Easy upholstery jobs rock..

Isn't this a fun little footstool? The grapey pattern must go, but other than that it's nice little accent piece. I spent $4 on it and didn't want to spend anymore than that, so I saved the dangly lace thingy and used fabric I already had. When I am upholstering a small piece like this I never take the old fabric off. I just staple over the top. If I am doing a larger complicated piece I take the fabric off and use it as a pattern to cut the new fabric from. My little man helped me to take this sucker apart.

Right before this project we were playing UNO together and he was intentionally throwing games so that they would last longer. It kind of clued me in on the fact that he needed more Mommy time today and he's been my big helper ever since. I tacked on the fabric and then he stuck the legs back in and we stapled the old black backing back on.We hot glued the lace on and then I decided that I wanted a button in the center. Because it was kind of late in the game to make a decision like that, I used a cheater method and put a few staples right into the middle of the seat and then hot glued a covered button on top.

Whatever works right?

Oh and Savannah, to answer your question...When I am painting something that has already been painted and sealed I do my best to get that off. If it doesn't sand off very easily I try to use a chemical paint stripper(just make sure you have rubber gloves because that stuff is beastly). There probably are paints that are better for painting on top of things like that if you don't want to sand it off, I'm just not sure what they are. Anyone else know?? You could probably ask someone in the paint department of a hardware store and they might be able to point you in a better direction. Sanding it down doesn't matter so much if it's a decoration, but if you are painting a piece of furniture you don't want the paint peeling off every time you set something on top of it. Even if you can't get all of the paint off it helps to rough it up with sand paper so that the paint will adhere. I've heard people say that they use an oil-based paint with furniture, I just use whatever I happen to have which is almost always water-based. If you are curious to see how it will react to the paint I would suggest painting a small portion. After it has dried, drag your finger nail over it and see if it comes off really easily. After you paint your piece you can also add a polyurethane coat to seal it again. You can get that in a spray can or in a paint can. Sorry if that doesn't really answer your question. Good luck!