, , , , , ,

Do-It-Yourself His and Her’s Towel Hooks

Being married means sharing things, right? Like a bed, his last name and the household finances. But, there are some things that are off limits – like my bath towel! I loathe getting out of the shower to find my towel damp. Don’t you?

So to rectify this problem, I can’t think of a better way than to “label” your towel hooks! Thus, the perfect use for these adorable vinyl designs from Simply Said – the MR. and MRS.

I love them, and think every married couple should have them! Imagine the uses – iron them on your bed pillows, adhere them to your mirrors above a double vanity, or mark the bride and groom seating at a wedding ceremony!

Here’s the easy steps to making your own:

1) Order your Simply Said vinyl designs here.  Mrs. is item #NP1090, and Mr. is item #NP1089. You choose the size and color. I chose 10″ in Warm Grey. They’ll take about 10 days to arrive.

2) While you wait go shopping for a piece of wood. I went to Lowe’s and bought a 10×1 board and had them cut it down to several pieces that were 10×10. The first two cuts are free and every cut thereafter is just twenty-five cents.

3) Buy two hooks (these came from Lowe’s), and two picture frame hangers for the back of the board (to hang on the wall).

4) Lightly sand your corners and edges, as the cuts are raw and splintery. I used a Black and Decker Mouse to sand with  80 grit paper, followed by 220. Remove saw dust with a dry brush.

5) Paint your boards. I chose to use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Emperor’s Silk. After I painted the wood (two coats), I applied dark wax, and distressed the corners.

6) Allow your paint and wax to dry fully. It’s best to allow them to “cure” for a week or two, so all the chemicals evaporate before you apply the vinyls.

7) Once your painted boards are ready, apply your vinyl designs. See the application video here.

8) Follow the directions for putting your hooks on the boards. Basically its just a matter of using an electric screwdriver to drive two screws through the hook hardware into the wood.

9) Follow the directions for putting the hanging hardware on the back.

Done! Now hang them in your bathroom and be sure to show the love of your life his or her new towel hook!

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Joy of a New Color

My latest custom paint project was pure joy! The main reason is because I used a color I haven’t tried before and OH. MY. GOD….it made me giddy after just one coat! Take a look. Tell me this transformation doesn’t make your heart sing!

BEFORE
My client, Lauren, was in the market for a vintage buffet, and I had spied this beauty from a fellow furniture guy on Facebook. I directed her to his site, and the rest is history. She had me over to take a looksy at the piece in her home, and we decided this baby was going to make a statement!
AFTER
 Painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Aubusson Blue! (do you hear that, angels are singing)
The inside was done in a 50/50 mix of Old White and Old Ochre. There was a ton of bleed through on the inside, as the original wood was stained but unfinished. So I had to use clear shellac to block the bleeding and used a few more coats of white than I normally would. But, I gave it lots of texture, and really aged the inside. I love that look.
Everything was sealed with soft clear wax and aged with dark wax. Seriously, what doesn’t look better with dark wax!

This is the original hardware, believe it or not. I tried to clean the dark stuff that was on each pull with Brasso, but it revealed a dingy silver color under the muck. So, I pulled out some gold gilding paste and gave them all a little bling. 
I have been out in the garage swooning over this buffet. Craig’s List has been up on my laptop all day, so I can find a buffet of my own to paint in this color! When the right piece comes along, I’m telling you, I might just redecorate my living room so I can have something big and gorgeous in Aubusson Blue!!
, , , , ,

Quickie Project – the painted pumpkin

I finished a few projects last week for a client, and started a beautiful vanity. I’m one coat into it so far. The next step involves flipping it over, so I can get the feet and hard-to-reach under spots. Might have to wait for my muscle man to get home for some brawny help.

In the meantime, I found this little clay pumpkin at a consignment shop this afternoon for $3.00.

So, it came home with me, and about 30 minutes later it looked like this…

First, I painted an undercoat of ASCP in Coco, then did a coat of Old White. I painted this in my warm house and I swear each coat dried in about 2 minutes! Then I clear waxed the whole thing, distressed a whole bunch, and slathered that puppy in dark wax. After I wiped it away, I rubbed it back even further with a bit of clear wax, until it was just the right shade of dirty white.

This fast & easy project was a nice change from the time-consuming ones that furniture can be. Yay for quickies!  😉

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Vintage Cigar Stand Turned Planter

My dear neighbor, Karen, recently moved and gave me a few pieces of furniture to paint. One such treasure included a vintage cigar stand. If you don’t know what a cigar stand is, its a piece that men would literally use to ash their cigars into. It once held an ashtray insert that could be cleaned out and reused. Her stand no longer had the ashtray insert. But, it was interesting nonetheless. However, the question became – what to do with this piece – as smoking cigars indoors has kind of gone out of fashion for many.

