stand transformation

A few months back I restored an old $10 dollar black coffee table from good will by using the weathered crackle glaze and 2 different shades of paint from home depot, well over the holiday break I got to finally re do a stand I found again at good will for another $10 dollars that I made the same way as the coffee table to become my little console table for all our dvd's. I had a little bit of trouble with this project as far as temperature goes and things not drying properly or fully, however I have to admit that now that I am finished I am more pleased with the stands look than i was with the coffee table, because paint and glaze was not drying properly I kept smugging and gumming up the paint. after it did finally dry I took a sander and sanded down the gummed up parts which made the piece look even more worn, and weathered. I then went over the entire piece with the sander and realized that now I have to go back over the coffee table to make it look even more worn now too!!! (but that can wait till I can have a nice day its way to cold now!)...

This stand was bought a medium colored wood, I primed it and then remembered to take a picture of course LOL  

After the primer dries you want to apply one of the two colors of paint as the base color (the color you want to crack through) which would normally be the darker of the two but it really is all about preference i think it looks OK either way. I applied the darker tan color as my base color, after that dries completely you then apply the clear crackle glaze and however thick you want the cracks is how thick you want to apply the glaze be sure not to work the glaze to much with the brush this is what causes it to gum up!

After the crackle glaze has completely dried you then apply the top coat (the second color you have chosen) make sure you apply the top coat with a roller I made the mistake of trying it with a brush it looks awful, and plus the paint begins to crack pretty fast so its just a better to use a roller on the big parts especially. I used a brush on the little nooks and crannies on the door squares but that was it.

I love how old it turned out looking, in my opinion it turned out way better than the coffee table not that i don't love my coffee table because i certainly do but I love how the sander made this piece look like it was a lot older and weathered.  The inside I thought was ruined do to the poor drying and gumminess I had with it, but when the sander hit it it turned out great!

 The only thing left to do is add the fabulous valve knobs my brother got me for Christmas off of eBay....Ta daaaaaaaaa

These are all the valves my brother got me for Christmas, their fun!!



buy cheap frames and make them how you want

I had this frame from a long time ago I think it was a $1.00 at the dollar store! I always buy my frames at good will, dollar store or target, because target has surprisingly 2.99 frames all the time in regular black, white and brown colors. This frame was actually black I painted it and the paint would not stick, so... I took a cream colored button down I didn't want anymore and cut off the sleeves then cut those into stripes. All I did from there was wrap the stripes of shirt around the frame and hot glued the ends down. I took the buttons off the cuffs and placed them where I wanted towards the left corner and that's all! the only thing I had to adjust was the back because I wasn't paying attention and started covering the back prongs to hold the picture in. but its easy to work around them...Here is the finished product (with my beautiful cousins in it!)!!!

TORCHING!

I can not take credit for this project... my wonderful boyfriend Antonio gets complete praise and credit for this torch job he did while I was at work yesterday, and I am completely in love with the way these crates turned out! I caught them at Joann's unfinished and had the idea to torch and hang them up, but what Antonio did went beyond what i thought they were going to look like all you need to do is take a torch being very cautious about catching the wood on fire have an extinguisher handy.. and you can make a piece as light or as dark as you want them, I didn't have a preference so Antonio just did whatever and it looks great! ! i don't have anything on them yet, but I think its the perfect spot for my yarn vase bottles that are in the making right now!

BEFORE...

AFTER...

BEAUTIFUL!

Glazing an old picture frame...

My first time ANTIQUING!

Antonios mom gave me this beautiful mirror, I wanted it in my bedroom which is black and white...

 I primed and painted the mirror white...

Then I bought TINTABLE glaze and added black paint to the tint to make it darker (it comes in like a charcole color) I wanted it darker so I added some black paint, you can add as much as you want. Then I painted it on with a paint brush, it doesnt have to be neat just make sure everything is covered...  

Right after I painted the glaze on I took a damp rag and whiped it back off leaving the glaze in the nooks and crannies of the frame!



Bedroom furniture make over!

 Before....

After....



The room is far from finished, and the furniture is receiving new pretty hardware today but this was truly the hardest part and it made the biggest difference already...spray paint does a world of difference, and i have to say that I learned a HUGE lesson with this project over the weekend.. Krylon spray paint is horrible! cheaper definitely does not mean better in this case! the nozzle is weird, and the finish is very uneven, I took it all back and went with my ever so dependable Rustoleum from the home depot a few more dollars but well worth it!.  finished product to follow!

Trunk re do number #2

i recently re did this trunk to go in my living room, but ideas change in my head from day to day and so now, as much as i loved what i did to the trunk the first time....

I am even more proud of myself the second time....

I wanted this trunk in bedroom instead of the living room, so there was no question it had to be black and white because my bedroom has bright aqua walls so everything else is black, with a little white. I love how it turned out! all I did was paint the entire trunk white then after it dried I took one inch wide blue tape and made the argyle design on the lid and with 2 inch wide blue tape made 2 thick stripes around the body!!! this is one of those projects that you cant believe you did, first time trying it and I'm so happy with my results! 



stencil trunk

This trunk is one of my favorites so far and was one of the easiest. Antonio's mom gave me this trunk  she did not want anymore that had a really great hand painted picture on both the top and side, however it just was not my style. I felt bad re doing this piece because I knew the hard work that went into this paint job... but after i was done i couldn't help but love the new make over!

I sanded it all down smooth primed it...

spray painted it this slate gray

sanded the entire trunk with 120 grit sandpaper to make it look old and worn

then bought this stencil at Joann's and used a cream colored paint and sponged it on the top!