Sunday, May 29, 2011

That darn couch.

So. If you follow me on the twitter {hint, hint} you already know that I am WORLD FAMOUS ... AM A VIRAL INTERNET SENSATION was kind of excited about this little mention on this awesome website:


Which was sweetened even more, by this little gem of a follow-up, posted last night:

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But, really? It's also been a hellabit crazy and something I was nary prepared for. The sudden flood of traffic to my blog, tons of emails and comments I have received has been SO AWESOME {I don't want to sound like a bitter betty} but it has also been a WAKE-UP CALL that I have to be {and was totally NOT} PREPARED TO BE RESPONSIBLE for what I post on the internet!!!!! D'uh! GUESS WHAT, FRIENDS?! I hate to admit what you probably already know, but I am NOT a couch-painting EXPERT!!!!! {insert smiley here} I am just a crazy, slightly oddball crafter that thought this couch ROCKED but couldn't stand the floral fabric and was too poor to have it re-upholstered ...  And because it was so darn cheap? I thought, what would I be out if this was an ABSOLUTE FAIL?... a small amount of money and my time. {well, my dad's time, too} It seemed to make sense... and now. HOLY COW! ARGH AND THOSE CUSHIONS that a LARGE collection of the people I have heard from HATE with such vitriol I can't imagine caring that much about other people's fabric choices? I could defend my choice but that might imply I put a ton of thought into choosing those particular fabrics.... The truth? After 2 trips to fabric stores and lots of indecision, I chose those fabrics because I had them on hand and I was hosting my son's grad party {this past weekend} and I needed to get those cushions covered ASAP. I apologize to anyone with bleeding eyeballs because of my poor design decisions :)  It might actually be all Heather's fault. We agreed that a little whimsy would fit right into my sewing room. {please feel free to pop by HER blog and share with her how much you hate my fabric choice as well :)}{I love you Heather.}It makes me feel very ashamed that it is so much easier to hear the negative comments than to accept the positive feedback. Do you ever feel that way?????? Also. Do you ever TOTALLY abuse PUNCTUATION and CAPITALIZATION??? I thought so. Gosh, I knew I LIKED you :) 

camdengradkids

Onto more sunshiney topics, my oldest just graduated from 8th grade. And I could NOT be prouder :)
camden-grad

He even tied his hair back in a ponytail, just for me :)
candypops-grad

I had so much fun with his graduation party. I will share more pictures tomorrow... I hope everyone is having a FABULOUS weekend!


18 comments:

  1. Girl, I LOVE the couch, the cushions, the pillows, etc etc etc. I read the naysayers' comments & scoffed. Do what you do, crafty mama!

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  2. MM! I wish it were just those {innocuous} comments over on Apartment Therapy that had me in a tizzy. Alas, it is the anonymous comments I have received to MY blog that approach on being personal attacks {that I chose NOT to publish, thankyouverymuch} {over fabric? seems silly.}
    Oh well. I only cried twice :)

    xo

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  3. I thought the couch was awesome!
    Carrie

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  4. I love the cushions! You updated a random garage sale couch, it is not like you defaced some sort of family heirloom?? Cheap finds are the best time to experiment, as you stated in your well put rant :) I clicked that link and that is what brought me to your blog that I have so enjoyed the past week or two. They just hate because they must always play it safe in their decor... BORING!

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  5. Oh jeez louise, cushion fabric hatemail? Who cares! Your cute-as-a-button made-over couch is proof (that I can take to *my* mister) that this fabric painting thing really-really works. Me likey.

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  6. Your couch is wonderful!!! You took an old piece and gave it new life as well as keeping it out of the landfill. Have any of these folks even priced the cost to re-do a tufted couch or chair?
    Your cutie inspired me to paint my tuft beauty in a chocolate. Ignore the snobs!

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  7. I love apartment therapy, but MAN sometimes commenters are SNOBBY! I love the sofa and bookmarked it in my inspiration folder.

