A padded entry

Lots of pictures today and a little tutorial to boot!  I have a few projects lined up this weekend, finishing my front door being one of them.  I have been avoiding that project like the plague, I am not sure why, all I know is I am ready for this door to be done so I can stop thinking about it.  Shanna mentioned getting this out of the way before doing any other projects which I thought was a great plan...except I woke up this morning super early and wanted to work on something and the door was not it.

You may remember my entry bench that I bought at Target right after moving in? Here is another shot of it:

It came with three cushions that left a lot to be desired.  They were hard, a weird yellowish cream color, and were too small so they shifted around and fell off.  I knew this when I bought it because the bench had great reviews but the cushion situation was fully disclosed.  The bench was a great price and I knew I could replace the cushions so I bought it anyway.

The time has come to get this bench some clothes :)  This is half the tutorial, partly because I ran out of time and the other part was because I got scared of the tufting that I plan to do.  I need more time to focus so I don't screw it up.  I promise I will show you on Tuesday how I did the tufting and the finished cushion.

I went to Lowe's and bought some very inexpensive plywood.  No need for anything fancy since I am covering the whole thing.  Lowe's did the cutting for me which made starting this project super easy.

Even though I did not get the tufting done today, I did get the holes prepared that will be used for the needle to go through and secure the buttons.  I measured to the middle of the board and drew a dark circle and then I measured the length to get three evenly spaced holes.  I ended up just using the biggest drill bit I had so threading the needle was a little easier.

They didn't have to be pretty because the holes are covered on top and will be hidden on the bottom but you get he idea here:

Time for the foam.  I just went to my local Joann Fabric and picked up four foam pieces, I used my trusty Elmer's spray glue to secure the foam to the wood. 

Once the foam is stuck to the board you can flip the board over and use a regular serrated knife to cut off the excess.  You will be surprised at how easy the knife goes through the foam. 

Next comes the batting.  I used extra thick batting to make sure the bench was very soft.  Break out the staple gun and start securing the batting to the board and cut off any extra.

Yes my washer and dryer is my work bench right now, another project I need to add to the list!

After all the batting is secured it should look like this:

And now you can take it to the bench and stare at it, sit on it, and then stare at it some more :)

I guess I can give you a little sneak peak.  Here is the fabric I bought online, I love the color and texture, I highly recommend ordering swatches first.

I hope this helps any of you out there looking to make a cushion or bench seat.  If you have any questions let me know.  What do you have in store for this weekend?

See you swoon,