dollar listings to see what I could find after I win the Powerball.

That's when I discovered my dream farmhouse on 18 acres with this amazing kitchen!

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/7900-Hunt-Club-Rd_Zionsville_IN_46077_M49037-33551?ex=IN590791233

I began to think about the golden oak table and chairs that we purchased this spring. Maybe I should paint the chairs entirely in black and leave the table unpainted, like the photo above.

So I got to work, cleaning the chairs and prepping them for paint.

I used ReClaim paint in Licorice by Caromal Colours. I used this same paint on my curbside table a few weeks back. This time, I've learned to apply it much thinner, and it gave a nice smooth coverage with no chalkiness.

Yea! I love the results!

Of course, I used too much paint on my curbside table, which means I don't have enough paint left to paint all the chairs. But I did paint the two captain's chairs, and they came out great. Now I'll have to order more paint to finish the job.

I found these chair pads at Ballard Designs. The fabric pattern is called "Small Grey Check", but I think they are actually a soft black and tan. I've decided to order the same fabric in curtains for the family room to unify this space.

Here they are in a black and white color from the catalog. Aren't they pretty? I think I will love them once they're here and installed.

By painting the chairs and leaving the table as is, I think I can also unify the rooms without having to go to the trouble of painting the kitchen cabinets. Leave that job for the next owners!

Now about that million dollar farm listing....I'm not a frequent lottery player. But maybe if the Powerball is high enough...ha ha ha! A girl can dream, right?

Blessings, cafe friends!

Fun With Spray Paint

It's amazing how quickly a can of spray paint can refresh items around the house.

I purchased a can of Rustoleum spray paint in Heritage Red to give some of the items in my garden a quick update.

When reds are left out in the sun for any length of time, they can fade to a funny shade of pink. And faded red/pink isn't really very patriotic. But Heritage Red certainly is!

I painted my watering can planter, and then gave a quick refresh to this star, too.

My vintage metal rockers are looking a little worse for the wear. I think I'll give them a quick coat of Heritage Red soon, too.

Watercolors, room paint, spray paint. Having fun with color this week! Hope your week is colorful, too!

From Trash To Treasure: My Weekend Curbside Find

Happy Monday, cafe friends!

Weather has improved here in the Midwest, which means that I'm working as quickly as possible to get the seeds planted and the garden in order. It looks like this nice weather is just a short window, as rain is expected in the forecast in the days ahead. That's fine...it will give all the flower seeds a good watering!

This weekend, I was running a few errands with the boys. We cut through a side street in the historic downtown area of Batavia, and that's when I spotted a pile of treasures at the curb with a cardboard sign advertising "FREE".

I brake for free stuff, especially if that free stuff is cool.

I found this adorable table, and knew right away that it was just the right size and shape to go in my sun room.

I'm guessing that this was once used as a telephone table back in the day. Telephone rested on top, and phone books went below. And if a phone book wasn't handy, just carve the telephone numbers right into the wood on the top. Oops! Yes, it had a few imperfections, but I knew those could be remedied.

I got to work right away, cleaning the surface with Simple Green. Then I took it outside for the painting process. I had recently purchased a container of ReClaim paint in Licorice when I last visited Noblesville, Indiana.

If you are in the neighborhood, you must visit A Corner Cottage. It was always one of my favorite stores there. They have the most lovely and creative window displays, and the owners and staff are all so helpful and friendly. The owner's dear mother, Virginia, was a sweet friend of mine from our church lady's bible study. She went home to the Lord just a year or two ago. I keep a card she gave me when we moved to Pittsburgh tucked in my Bible. You know the sort of beautiful, cheerful woman that everyone wants to be when they grow up? That was Virginia.

The ReClaim paint worked like a charm! It's a very unique paint with a texture like pudding. It goes on best with the roller, and if you cannot roll, then it's a good idea to use a chipping brush and sort of smoosh it in the nooks and crannies. I applied two coats. This paint requires no sanding and no priming, and clean up was a breeze.

I let it dry overnight, and then I gave the edges a light sanding for a distressed look.

I love it so much! My family was amazed that the dirty little table could be transformed with just a little paint.

It's a nice place for one's chickens to come home to roost.

And the rack below is the perfect spot to store some gardening magazines.

I have been looking at similar tables in catalogs, like Sturbridge Yankee Workshop, and they usually run about $200. My table? Free! That, my friends, was not luck. That was a blessing! I think Virginia would agree.

This table was good practice for me, as I'm still planning on using the same paint to paint the chairs and pedestal  table base one day soon.

I might need a little more paint, though. Looks like another trip to Noblesville is in my future.

Hope you are blessed today, too!