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  8. Please don't listen to mean people. The problem with blogging is that a lot of people that have the time to sit around and read blogs are just cruising the internet looking to be mean hiding behind the anonymity of the internet. Don't worry about it, people can disagree with your fabric choice while still respecting it. I wouldn't choose it but I think it looks fantastic. It's an amazing couch, you did a wonderful job and it looks great. I also think not painting them but covering them was a great idea so they're a little bit softer. Love the couch. Don't cry over people who are taking time out of their lives just to be mean. Those are clearly people whose opinions do not deserve respect.

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  9. I don't know what is wrong with people sometimes. Everyone has different tastes (and I happen to think that the couch is ROCKIN'!) but that does not give anyone the right to make nasty comments about someone else's tastes. I call it the "Simon Cowell Effect". Everyone thinks that they should be able to say the meanest, nastiest things possible to others--all in the guise of "constructive criticism". Keep doing what you do, ma'am. You are an inspiration to so many, you can afford to ignore the nasty ones.

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  10. when i first saw your sofa on AT i LOVED it. loved the idea. loved the fabric. everything. it sort of reminded me of something i would try out on a whim.
    then i read the comments & felt like i was being attacked for liking the cushions as well! i'm so sorry they did that! it is fabulous. so fabulous that i am leaving a comment & i'm not a comment leaver...especially on someone's blog that i don't know.

    i read your about me & you are inspiring. sort of wished you lived in mississippi so we could be friends....in a non-stalker way.

    can i add that i LOVE the fact that your cushions are reversible. genius!

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  11. I too love the couch and the way it turned out, it got me thinking about trying it on a couch of my mom's (which I was thinking about nabbing...)

    Keep up the good work, blog away, and MOST IMPORTANTLY...keep having fun:)

    Samara

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  12. Jen,
    I think the couch looks great. Next time give you poor Dad a chair to sit on instead of stooping over.
    I was impressed that you tackled such a large project! Nice Job.
    Babs

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  13. haters can hate all they want, but the couch is in your house, not theirs, so it doesn't matter what they think. :)

    i just picked up a rad vintage couch on craigslist from an adorable grandma, and guess what i'm planning on doing with it? making it fabulous (probably not as fabulous as yours, but darn it, i will TRY). thank you for inspiring me to step out of the ikea box and create something on my own.

    keep up the good work!!

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  14. Thank you for having the guts to try this out. My neighbor gave me a lounge chair thingy that I love the shape of but it has AWFUL fabric! I wanted to recover it but all the shapes and seams scared me. Then I thought I'd paint it and recover the cushions exactly like you did. When I post it on my blog I'll link back to you and leave a comment here! AMAZING!! THANK YOU!!

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  15. I think your couch is beautiful. Please don't let someone else's OPINION upset you. Why would someone even post that they didn't like your choices? What difference does it make to them? Sorry, but mean people just tick me off.
    Love your blog and love the couch. And that's MY opinion. :)

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  16. I love your couch, including all of your cushion choices.

    Yeah, AT can be brutal. Like why do those people care so much? Sometimes it feels more like YouTube.

    Earlier I was reading an AT post that showed an attic stairway decorated with paint chips. I thought it looked really cool. My word, those hATers (ha ha) ripped into that poor lady. I don't know if I would ever want anything from my life to end up on AT.

    En fin, I think your couch is stuffed with awesome. Chin up, my lovely.

    Gwen

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  17. So ... while I'm in the "I wouldn't have chosen that fabric pattern" category for your cushion choice (I think it's the polka dots that get me, maybe?), on the other hand I LOVE that you chose it. Who am I to say, "Bad choice!"? Why does my opinion matter? I have some pieces in my house that only I could love, and I KNOW IT! :)

    My question is ... what is the durability of the paint? Will it get scratched off over time? I want to use this method for a couch our dogs use. Will their nails remove the paint?

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  18. I'm front line in the camp of DO WHATEVER THE HECK YOU WANT!!!!!! My decorating choices make my husband roll his eyes frequently! LOL He thinks I'm crazy! But I come by it (creativity) honestly....my mom used contact cement to glue scraps pieces of carpet to our cement slab floor to make a carpet collage effect back in the 70's early 80's. I wonder how the new owners liked scraping that up?! I LOVE you sofa! My house is gradually becoming less "me" and more blogified if you will...but my craft area is an absolute explosion of my personality! Hahahaha!

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