Ornate small desk!

I purchased this fabulous little desk for a  who was looking for something small! I sent her a picture of this one and it was perfect for what she wanted!! There is so much detail and some serious spindled legs which I love! A pain to paint but the end result is always worth it!! 

The before pic... 

 

My customer wanted a black desk with turquoise showing through! After some painting, distressing, and waxing, here it is... Beautiful!!!

It came so nice and the customer LOVED it! I also replaced the existing knob with a pretty glass knob!

I love two toned pieces, it gives it a little something extra! 

Thanks for reading and happy painting!! 

~Amy 

I love Glaze!!!

I am working on a coffee table today with a lot of detail so I thought it would be the perfect piece to show how to glaze!

 If you are using chalk paint, you would apply the glaze after clear waxing just like if you were using dark wax. 

If you are using latex paint or milk paint, you can glaze away without needing a clear coat first. Then after you are all glazed and dried, you should seal your piece! 

I painted 2 coats of a shade of white I bought at Lowes. Distressed all the edges! 

One of my favorite products is Valspar's Antiquing glaze in black. I paint it on using a chip brush working in small sections. 

Using a clean rag or paper towel, start wiping! The nice thing about glaze is that it's workable for a little while. If you don't like it or not enough is coming off after you've wiped, use a damp cloth. That will take it almost all off! Apply more if needed and repeat the process! 

After it's all done, it will change the entire look of your piece! It will give it a nice aged look with lots of texture and depth! 

Good luck! 

~Amy 

Chair makeover!!

I am painting these beautiful rattan chairs a burnt orange color called Copper Harbor by Sherwin Williams . First I cleaned and primed these chairs. After letting them dry for a few hours, I turned to my handy dandy paint sprayer! I turned the chairs over and sprayed underneath first, then did the rest! I let them dry overnight and applied and second coat! The paint I used was Sherwin Williams Proclassic, the same as I use for cabinets! It's a water based paint but acts like a oil based! The paint levels very nicely and leaves no spray marks or paint strokes! LOVE THAT!!! 

Check out the before and after....

Goodwill Cabinet!

I love when I go into Salvation Army or Goodwill and find GREAT pieces!!! I went into Goodwill over the weekend and saw this wood cabinet.  I was a little skeptical at first but for the price, I knew it should be mine!! It doesn't have any detail on it but I figured ANY color paint would look great on it!  

So I chose my handy dandy Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP) and went to work!  I chose 2 very popular colors, Paris Grey and Duck Egg Blue.  Everyone I know, LOVES Duck Egg Blue! 

The nice thing about the ASCP, is that you don't have to sand OR prime!!  It's a fabulous paint to for ANY project!  

 The Cabinet with a coat of Paris Grey

The paint dries pretty fast and within a couple hours, I painted the Duck Egg over the grey.  I love distressing and the ASCP makes it so easy to do it!  With a clean damp cloth, wipe off the areas of normal wear!  With a little elbow grease, the paint will come right off!  I particularly like where some of the grey comes through! For heavier distressing, use sandpaper or a sponge with that green rough side! 

 Clear Wax applied with a clean, lint free cloth.  Work in small areas and after you apply the wax, quickly wipe off excess!  Applying the dark wax works the same way.  If you feel like you have to much dark, take a little clear wax and "erase" those areas!  It takes a little practice to get the look you want! 

I actually didn't like the texture that I saw between the Duck Egg and the grey so I sanded the top and made it REAL smooth!  I like it much better now!!! 

This piece will look great in ANY space.  It has great storage space inside making it a MUST HAVE!!!

GOLD CHEST

 This was gonna be a fun project, I thought, as I checked this thing out!  It is GOLD... WOW!   And that's not a good WOW,  the gold paint even had little black specks in it.  UGH!!!  I couldn't wait to get my hands on this.  Since this was a metallic gold color, I needed to use a good primer.  I chose to use a spray primer because of all the intricate detail.  B-I-N Zinnser Shellac Primer is a fabulous product and it comes in a spray form... SCORE!!!  I used the entire can to ensure I coated this piece well!  

After coating with primer and letting it dry, I sprayed this piece using my handy dandy paint sprayer!  The color is an antique white, which is a slight off white.  

2 coats of paint and I used my brush for a 3rd coat on the top and a couple areas of the trim!

The paint has dried and is now ready for glazing!  Glazing will give this piece the antiqued, aged look it's screaming for!  The glaze with sit in ALL those cracks and crevices! Check out the difference in the drawers! The top one glazed and the bottom one is not.

Glazing is underway...

I lOVE how the the sides look!!!  I used a small paint brush and basically just painted around all the edges, let it dry slightly, then wiped away any of the excess. 

TEDIOUS TASK...  this is what took the longest!  But well worth it!

 After letting everything dry for at least 24 hours... time for a clear coat.  I usually use a Polycrylic and brush it on but again, this piece has SO much detail, I wanted to use a spray form.  Polycrylic has a spray in all 3 finishes... clear satin, semi-gloss, and gloss.

I personally like the satin since I don't like things too glossy!  

The clear coating has dried and it's time to attach the hardware.  This hardware is original to the piece and didn't need changing.  It went with the new look perfectly!  

I LOVE HOW THIS TURNED OUT!! and my customer was equally pleased!!!

What a difference!

Dresser RE-DO for my laundry room

Another Great FIND!

I found this gem on Craigslist and had to have it! I have been looking for a unique piece to put in my laundry room.  I wanted something with some character and fun lines! This dresser has a curvy front and horizontal slats on the side, and little keyholes on each drawer.  I can't wait to paint this!!!

Using a DIY recipe for chalk paint, ( from iheartnaptime.net) I decided on Aspen Gray by Valspar. 

1st coat of chalk paint... I only sanded the top of the dresser and did not prime!  That's the beauty of the chalk paint!  

After the second coat is dried, the distressing begins!  This also de-stressing ME!  HAHA!!  

                                                

           

I wanted to try something new with this piece, so in the areas that I distressed the most, I applied a crackle medium.  Let that dry for a little more than an hour, then apply a coat of paint over it. Be careful though, brush the paint over the crackle medium only once.  More than one brush over with mess it up!  It only takes a few minutes and the crackle starts to show!  This is awesome!  And a word of advice from experience... if you applying the crackle to the side of something, make sure you put that side UP.  It will turn out so much better! 

Doesn't this look GREAT?!  

I love it.  

I haven't added the drawer pulls yet, but those will be spray painted black.