From Purple Monster to Cuteness

Carter, our adorable nephew, will turn 3 on Sunday. With his birthday being just a month away from Christmas I found myself in the usual gift giving dilemma. Do we get him MORE toys... well since my dad was taking his unwrapped Christmas gifts to save them for his Birthday since he got SO many, I think not.

Instead, my friend Kim gave me this chair...

Which I lovingly dubbed the Purple Monster. She had got it Savers for $7 and had planned on re-covering it for her daughter, but never got around to it. Since she loves me and I give her son the gift of wisdom each school day she bestowed it upon me.

Now- I won't lie. It sat in my garage for over a month... collecting dog hair from the broom and looking pretty sad. But, I was scared. What a BIG project... a scary project. But- with his birthday looming closer, I sucked it up and started getting to work. I bought my Thomas fabric at Wal-Mart for $4.44 a yard. The kid loves his tank engines... he was Gordon for Halloween and must own at least 50 of them. I started optimistically with 1 1/2 yards... and went back for another yard later.

It was horrible ripping everything out. Whatever sweat shop made that sucker did a great job! After two bloody cuts and lots of cutting and ripping- I was ready to reattach. That part was fun. It was so easy to transform something not so cute into something great. I started with my Dad's staple gun... which is what I call a man gun... it was horrible. After hearing me grunt and watching me use my body to get the torque to push the staples in, Mr. P mentions we own a staple gun! A nice, sleek, girl gun. So- after a week and a half of pulling staples out of my hair, here she is!

Total Cost:

Chair- Free (thanks Kim)
Fabric 2 1/2 yards - $10.00 even
Staples- already had

Felt for Bottom of Chair- already owned

All said and done- SO worth it to see a smile on his face! Years from now any toy we would give him would be at Savers- but I am sure he will remember the time his Aunt Ashee made him a special reading chair (complete with book pocket).

In case you're wondering about this AMAZING Halloween costume- yeah I made it... just saying! And he's Gordon the Tank Engine... NOT Thomas!

**Disclaimer-- I look like a wildebeest in this picture- uh! I was so brokedown that day!

I will show you the rest of his handmade gifts tomorrow- I am tired and have staples to vacuum up!