Sunday, January 27, 2013

The Empire (Dresser) Strikes Back

Look at this very sad, poor, neglected Empire dresser.

It's so dirty, scratched and the finish has some kind of problem that it looked and felt like it was cracked, but not in a good way--in a need to sand it completely off way.
Did I mention it has some mold?

Don't forget the scratches.

[I always wonder what kind of life these beat up pieces had because it certainly wasn't in some one's bedroom storing their unmentionables!]

I decided to paint it black.  I went to Home Depot and I was going to use Stealth Jet, but felt that was not black enough. The paint mixologist said they knew what color to do for a pure black and mixed it for me--but didn't tell me the name. The label just says black.  I named it Darth Vader (insert that crazy oohh-paa breathing sound he makes here).

I sanded the entire piece to get that weird texture off.  I used a palm sander with a few different type grits.  And it was easier to sand than I thought.  It took me longer to get the sand paper on the sander than it did to get the hang of it. 

(Keep in mind that I have the choice to sand because my husband already has a palm sander.  I would not have bought one for this dresser and maybe would not have sanded at all if we didn't already have one.  Also, I didn't sand the entire piece to a perfectly new smooth surface.  I do not refinish furniture, I paint furniture to give it a new life. So I only spent maybe a half hour sanding until I felt it was good enough to paint.)

I painted it with two coats of homemade chalk paint in the black.  I then sanded it with a medium grit sanding sponge to make the paint smooth and also distress it.  

When I was done the color had a navy blue hue to it--yikes!  Not really knowing what that was about, I just moved on to the dark wax glaze technique.  I applied the wax directly to the paint and the color returned to a pure black.  It added so much dimension to the black and to the distressed parts.  I buffed the wax once it was dry with a piece of scrap drop cloth.

I have since read on Picked & Painted blog that when she sands the homemade chalk paint the color looks completely different, but if you wipe it down with wet rag (or in my case, apply the dark wax) the color will come back. 

Here it is in all its glory!
One of the wood knobs was broken so I replaced the two top ones with green glass knobs.  I chose green because honestly they were the only glass knobs I had that matched.  It took me out of my comfort zone but I am very happy with the way it came out.  Also, the sanding revealed the key holes and they really pop against the black.
Even though this piece required the extra work of sanding it before I painted, I really loved the way it came out.  It made me happy to bring it back to life.  Now it can go back to inside a house to hold unmentionables :)!

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Sunday, January 20, 2013

My Friend's Knock Off

My bestie Maria moved from New York to Georgia a few months ago.  She and her husband bought their dream house and have been busy redecorating it.  Not only are they painting and decorating every room in the house, they also tackled a couple of furniture re-do's for the first time.  They came out so cool that I told her I had to blog about them.

For her very first re-do, Maria found this small cabinet at a store and loved it, but it was over $200!  This was not in her budget and had to pass it up.
She has always been a creative person, so when she found this dresser at an antique mall for $30, she knew she could transform it into the inspiration piece.  (I also like to think that she may have been inspired by me and my furniture re-do's)
First her husband filled in the original hardware holes on the top drawers and then spray painted all the drawers an almond color.  He spray painted the rest of the dresser black. Maria made a glaze of dark brown paint and glazed the drawers to darken them and give that worn look.
She bought a couple of stencils to create the words she wanted on the drawers.
She didn't want to do one letter at a time, so she made the entire word by cutting apart the stencil and taping it together.  When she needed more than one of the same letter, she actually cut her own.  This way she could do the whole word at once and not worry about lining up the letters or having to wait for one letter to dry to move onto the next one.
Doesn't it look fantastic?!  She is using it under her TV to hold all the components and the drawers will hold DVDs and things.
  
She is so proud of herself (so am I) that she was able to customize a piece of furniture and pay way less for it.  She is really looking forward to creating more pieces.

Linking to:
Too Much time On My Hands
Six Sister's Stuff  
Life on Lakeshore Drive
Craft-O-Maniac
I Should Be Mopping The Floor  
Homemaker on a Dime
Debbiedoo's
Coastal Charm
Kammy's Korner
Kathe With An E
Skip To My Lou
Cozy Little House
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Today's Creative Blog
Elizabeth & Co.
Sugar Bee Crafts
{primp}
The DIY Dreamer
Savvy Southern Style
Southern Lovely
Vintage Gwen
Fluster Buster
Nutmeg Place
Embracing Change
House of Hepworths
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Beyond the Picket Fence
Miss Mustard Seed
The Shabby Nest  
I Gotta Create
Lovely Crafty Home
Redoux
Sassy Little Lady
Funky Junk Interiors
Six Sister's Stuff

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Dark Waxing Made Easy

When I found the blog Stiltskin Studios and their post on ASCP wax I jumped on that posting because I was having some issues with AS waxes.  I already bought Minwax finishing paste to use instead of the clear wax.  But I still had to use the AS clear wax if I wanted to use the dark.  Their posting gave information on mixing the AS dark wax with mineral spirits to make it more of a glaze.

First I painted a plate rack with two coats of my homemade chalk paint in Behr Outback. Once it was dry I sanded it smooth and distressed it slightly. Then I made the dark wax "glaze".  You will need the mineral spirits (I wound up buying paint thinner because it was a little cheaper and they both have the same basic ingredients), AS Dark Wax, a small container, something to scoop/mix with and rubber gloves.
I mixed approximately half dark wax (about a tablespoon) to half paint thinner.  **If you have leftover it will solidify, just add more paint thinner and it will soften up to be used again.**
It takes a few minutes of mixing, but you'll want it to be a hot fudge type consistency.  
I used a scrap piece of drop cloth to dip in the wax and WIPED IT DIRECTLY ON THE PAINT!  I did not use the clear wax first!  I know the wax police says not to apply the dark wax directly on the paint as you can ruin your paint color or will not have the opportunity to "fix it" with the clear wax.  But since the wax's consistency has been changed by the paint thinner, you have time to wipe it off if you put too much.  And you want it to change the color of the paint--otherwise you wouldn't be using it in the first place.

Here is a before of what the paint color looks like without the dark wax glaze on it.  It's very light and one dimensional.

This is that same green color with the dark wax glaze:
I applied the dark wax glaze all over and wiped it off with the same piece of drop cloth by turning the cloth over to a dry spot.  It really is like using glaze--you'll want to wipe it off so it is not too wet, just leave the hint of the color.  I think it looks very consistent and not blotchy at all. 
It brings out all the marks in the wood and adds so much depth to the piece.  It darkens the color to give it a worn look to go with the distressing.

It also saves the step in the process by not having to apply the clear wax first.  I waxed this piece just with the dark wax "glaze".  Once it was cured (no longer sticky to the touch), I buffed it with a clean piece of drop cloth and it is smooth as can be.
This is one of my new favorite techniques and I cannot sing its praises enough!  You should definitely give it a try, I think you will love the results.

Linking to:
Life on Lakeshore Drive
Craft-O-Maniac
The DIY Showoff
i should be mopping the floor
Homemaker on a Dime
Skip To My Lou
Coastal Charm
Kammy's Korner
Cozy Little House
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Kathe With An E
Elizabeth&Co.
Today's Creative Blog
Sugar Bee Crafts
Savvy Southern Style
Southern Lovely
Homemaker on a Dime 
Vintage Gwen
{Primp}
Debbiedoo's
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Beyond the Picket Fence  
I Gotta Create
Embracing Change
House of Hepworths
Miss Mustard Seed
My Simple Home Life 
Lovely Crafty Home
The Shabby Nest
Redoux
Six Sisters Stuff
Funky Junk Interiors
Classy Clutter
Nutmeg Place

I was featured!
Lovely Crafty Home

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Nautical Desk & Waxing Tip

When I got this desk, I knew I wanted to try a two color combo--where the top and drawers are one color and the rest is another color.

The colors that I chose were inspired by We Heart DIY's Lil' Vintage Dresser.  They actually used black and white, but I thought it was navy and white.

The before of this desk kind of looked like this one.
I painted the top and drawers with a base coat of ASCP Paris Grey and two coats of Valspar Indigo Streamer homemade chalk paint

The top had three leather panels that I was able to paint right over.  I painted the rest of the desk with Valspar Swiss Coffee homemade chalk paint.  I used a silver metallic spray paint on the hardware.
**The bottom left drawer is a double drawer and I have since painted the trim in the middle white to have it mirror the other side.

I finished it with the Minwax Paste Finishing Wax for the first time.  I was nervous that the paste is a light brown color, but it goes on clear.  It was so easy to use!  Just apply it with a clean cloth or cheesecloth, wait 10-15 minutes and buff.  The desk is super smooth. 

I had been using the ASCP clear wax, but felt it was very time consuming--I was spending just as much time waxing my pieces as I was painting them--and that it was coming out blotchy. I didn't want to invest in a wax brush, so I decided to try the Minwax Paste since it was only $10 for the 1 pound tub.  I am so glad I did!  I now only use this wax if I don't plan to use a dark wax.

Linking to:
Life on Lakeshore Drive  
Classy Clutter
Too Much Time on My Hands 
Simple Home Life
i should be mopping the floor   
Craft-O-Maniac
Homemaker on a Dime
Kathe With An E
Debbiedoos
Elizabeth&Co.
Coastal Charm
The DIY Dreamer
Southern Lovely
{Primp}
Savvy Southern Style
Embracing Change
House of Hepworths
Beyond the Picket Fence
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Miss Mustard Seed
Lovely Crafty Home
Fluster Buster
Funky Junk Interiors
Too Much Time On My Hands  
Liz Marie
Classy Clutter 

I was featured!
Debbiedoo's