Moonbeams & Fireflies: distressed

Showing posts with label distressed. Show all posts

Saturday, March 28, 2015

1950s Chalkboard Gets a Chalk Paint Makeover

Seems somehow appropriate that this well-used 1950s chalkboard be made over with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. This nice-sized board was an estate sale find.

The actual black chalkboard looked a bit like a spider web. It had hairline cracks all over. As I often do, I forgot to take a before picture. This is a "semi before" shot after I had painted the chalkboard section with three coats of chalkboard paint.

The wooden frame was in good structural shape, but had lost its lustre. The chalkboard was well-worn. The bottom of the frame has a nice chalk-holder ledge.

My daughter-in-law has wanted a chalkboard for her kitchen for some time, so I thought I'd give this one a makeover for Meg.

I left the original sticker on the back to preserve its vintage character.

My son had refinished a vintage hotel mailbox unit I found at a local thrift store in ASCP Chateau Gray, which they repurposed for use as a sideboard in their dining room. I decided to stick with that color for the chalkboard frame. The colors of the two pieces are much closer in person than my photos show.

First I applied a coat of ASCP Graphite. Then I applied a coat of Chateau Gray over the Graphite. I used a sponge brush, but because I felt lazy and was on a tight timeline to finish this project before the kids came to visit, I used it almost like a dry brush. It's easy to do--just wipe most of the paint off the sponge on the side of the paint container.

I was going for a heavily distressed look, which I think it created. Best of all, there was no need to sand. Basically my lazy technique saved a whole step.

Finally, I applied a coat of ASCP clear wax.

I added a pretty canvas ribbon with a coordinating stripe and a vintage mini tart tin as an embellishment.

I finished it in time for the kids' visit. And, she liked it!

Make it a great day!

Links to:

Saturday Sparks
Inspiration Monday
What's It Wednesday
Thursday Favorite Things

Thursday, May 16, 2013

My Newest Hang Up; National Photo Month, Day 16

Recently, my makeshift jewelry hanger collapsed and all my necklaces ended up in a heap on the floor. What a mess!

I laid the mish-mash of chains on the daybed in what we fondly call our "Patriotic Room" and planned to create a new hanger.

At an artisan boutique the following weekend, I came across this eco-friendly hanger made from a birch branch and equipped with rustic nail heads. Perfection!

Now I needed a unique to display the hanger, so I set out to find something at the local craft store. I found a nice burlap square with a black metal hook. Right piece. Wrong finish. Nothing I couldn't fix, though.

I also bought a couple of inexpensive rusty keys that coordinate well with the rusty nail heads on the wood and the wire hanger. And, I decided to use the artwork I recently created for my peat pot project so the hanger would coordinate with the peat pot.

As much as I like the natural look of burlap, I decided to paint it antique white. I like the way it blends with the birch of the jewelry hanger.

The black hook definitely didn't work. I mixed a couple of different brown paints with gel medium and dabbed on a fairly heavy coat. When it dried, it looked pretty close to the rusty, crusty finish on the keys I had purchased.

Finally, using Mod Podge, I added the scrolled crowned bird image I created using three wonderful images from The Graphics Fairy. You can find the individual images I used here, here and here. I printed my creation on medium-weight card stock, tore it into a shape I liked and lightly applied stamping ink to the surface and edges to create an aged look.

The natural jewelry hanger works well with the rustic burlap hook. And, it's great to get my heap of necklaces off the daybed.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

Thursday Favorite Things
Home and Garden Thursday
Transformation Thursday
Be Inspired
Feature Friday
Brag Monday

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Sit!

On a recent thrift store visit, I unexpectedly came across a find that caught my eye, grabbed my heart and held its grip. And, not just because it was $2.98.

My discovery was something I wasn't even looking for. The seemingly ordinary, vintage wooden folding chair had numerous surface blemishes, but the bones were good, as they say. I didn't really need it, but I snatched it up anyway.

Why? Because this was the same type of chair that my grandparents' country church used for its gatherings in the basement and on the lawn. Fredericksburg Lutheran Church was one of the beautiful, white country churches with the steeple that could be seen from miles away. Over the years, I sat on what could have been that same chair for a multitude of social gatherings, wedding receptions and funeral lunches. I just couldn't pass up this bit of nostalgia.

This honey of a chair deserves a second chance and will be nice to have around when we need extra seating for guests. So, I decided to make it fun with a great Victorian hand graphic from The Graphics Fairy.

I sanded and primed, then painted the chair with two coats of Gray Cloud, which I got free with a coupon from my local hardware store. Then, I distressed it all over.

After printing the graphic on plain paper, I rubbed the backside with the type of soft-lead pencil contractors use. Getting a good transfer requires rubbing in all directions--horizontally, vertically, diagonally. It also helps to put a magazine underneath to provide a little padding. The paper picks up more graphite when rubbed on a semi-soft surface than on a hard surface.

Next, I trimmed the paper closer to the image shape and size to make it easier to work with. I taped it to the chair--image side out--and traced hard on the actual image. The image transfers to the chair so it can be used as a guide for painting.

I painted over the rubbing with charcoal paint and, after it dried, distressed the images slightly so they would blend well with the previous distressing. I finished it off with a satin sealer.