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Thursday, June 21, 2012

French Bar Stools

This post would have been a whole lot sooner, but I had to re-do the base of one of these bar stools.  I'll show you why in a second.  There is nothing out of the ordinary about these two stools.  I picked them up at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago.  My husband painted them for me with some left over paint.  It's a white that is almost a pale yellow.  It's called Churchill Hotel Vanilla and it's a Valspar paint you can purchase at Lowe's.  The only sanding I did on these was right around the edge of the seats and a little over my lettering to blend it a little bit.  The red is cardinal red by Delta and the yellow is moon yellow by Americana.  I shaded with antique white and raw umber.  All are acrylic craft paints.

 I used a grain sack stencil by Maison de Stencil.  This is a long stencil and everything you see on the seat comes from one stencil.  You can visit their website by clicking on their link on my side bar.
 To see how I filled in the details of this stencil to give it more depth, click here for the last project I did with this very stencil.  The tutorial is there.  The following photo shows the details I added before applying Minwax Special Walnut stain.  Just a very light coat to help with the blending and add a little patina to the finish.
 Now here is why this post is being done so late.  Look at this mess and I do mean mess.  I was mad as a hornets' nest yesterday and I mean the entire nest.  My friend keeps telling me how she uses Minwax Gel stains so I thought I would try them.  They were $16 per can and I just didn't feel like spending that much since I have a whole locker full of regular Minwax stain.  I use their products all the time and am always pleased with the results EXCEPT for this one time.  Instead of getting a gel stain, I opted for one of their water based stains.  It's hot and I didn't want to deal with the smell and the heavy gloves and all that so I tried to take a shortcut.  Stain does smear when you apply it; right?  But then you smooth it out with a rag and everything is fine.  Well, this water based stain has no workability.  This is how it went on and there was no wiping it back.  It just stays this way.  Thank goodness I did not apply it to my hand painting.  So take my advice and stick to the normal Minwax products they are known for and save yourself a headache.  Thanks for visiting.
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9 comments:

The Polka Dot Closet said...

Oh poop! Is that what you said LOL, oh I am so glad you did not wipe it on the top! Yes I have used gel stains and you are right, it just stains, there is no working it! I used it on the picnic Basket I did a post on earlier in the week, it was perfect for that,but not the look you wanted. The stools are fabulous!!

Carol

Shabby Gr8 Dane said...

I am just blown away at how much creativity you have and how quickly you accomplish what you set your mind to. It would take me days to finish this project, as I am too much of a perfectionist and would be freaking at doing all of that stenciling. Thank you for sharing every day! I always can't wait to visit your blog to see what new thing you are sharing. Sherrie

Judy Ann Lincicum said...

Ohhh, I would have been so mad too! I would have expected it to have some time in which you could wipe and get some sort of different result, but no?! I'm just glad everything came out beautifully and it really did, Maggie.

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

Beautiful, Maggie! I love the colors you used on the stools, from the base color to the stencil colors. I can't blame you for being mad. I would have been frantic, too, trying to get that stain off.

Cynthia said...

I think these stools are so fun and cute. I love them Great job!

Cynthia

Bliss said...

Come paint my wood stool. It's sitting in the garage wishing for a paint and graphics job.

~Bliss~

miss flibbertigibbet said...

Oh boy....nothing like finding a product doesn't do what you want to....I've used those gel stains too and you have to work SUPER fast or they are a mess. Glad you were able to fix it because they are sure gorgeous!
Blessings, Lorraine

karen@somewhatquirky said...

What a bummer! I haven't used water based gel stain, and I can understand why you would want to use water based stains, but I use Old Masters gel stains (oil based) and they are wonderful. very very workable over wood or over paint. They are expensive, but one can just lasts forever. I also use it to touch up spots on my wood floors.

Stan and Jody Gabara said...

I love how your French Bar Stools look! So pretty...
Thanks for sharing on Simple & Sweet Fridays.

Jody