Thursday, May 23, 2013

French Chair Makeover

I am so happy this project is finished even though it turned out kind of funky.  I purchased it two years ago and it's been hanging around ever since.  It's finally ready to go to the shop.
I purchased it at a friend's sale and the top of it had some water damage.  So the back cardboard support piece had become warped so recovering the chair with the same piece of cardboard just wasn't going to work.  Finally after not being able to find another piece that would work, I asked my husband to wet the board and see if he could get it to dry flat.  Thankfully it worked.  Since the chair was originally a pecan color the chair needed to be painted.  So first it got a coat of Annie Sloan's duck egg blue and then a coat of old ochre.  I did a heavy sanding on the old ochre to reveal much of the blue underneath.  After it was painted, I used clear wax.
I did not replace the little arm pads because I knew this chair was going to end up kind of funky anyway.  I covered the chair with drop cloth fabric and did a transfer on just the upper back with an image I found on Pinterest.  I also used some fresh batting to cover the old foam so the drop cloth would have something clean underneath it.
For the trim, I used cotton seam binding I found at Joann's that matched the duck egg blue.  I gathered it and used Tacky Glue to finish the chair and to hide the staples.  The Tacky Glue works great and it dries clear.
The chair is finally finished and is ready to head to the shop.
It was quite a bit of work and I'm not sure I would attempt it again, but it might be a little bit like childbirth.  When another one comes along, I will probably forget how much work this was and, of course, I will drag it home.  Below you can see what was on the chair originally.  This chair is probably from the 50's or 60's.
Thanks for stopping by.
I may be partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy    
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
      
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life   
                                     Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style
                                           
Thursdays        The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           


Monday, May 20, 2013

Lovely Rose Flower Can

I spend a waste lot of time on Pinterest.  I find great ideas but sometimes it can be overwhelming and almost too much for my imagination to absorb especially because I do not have very good painting skills.  However, there are some great handpainted rose projects out there and those always manage to inspire me no matter what.
The Graphics Fairy posted this graphic a few weeks ago and I knew I could create something beautiful with it.  I found this flower can at a yard sale.  It was from one of the discount stores and it had a palm tree on it.  I painted the can with Annie Sloan Old White and applied my graphic using the reverse mod podge method.  You can find the tutorial here.  I left some of the blue border around the image instead of trimming right to the edge because I liked the complementary blue color to the pink roses.  I trimmed out the detail of the can with some blue craft paint that was close to the blue in the graphic and then trimmed further with Modern Masters gold paint.  This is the best gold paint I have found.
I then waxed the can with Annie Sloan dark wax and clear wax to age it a little bit and I still didn't think it was complete so I used one of my Martha Stewart stencils and stenciled the word Rose with more of the gold paint.
It's not hand painted, but I'm still very happy with the way it came out.  It's romantic and pretty and I love the graphic and was thrilled that I found a place to use it.  Let me just add that I get a lot of comments asking for product information and techniques and they are coming from no reply bloggers.  If you don't want to leave an email address in the comment section, you can contact me via email at little.miss.maggie@aol.com. I've also added a contact button on my side bar.  Thanks for visiting.
I may be partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy    
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
      
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life   
                                     Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style
                                           
Thursdays        The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays