Love Like That

I was part of the sweetest moment today. While standing in the crowded Costco food court, a smiling older gentleman approached me. He was tall, with a kind face, and must have been in his eighties. His left arm was in a sling. He gestured to my children in the grocery cart - Elise, with a hot dog in one hand and a soda in the other; and Emerson, wide-eyed and observant in his car seat - and commented how precious they were. I thanked him for such a thoughtful compliment. He then asked if I could do him a small favor.

"Do you see that little lady in the wheelchair over there?" he asked. "Would you mind showing her your children? She would just love that."

I gladly wheeled my cart alongside the table his wife was sitting at while the man called her name softly and pointed to my babies. Her face lit up. She talked with Elise for a few minutes and leaned forward to admire Emerson in his carrier. The gentleman thanked me and they waved goodbye as we left.

I've thought of the couple all day. I wish I would have visited with them longer. Do they have family nearby? How often do they see their grandchildren? Is there anyone to take care of them? Mostly, I wish I would have told the man how much I admired his love for his wife. I admired that he thought of her; that he wanted to make her happy.

It was only a moment in my busy day, but it was a sweet one. Theirs is a true love.

The Couch: Leather Dying Tutorial

My leather couch re-do was featured on the blog Better After and several people asked me to show how I dyed the couch. I wasn't anticipating making a tutorial so I don't have great pictures of the process, but hopefully I can give a general idea of how it was done. I am by no means a professional, and my entire experience was a happy accident, so please be careful and do your research before tackling your own project. :)

Supplies List: 

-disposable gloves

-leather deglazer (purchased or homemade)

-leather dye

-leather cleaner/protectant

-multiple lint-free cloths

The couch cushions were extremely dry, and most of the previous leather finish or "glaze" had worn off. What remained were the patterns from the mattress pads worn into the cushions. 

I purchased a leather deglazer for $8.99 from Amazon.com (found here), but it smelled strangely similar to rubbing alcohol. I did a little internet research and found that I could make my own (free!) deglazer with rubbing alcohol and a squirt of lemon juice (something about the acidity of the lemon makes everything work).

Scrubbing the cushions using my homemade concoction and a lint-free cloth worked just as well if not better than the actual deglazer in removing the marks from the mattress pads. Deglazing also helped make the "mystery stain" on the back of the couch less obvious.

Two of the cushions and the couch back after deglazing.

Now for the stain!

I bought Fiebing's Leather Dye in Meduim Brown from Amazon.com (found here). I began dying the cushions outside, and was disappointed to see that the dye looked more orange than brown. However, once I brought them inside and applied more coats, the color looked much nicer.

Wear gloves! I wore disposable latex gloves with the first cushion and still got dye on one hand. I wore two pairs of gloves for the remainder of the couch and had no problems at all.

To dye the leather, I put a small amount of dye onto a lint-free cloth and, using care not to drip, applied the stain in a fast, circular motion (think Karate Kid- wax on, wax off...) The leather on the cushions was extremely dry, so it absorbed the dye quickly. To avoid an uneven application, I worked in sections and then blended them together. My cloth became pretty saturated with dye as the project wore on, but this helped make blending easier.

The cushions took the longest amount of time to dye. I had to buff and scrub to really get the finish to look the way I wanted. Less-worn areas of the couch (the back and sides) required less elbow grease and the dye went on beautifully. I applied additional coats of dye until everything reached the desired color.

The whole couch took me about 5 hours total to finish (I worked during naptime over a few days and was interrupted on a regular basis). It took about 2 1/2 bottles (approx. 10 oz.) of dye. 

After finishing dying, I used a new lint-free cloth to apply ArmorAll Leather Care Protectant (something I had lying around, but you can find it at most big stores in the auto department) to the entire couch. This gave the leather a nice glossy sheen and also made it softer. See the difference between the dyed cushion above and the picture below?

Though it was immediately dry to the touch, rubbing the couch left small traces of dye on my bare hand. I kept all small children and objects off of it for about 12 hours. After that, I have had no issues with the dye rubbing of or getting onto clothing. In fact, I just folded a load of white laundry on it today. :)

As far as durability is concerned, time will tell. It's only been a few weeks and it still looks as good as new. I kept an extra bottle of dye around just in case I need to do any touch-ups.

Hopefully I answered most of your questions. If not, leave me a comment and I'll answer it as best as I can. Happy dying!

The Couch

*For Better After readers*

I didn't anticipate the great responses regarding my little project! You can find a tutorial here for those who are interested in the step-by-step of my leather-dying adventure.

A couple of months ago D.J. called from work saying someone was giving away their leather couch and did I want it.

Knowing the couch was free felt a little scary, but the woman assured D.J. that it was good quality and was just a little worn. We have an older matching couch and love seat set, but it was split between our living room and our family room. Someone always ended up sitting on the floor or pulling in a dining room chair, etc., etc.

Enter free couch.

When we pulled up to the woman's house and saw this baby on the curb for the first time, I wanted to turn around and drive away. It looked awful! The cell phone pictures really don't do it justice. It was covered in scratches, making it look like a cat took up permanent residence on it. The worn out cushions showed the patterns of the mattress foam shoved into them for extra padding, and a mysterious, dripping, splatter-like stain had worn away part of the finish on the middle of the back (see that big white spot?). If that's not gross enough for you, check out the paraphernalia I found in it.

Everything that didn't fit in the vacuum hose: dirty sock, full manicure set, a hanger, someone's insurance card, a hair barette, various food wrappers, a shriveled apple core, and part of an Eggo waffle. 

This couch put me into a state of depression. I ended up throwing a quilt over the back, hoping to hide the mystery splatter stain. I tried buffing the entire thing with leather conditioner to see if it would restore the dry leather back to its former glory, but it just made everything look a little darker. Finally, I resorted to scouring the internet for any kind of leather couch re-do. 

I read that I could dye leather, but I only found tutorials and instructions on how to use leather dye on shoes, belts, and horse tack--not a couch. It couldn't get much worse, and the couch was free, so I took a flying leap and ordered three bottles of Fiebing's Leather Dye in Med. Brown from Amazon.com for $21.  

It worked!! Here is the finished product:

Tada!! Can you believe it?! It's not perfect, but hey--$21 for a new couch? I'm pretty happy.

Tough Mudder

Have you heard of Tough Mudder? If not, here is a 30 second video to bring you up to speed...

Earlier this year, D.J. decided he needed to participate in the Seattle Tough Mudder. How did I feel about the event? Mud, electric shocks, ice baths, mud, 12 foot walls, mud, mud, and more mud? I expressed my concern, but D.J. relented, and just completed said event this past weekend. 

He ran with several friends to earn the coveted orange Tough Mudder headband. I have to say, I am incredibly impressed with these people! I stood near the final two obstacles while waiting for D.J. and his teammates to finish, and watched participants push themselves to their physical limits and then turn to help perfect strangers and fellow competitors complete the daunting tasks ahead. It was inspiring, to say the least. 

D.J. had the experience of a lifetime and came out unscathed. Okay, not really...

 

Black eye and all, I am so proud of him!  Also, I made an executive decision and trashed the socks he wore for the run.

My washing machine will never be the same.