Tea for Two...

Well, I have finally finished the reading table that Nana bought for little Miss Catie. I loved the idea of having a cute little table just her size in the nursery. Of course, once I opened the box, my head became a flutter of ideas. I knew I couldn't just put the table in her room as is.... So, here is my journey to the perfect Tea Party....

I started with this simple little table and chair set from IKEA. They are the perfect size, and at just $25 you can't go wrong. Unfortunately, they are not available to order online. Since my Mom lives right by an IKEA I gave her the option to buy it and give it to Catie for her birthday, or buy it and I would give it to her.

So, before I assembled it I decided to use up some of the leftover paint I have from Catie's room. It was hard to narrow it down to two colors, but I did.

First, I painted the chairs with two coats of purple, and then the table with two coats of blue paint. Second, I decided that since her bedroom has a Disney theme I would add a small Mickey Mouse head onto the back of each chair. I left everything out overnight to dry.

Third, I painted everything with a thin coat of Mod Podge (can be found at any craft store). This gave it a nice shiny seal. Let that dry, and assembled the table and chairs.

Now, at this stage it was a very cute set, and I could have stopped there. But, of course I had to take it a little further and make some chair cushions. Since I have lowered her crib all the way down, I have no use for the crib skirt I made, so decided to re purpose the striped fabric. I found some coordinating blue fleece remnants from some pillows I made and used this as a backing.

First, measure the seat of the chair, mine came out to 11x11. Add an extra inch for seam allowance, and cut 4 squares of fabric at 12x12. Next, find some ribbon that matches the fabric and cut 4 12 inch ties(2 for each cushion). Fold the ribbon in half and place each tie an inch from each corner along one side of the square. The ties should be between the two coordinating fabric squares, and the squares should be right sides together. Pin all around the square. Sew a half inch seam around the entire square, leaving about 3-4 inches open on one side. Snip across each corner of the square, making sure not to cut your seam,(this will make for a crisp corner). Flip everything right side out through the opening you left, and iron down your edges. You can stop here and just stuff the cushion, or you can go ahead and sew tufts. Measure where you want your tufts to be, and sew a button on each marking, or use a needle and thread and sew an x on each mark. Finally, stuff the cushions with poly fill and either hand stitch the openings closed, or do what I do, and just use stitch witchery and a hot iron. The very last step is to tie them to your chairs and sit... This can also work for pillows too. Just don't add the ties.

MY FINAL PRODUCT!!!

So, after all this work the final payoff was an adorable tea party with my little Catiebug...Priceless!