Patio Set & Outdoor Pillow Covers

I'm excited to tell you about this mini revamp.  I found my wrought iron patio set on the side of the road about two years ago and some change.  Aside from alot of chipped paint and some rust, the set was in great condition - nothing that a good can a spray paint couldn't fix.  I spotted it on the way home from work just a block from my house.  I raced home and told Rob what I found and told to him hurry up and follow me in his car.  We snatched it up in seconds and off we drove.  Score!!! 

I knew we'd be moving into our town house soon and that I'd want a nice patio set.  So the timing on this find was perfect!  I saved us a couple Benjamins (at a minimum) that's for sure.  Several weeks after we officially moved in to our pad, I borrowed a friend's power washer and Rob gave it a good scrubbin'.  Once the patio set was dry, I sprayed it with a fresh coat of white Rustoleum paint. 

Well that was almost two years ago I gave it a fresh coat of paint.  If you're a project junkie like me, you probably get tired of things around your home pretty quickly.  This year, I decided that the white just wasn't working for me any longer.  We got a cute black outdoor table (which is actually designed to look like wrought iron) and four black chairs as a shower gift, so I thought I'd spray paint the patio set black so that everything matched.

before.  here's our table in white.

rustoleum is the best spray paint because it prevents rust (which is important for outdoor furniture) and it's great for all sorts of surfaces such as metal, wood and plastic.

my neighbors think i'm nuts because i don't bother to lay a drop cloth outside.  why would i?  as soon as the grass is cut the paint is no longer there.  ha!

after.  here's the patio set in black.  much better - don't ya think?

Did you notice those awesome pillows?  Yup.  I made em'.  I started to tell you about this project in my New Sewing Machine post.  As I mentioned, these pillow covers were the first thing I've ever sewn.  I dunno...I think I did pretty good.  I definitely got better and better with each one.  The pillows are just the perfect touch to my newly revamped patio set.  Ahh.  These DIY moments make me so happy.



check out that super straight, straight stitch.  not shabby for a beginner right?



here, i wanted to show you another stitch angle.



yikes.



I told you that I got better with each one.  The pillow above was the first one I sewed.  I folded too much fabric for the hem which left me with a shortage of fabric coverage in the back of the pillow. 

just your basic envelope pillow case.  easy breezy beautiful cover job.

see, my pillow covers got better and better as i went.  full coverage here.

Rob teases me that Brother is only a phase, and that I'll get over the excitement soon and it'll start collecting dust.  Not happening my friend.  Right after I finished my pillow project, I started sewing curtains for our family room.  For the time being I think I'll be plenty busy with sewing projects. 

Here's sneak peak at my curtains in progress.  I'll blog about these soon, too.