Salon Cabinet Makeover

 Recently, my good friend, Barbara, was working on giving her hair salon a makeover. She showed me a little white cabinet & said she thought she would paint it. To which I replied, "you know what you should do? Let me paint it." She was more than happy with that so it went home with me & I went to work without her having any idea what I'd do to her little white cabinet.

This piece had a shiny, slick surface so I gave it  2 coats of Dixie Belle's Bonding Boss to help the paint adhere. It works as a primer to not only help the paint adhere, but also blocks odors & bleed through.

Barbara had given me a piece of the light, gold wallpaper that would go on a few accent walls & I wanted to pull that in to the cabinet. So, I painted the recessed sections of the cabinet with 2 coats of the Moonshine Metallic color, Gold Digger.

Since the Gold Digger was too dark, & I wanted to add a little texture, I did a crosshatch pattern over the gold with the metallic color, Wedding Bells.

Before painting the rest of the cabinet, I added a little petroleum jelly to the perimeter of the gold. This helps make it easier to remove any paint that gets on the gold.

After painting the cabinet with 2 coats of the Silk color, Anchor, from Dixie Belle, I used a paper towel to wipe off any of the black paint that was on the gold. I did have a little touch up to do, but the petroleum jelly made it so much easier & faster.

Since I had gold on the cabinet & the wallpaper was gold, I changed out the silver knobs to black.

I chose a black knob & used my finger to add just a touch of gold gilding wax to the raised areas & edges of the knobs.

The cabinet had a marble top that Barbara wanted to keep & it looks great with the black & gold.

The most important thing is that Barbara loved it!

Linking To:

The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, The Answer Is Chocolate, Flutter Buster, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction,  Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Creatively Beth, County Road 407, Pieced Pastimes, Southern Sunflowers, The House On Silverado

Flower Bucket Makeover With Paint Inlays

 I have been wanting to try Iron Orchid Designs' paint inlays for the longest time & finally found a couple of stockists recently while traveling. For my first project I wanted to go small to see how they work. So I decided to try them on a metal flower bucket.

For this project I used the IOD Paint Inlay called Lattice Rose.

I wanted a worn, imperfect look leaving some of the metal showing, so I did an uneven coat of paint in the color, Buttercream, from the Dixie Belle Paint Company.

The way the paint inlays work is that you mist the back side of the inlay, that has a grid, with water. Then you paint your piece & lay the inlay on the wet paint with the grid facing up. So I added more paint to the areas where I wanted the design. Again, I wanted some of the metal so show so I didn't do a complete coverage with the paint.

To achieve a more worn, imperfect look, I tore the the inlay rather than cut it which would have given me sharp, more defined edges. I placed the torn pieces of the inlay on the wet paint. The directions say to use a brayer to smooth out the inlay, but I just used my hand. If I were doing this on a flat surface, such as a piece of furniture, I would have definitely used a brayer.

I let the inlay dry, misted it with water, let it sit for 30 seconds, then pulled the sheet away from the bucket.

Because the inlay is actually a paint, I was able to blur the edges by gently rubbing parts of the design with a little water using my finger.

I love the finished product! 

The prefect addition to my Spring & Summer decor.

Linking To:

The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, The Answer Is Chocolate, Flutter Buster, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction,  Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Creatively Beth, County Road 407, Pieced Pastimes, Southern Sunflowers, The House On Silverado

Tree Frog And The Flower Child

 

This is one of those projects that I was so excited about starting that I forgot the "before" picture. But, we've all seen them... traditional little side table, stained, with a faux leather top.

This one was not in the best shape & needed some love. The bottom had a few scratches, but the leather top was in really bad shape.

To bring this little table back to life, I started by painting the wood with the color, Tree Frog, from the Dixie Belle Paint Company. Tree Frog is one of my favorite colors! 

Tree Frog is such a bright, vibrant color, that it's not for everyone. But, when you add a dark wax or glaze over the paint, it tones it down. So, I added Dixie Belle's Best Dang Wax in black.

I used a stiff bristle brush to add the black wax to the grooves & any recessed detail. I put the wax on heavy, then wiped it back with a rag.

I left the wax heavy in the grooves & used the wax left on the rag to add a thin layer of wax over the rest of the table. This not only tones down the green, but also seals the paint.

