Why walk when you could run?

I think it's fair to say that the phrase "running before you can walk" was invented for me. After re-upholstering two vintage stools (requiring only common sense and a staple gun in the way of technical expertise) I decided to re-upholster a chair I found in the street.

Having stripped the grotty specimen of its previous covering using only a pair of tile nibblers (any upholsterers reading may have to go for a lie down in a dark room at this point), I discovered not foam underneath wool, horsehair, burlap and springs.

Ah, so we have jumped froward from novice to advanced in one go here, but I am a tenacious sort and it takes more than that to put me off.

Three excellent YouTube videos and a roll of wadding later, I was well on the way to a new chair. (And, so enthused with the project that I never even found the time to change from my vintage 1960s green paisley dress and glass necklaces into more "suitable" clothes.)

I used a single 1950s curtain I'd been saving for something special for a long time to cover the chair, I adore this fabric and I've never seen any print quite like it.

I'm thinking of getting a tattoo of the word "Crafts" over a pair of scissors and a staple gun rampant. Home brew or macramé next, do you think?

One for craft fanatics. Otherwise, nothing for you here – look away now.

Last week at one of my regular markets, I unearthed this trashed 1950s blue satin dress.

I've no idea what on earth has happened to it, but the damage is akin to a cat sliding down a pair of curtains with its claws out. The front is ripped to shreds and the zip has been taken out of the back, leaving very little holding it together, but there were two glorious, sequin-encrusted, large patch pockets which I was able to get off in the nearest café using my Swiss Army knife keyring!

I'd originally thought about making a bag by sewing the two pockets together, but then decided a bit of garment customising was the order of the day. I found this heavy cotton sweatshirt dress in a sale, and not only is the sportswear-glam mix a tried and tested one, but the grey of the dress picks up the silver of the sequins and is much easier than trying to match that tricky blue.