It's a family affair... or at least a family project.

It all began with a grubby old 2-seater couch, which the man of the house decided to cut down and use to construct a comfy reading chair.... He thought at first that perhaps if he turned the old covers inside-out that it might have some sort of "recycled" charm...

I thought "NOT".

The wee girl and I made a Thursday evening trip to the Ikea fabric department. It took so long for me to choose and cut fabrics that the poor out-past-bedtime child requested the trolley to sit in as she played the touch-screen computer games (Spotlight could learn a thing or two there, I think...). I just kept stacking up the fabric cushion she was sitting on.

Last weekend we did a trial run on the wee one's mini armchair (which was beyond embarrassing with its toddler grub and god-only-knows-what stains....and it was mauve - not really our girl at all!). I sewed, he stapled. Team-work.

It fits right in with her colourful corner of the studio.... and all the other Ikea furniture, tents and toy-boxes...

Lessons were learned on this project........particularly about taking care with directional prints.

And a start was made on the big chair.

While the man of the house watched the big football game on Saturday, the girl and I went to the studio and made the covers. Today we stapled (the man of house is usually chief staple-gunner but did something to his back which meant that I had to take over).

So it's a little bit wonky in parts... a bit puckered in others. I won't be asking any opinions from furniture-making friends. But it's cheerful.

And it does the job perfectly.

Now I want to paint the walls.