HomeTutorialsHand PaintedTablescapes

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

French Book Cart

A couple of weeks ago my daughter sent me on an errand for her late on a Saturday afternoon.  As I was driving, I spotted a yard sale still going on.  I did my usual drive-by and spotted this three-tiered stand in the back piled with stuff.  I stopped immediately because it looked interesting and I love shelving and storage projects.  I am calling this a book cart because I just can't think of what else to call it.  You can see I put my fancy vintage jars and perfume bottles on it.


The before picture is at the end of the post.  I can hardly stand to look at it.  My husband removed the stickers for me and painted the whole piece black with Canyon Black by Rustoleum American Accents.  That gave me a clean palate to work with.
I just got this great new feed sack stencil from Maison de Stencils that I wanted to try out.  For the link to the stencil click here.  This is the 18 x 12 size.  I used an acrylic ivory paint for the base coat of the stencil.  I used masking tape to make the border to keep my lines straight.  I just happened to have this corner embossing stencil by Anna Griffin that I used in the corners, but you could use a rubber stamp as well or a fleur de lis.

After the base coat was done, I took a heavy liner type brush and dipped it in the ivory paint and then some raw umber paint and proceeded to go over the letters and the line work.  This gave me an aged effect.  Don't mix the colors on your brush.  They will go onto your surface randomly as they come off your brush.  I was trying to achieve an old painted look as if there was discoloration.
I used a flat wider brush to get into the wreath.  Then I took my liner brush again and did the same thing with the brush and added random lines outside of the wreath leaves to give a more relaxed look. 
There was more wording on the stencil than would fit on the top so I used each line of print on each of the tiered fronts.  Worked out perfectly.  Notice my lettering does not look stenciled.  That's because I went over it with the wide liner brush.  I wanted it to look hand done.   Don't forget that if you have a space in your letter, go back with the liner brush and fill it in.  You don't want the stenciled look, do you?

When it was finished, I sanded it back to make it look old and then sealed it with Valspar Clear Flat spray.  Below is what it looked like when I started.  This is what I call our spray booth.  Hey, it works.
I'm partying at...


Mondays          The House in the Roses       Metamorphosis Monday        The Graphics Fairy
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage   
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style           Primp         Faded Charm Cottage            
                                     Fine Craft Guild     Ivy and Elephants
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Tablescape Thursday    Delightfully Inspiring Thursdays
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors



22 comments:

miss flibbertigibbet said...

That looks fabulous! I want one!! Great job Miss Maggie!
Blessings, Lorraine

NanaDiana said...

Wow! Maggie- GREAT makeover. It doesn't even look like the same piece! It is really classy looking- xo Diana

Town and Country Gals said...

Maggie,
just found you thru Angie at Swede Dreamer, congrats on your Versatile Blogger award! Your table is fabulous, amazing how a little paint and decoration can make such a huge change! Have enjoyed browsing thru and am your newest follower! Would love for you to visit me and do the same!
Rebecca

Nancy @ The Headmistress said...

Now THAT is a transformation!
Nancy

The Polka Dot Closet said...

I love it, I have got to check out your stencil source, I have seen so many great stencils out there....Not in the hobby stores though! Thank you for the inspiration

Carol

Bliss said...

Seriously Maggie? Seriously!!!! What a transformation! That is hard to believe it's the same piece of..... wood.

~Bliss~

Maelchen said...

This is jut a beautiful redo, dear MissMaggie! Well done! What a bit of colour and a fine artist can do... Greets, Manu

Karina Russell said...

Wow what a difference! This is one great make over.

Gail said...

WOW Maggie, what a transformation! It looks great!! I love the stenciling you added. Enjoy your day, Gail

Marie Arden said...

What a great project. Thanks for the stencil link I am sure it will come in handy.

Diann said...

Love the transformation! You did such a fabulous job redoing this beauty! Visiting from WIW

Nothing But Blue Skies... said...

Are you kidding me, Maggie!? This is soooo gorgeous! You did an amazing job, as usual! BTW, super jealous that the hubs will help you with your projects! Lucky girl!
xo-Lisa
P.S. is this piece at Aubergine? I need to come look at it!

Little Miss Maggie said...

Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments. I am currently (still) having trouble with my AOL email and will be switching to a Gmail account very soon. The cart will be available at our shop as soon as I make the trek out there.

Dee ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️ said...

I can't believe this is the same shelf. The transformation is fantastic.

Dee

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

Wow! That is an amazing transformation, Maggie! Love your tips for doing the stencils and I love the one you chose.

Debbiedoos said...

This looks wonderful Maggie. Glad you shared it.

karen@somewhatquirky said...

Nice job Miss Maggie! I really like this. I can see why you didn't like the before....

Stacey said...

Maggie -
That is a cute cart! I would have snatched that as well!
Thanks for linking up!
Stacey of Embracing Change

Shenita @ Embellishments by SLR said...

What a great find! And the transformation is gorgeous! Visiting from NTT.

Michele said...

What a vision you have to transform that piece from what it was to what you made it! Absolutely amazing.

Anonymous said...

Just found your blog tonight thru a link and subscribed. Your cart is incredible. Did you put or were there wheels on the cart? Sure can't tell it's the same piece, you are a magician and very talented. I'll be looking forward to what your next project is.

Lisa@Pickles and Cheese said...

Saw your blog featured on Maison de Stencils today and fell in love with your cart. Your did a wonderful job on it. It's and amazing transformation. Love your blog!