Saturday, January 28, 2012

Fun Bench...just for fun!

I bought a cute little bench at a garage sale a few years back. Since then, it has occupied many different rooms and played many different roles in our house. First it was used in my daughter's bedroom to hold all of her different soft toys....

Then I moved it to my guest bathroom, where I thought it fit perfectly....just to look pretty and maybe hold the occasional item of clothing while someone was taking a shower...

One day I decided to paint it, and moved it outside to the patio, where the poor thing resided, half-way primed, for a whole year!
I am surprised it survived the elements all that time. Must be of good "stock"!

Last week, I decided to tackle this brave little bench again. I was itching to do something resembling "Sticks furniture".
I have LOVED Sticks Furniture since the first day I saw it about 8 years ago. I did not know who or what it was, but I WANTED it! Unfortunately I could not afford to pay $3000.00 and up for any piece of furniture, so it remained an unrequited love affair.
Until I started painting old thrift store furniture and realized I might even try my hand at something like that one day!
Well, the day has arrived! And I had tons of fun doing it!

I removed the original embellishment, and was going to glue a wooden heart there, but ended up just painting one on.

 I wrote: Follow your heart....but take your head with you..


 I used any and all the paint I could find in my stash. The lines were done with Sharpies and paint pens.


 I think this can be used in a child's room, or playroom, or even as an unexpected accent piece in any decor. I am sure it will also look very cute on either a back or front patio, too.

What do you think?

Suzanne


Joining all these parties

Monday, January 16, 2012

French Label Dresser


Hi! Hello! And Happy New Year to All! I hope everyone had a wonderful festive season, and that all the new years resolutions are still in tact..

I'm just going to skip right ahead and show you my latest project...

I found this beauty at my local Goodwill....is it just me, or is she beautiful ?
If I wasn't such a paint freak, I probably would have liked her just as she was....or maybe not...
Anyway, there is a stamp on that says Italian Marquee by Kent Coffey.
So, in the wake of all the nice French lettering and labels, etc I have been seeing on blogs lately, I just had to go visit The Graphics Fairy to find a nice french label or something to put on this dame.


This is what I came up with.

This is my third piece I have done with homemade chalk paint, and I LOVE it! 
I use 1/3 plaster of paris and 2/3 paint...and it works wonderfully! No sanding or priming...really!
The finish is a little course, and if you want a smooth finish, you would probably have to sand with fine sandpaper between coats as well as after, but I liked the look, since it was supposed to look worn and a little chipped.
So, after two coats of homemade chalk paint, I had to wait for night time, so I could use my new handy dandy little Tracer art projector.
I printed a small, (5"x5") copy of the label on Graphic Fairie's blog, put it under the projector, and started tracing the lines with a sharpie. I went over it afterwards with a paint pen, but apparently you don't even have to do that...the sharpie will stay put.


Once the ink dried, I applied a brown tinted glaze, and wiped off, to get the above effect.
Then a little sanding and distressing. 

I used the original hardware, because I liked it, and just sprayed with Oil Rubbed bronze.
 With the hardware on, I thought that painting the top black would look much nicer, and I think I was right! Don't you agree? As a finishing coat I applied two layers of Minwax Finishing Wax..just the clear. It gives the piece a nice, satin sheen.

I'm very happy with how this turned out, and can't wait to use my little Tracer again! What will it be next? 
The child bench, the bulky dresser, or the telephone table?  Hmmm.....Stay tuned! 


Love,
Suzanne

Linking up to these and other parties:
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