Sweet 16

So, my sisters 16th birthday is today, wow...crazy, and she is beginning to become more appreciative of crafts and things like that! So in making my decision on what to get her I was trying to think of something that she would use on a regular basis and that would come in handy. She is on the swim team in our neighborhood and last season I remember that during the swim meets there were never enough chairs for all of the swimmers and parents/family. So I thought "I will get her a foldout/bag chair", but I added a little twist...I decided to decorate it to make it her own so that if won't look like anybody else's and she can never loose it. Here's how I did it...

Materials:

Camping Chair

Acrylic Paint

Paintbrushes (multiple sizes, depending on what designs you are doing)

Tape

Acrylic Rhinestones/Jewels

Hot Glue Gun

Acrylic Sealer

First, pick out your chair. I used a simple blue chair from Wal-Mart. You can use any color or size that you would like, just remember that the larger the chair the more space you have to cover when painting!

 

The first thing I did was decide what kind of pattern I wanted on the arms, I choose chevron. After making the decision I drew the pattern out on the arm rests (it is hard to see but it is there) and then painted them in white. You can obviously use whatever colors you would like. I painted about 3 coats of white, letting each coat dry almost completely before starting the next one. If you let it dry completely you will be able to better see where the lighter spots are.

Here are the finished arm rests.  

 

 

The next step, is to paint/design the back of the chair. I choose to put my sisters monogram on the back with a pink anchor for a pop of color and because she is a swimmer so I thought it was appropriate! The first thing I did was the monogram, and then the anchor. I outlined it first, and then filled it in. I also did 3 coats on the back, letting it dry almost all the way in between each time so that you can see the light spots better.

 

The next thing I did, to add a little bling was outline the cup holder with he acrylic rhinestones. I simply glued them down with how glue and let them dry, I went back and pulled at some of them to make sure that they were all glued on and wouldn't fall off.

 

The last thing I did was hot glue a ribbon now in the right corner of the chair. I know your thinking... "why, it will fall off" and what not but if you glue it down well it should be fine. It also looks really cute!

The very last thing you need to do is seal all of your paint with an Acrylic Sealer, this will keep your paint from falling off and will give it a shiny look. You could also spray the chair with water proofer if you plan on having it our in the rain!  

 

So there it is, her own personal camping/tailgate/swim team meet...etc. chair!!

 

Oh and I also got her a pair of Platinum Jack Rogers, what 16 year old doesn't have these in her wardrobe!