As I said earlier, the leather top was in bad shape. Even painting it with the color, Caviar,  didn't hide the imperfections. So, I grabbed the Flower Child transfer from Dixie Belle to hide the damage.

With the transfers, you remove the white backing, position the design where you want it, then rub over the design with a burnishing tool that comes with it.

I burnish over the entire design, then start lifting the plastic cover, burnishing towards where I'm lifting as I go. If any of the design comes up with the plastic, I lay it back down & burnish until it adheres.

The sections of the design line up easily.

Some parts of the design I overlapped as I went around the table with the transfer.

I made sure to continue the transfer on the sides of the top of the table.

I know this look isn't for everyone. However, every piece I've painted with Tree Frog has sold quickly. And, this piece was no exception.

I had this table for sale in a local shop. I live in a town with a large film studio & someone from the studio came in looking for whimsical furniture. SOLD!

I have no idea if it was purchased for a movie or tv show. If you happen to spot it, please let me know!!!

Linking To:

The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, The Answer Is Chocolate, Flutter Buster, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction,  Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Creatively Beth, County Road 407, Pieced Pastimes, Southern Sunflowers, The House On Silverado

Vintage Napkin Holder Turned Valentine Art

I bought this old, handmade napkin holder at my local thrift store for $1. I knew it would get some type of makeover, I just wasn't sure what kind of makeover. Like so many "project pieces", it got stuck away until the time hit me to do something with it. And, when I finally pulled it out to do something with, the plan was to just keep it a napkin holder. But with Valentine's Day coming I went in another direction.

When I peeled off the paper that lined the bottom of the box, it revealed what the last person that bought it paid for it.

I was worried that once I painted it, the ink & the knots in the wood would bleed through the paint. So I gave it 3 coats of Dixie Belle Paint Company's BOSS. BOSS blocks odors & bleed through. 

To add texture to the outside of the box, I did a raised stencil. To do this, I placed a Stick N Style stencil from Re*design with Prima on the side of the box. These stencils have an adhesive back so they stay in place nicely.

I used a hotel key card to spread Dixie Belle's Mud over the stencil. I made sure to get a good layer covering all of the stencil, then scraped most of it off.

Even though the stencil is very thin, the mud is higher than the base & leaves a nice texture.

The Mud is porous & can take paint differently than the rest of the surface being painted. So, I covered the box with Dixie Belle's Spray Wax to make it an even playing field.

I painted the entire box with 2 coats of the color, Cotton. 

I wanted a wash of a bright, pretty color, & turned to the VooDoo Gel Stain color, Temptress. This is a water based stain which makes it easy to use & easy to clean up... no need for gloves with this stain.

I poured a little of the stain into a container then added a tiny bit of water to thin it out. I used a brush to cover the surface with the stain.

Then I used a damp rag to wipe most of the stain away & just have a wash of the color. It rested nicely in the recessed areas of the raised stencil to reveal the pattern.

I also washed the stain on the inside of the box.

There was a hole in the middle of the box that I covered with a pink paper doily. But, the hole showed through the paper.

To hide the hole, I painted a wooden heart with the color, Soft Pink.

So it wasn't so plain, I placed the same stencil on the heart once the paint was dry. I used a makeup sponge to dab on Stick With Me, a glue used to add Dixie Shine. Dixie Shine is like using gold leaf, but without the mess or waste.

Since I was doing a Valentine project, I chose to use the color, red. Dixie Shine also comes in gold, silver, & copper.

You need to wait at least 15 minutes after adding the glue before applying the shine. Dixie Shine comes in a roll & I just cut off a small piece to use. I placed the Shine on the heart facing up & rubbed over it with my finger.

I peeled up the Shine & used the areas left on the paper to cover any missed or sticky areas.

I love the texture that it made using the makeup sponge to apply the glue.

I glued the wooden heart to the center of the doily.

I wrapped a pink bottle brush tree, that I bought at Christmas, with a tiny Valentine banner.

I glued the tree into the box, then glued in a cute little vintage style Valentine.

Although it looks like the Valentine is an old card, it's actually a reproduction from Hobby Lobby of a card & is metal & has a stand.

This box has come a long way from holding napkins.

Linking To:

The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, The Answer Is Chocolate, Flutter Buster, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction, The Painted Hinge, Yesterday On Tuesday, Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Creatively Beth, County Road 407, Pieced Pastimes, Southern Sunflowers, The House On Silverado