Before I had an answer to the question, I painted this piece with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in a buttery yellow called, Arles. I love this color when it gets a healthy dose of dark wax. It has such a pretty aged appearance that says, “I’ve been around for a while.” Perfect for vintage furniture!

So, it hung out in the garage for a while whiles I was considering it’s new purpose, until my mother in law gave me this pretty little pot of violets – which fits perfectly into the ashtray opening! Of course – a plant stand!

I love the bright blue-purple flowers against this yellow color – what a gorgeous contrast!

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Secretary is In!

This afternoon I delivered another custom piece for a client – a lovely secretary desk.

Below are the BEFORE photos: (Even completely spray-painted black, it was very pretty.)

 Here’s the AFTER: painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in French Linen and Old White.

I distressed the edges lightly and added dark wax in the crevices on the crown molding and around the window panels, after sanding back the stencils.

She decided to leave the inside black. Thank goodness, can you imagine how much time it would have taken to hand-paint inside all of those compartments!!

Here’s the piece in her home, adjacent to its matching table and chairs. She loved it and I am so happy with how it turned out!

, , , , , , ,

Occasional Table Gets Gilding Wax Treatment

I’ve been dying to try gold gilding wax, and when my neighbor (thanks Karen!) gave me a pretty little occasional table, I had the perfect piece. With it’s carved column legs, it begged for some bling!

I wish I had stopped to take a BEFORE photo, but like so often, I get all caught up in painting, and forget. So, imagine this piece in a dark brown. Trust me, it looked really different!

It’s painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old Ochre. With all of the crevices and detail, I knew this piece would look beautiful with dark wax. And of course the gilding wax went into the little carved details on each leg. Gosh – she looks so pretty!

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Graphite French Country Tables

I have someone interested in having a dining set painted in Graphite, the Annie Sloan chalk paint color that isn’t quite black, but a lovely charcoal color. The shade deepens to nearly black with layers of dark wax. I have been dying to try it out, and gave it a go with two french country tables I acquired recently.

These Bombay coffee table and end tables were in need of repair – both had damaged surfaces, but were otherwise in great, sturdy condition. (sorry, I forgot to take a photo of the coffee table in the BEFORE stage)

First, I sanded down the table tops to remove most of the damage and smooth out the surface. This convinced me that I really need to invest in an electric sander! Using sanding blocks and manually doing it was a you-know-what! And I was doing this in my garage, on a friggin 90 degree day, when the humidity was high enough to drown a duck in its own sweat! No fun.

Next, I painted each with a coat of ASCP in Old Ochre – a sort of antique white color. Then I painted the tops in Graphite. It went on a bit blueish. A very pretty color indeed! I made sure to paint in every direction – left to right, up and down – purposely giving it texture. After it dried, I began waxing it with several layers of dark wax. Each time it got a little darker – and more beautiful – because the wax settled into all of that texture. The color is spectacular – aged and beautiful! Then I clear waxed the legs. Next I distressed the edges of the tops and just a bit on the bottoms of the legs. I went over all distressed areas of the tops with another layer of dark wax. The bottom distressed areas got clear wax again, and I finished by putting just a tad bit of dark wax on select areas of the legs to age them a bit too.

Here’s the finished pieces:

Charlotte can’t resist a photo shoot!!

These pieces are for sale: http://leopardandblackinteriors.com/2012/04/items-for-sale.html

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

A french coffee table named after a special friend

You may noticed on the page where I’ve listed my items for sale that they’ve all been given a name. Why? I thought it might help me keep track of the pieces I’ve completed in years to come, when they’ve all found homes – and – sometimes I can’t help but think of someone I know when I discover a piece of furniture.

Like this coffee table. When I laid eyes on her, I saw elegance. Those curvey legs, the delicate drawer pull, the beautiful carved shells and finials – they all said, “this old girl may be down, but she’s not out.” And after a paint job, her vintage glory shines. And so she is named after one of my very dear friends – a woman who is a tremendous fighter, when the odds have been against her – and a true class act. She is Ann, and so this table has been named, The Annie.

Here’s her before photo and several images from various angles to admire her…

The entire piece was painted with Annie Sloan chalk paint in Paloma – a grey/taupe color with a hint of lavender. It’s a beautiful French-inspired color that I thought would be perfect for this table. I dry-brushed Old White all around the legs, base and top edges. The top of the table features a damask and vine accent. It’s been distressed and the legs, base and edges were aged with dark wax. The top was sealed with clear wax.

Dry brushing with the white paint allowed the paloma to show through.

I painted this in my driveway on a hot day and some of the paint started to crackle. I quickly took it inside, fearing that I had destroyed the paint job. But, once it dried completely, I was in love! The little bit of texture provides so much antique-factor!

I know what you’re thinking…so many photos! But, I couldn’t stop snapping the camera. There’s so many beautiful sides to see. Just like the real Ann, she is named after!

I hope you you like her!

, , , , ,

Dark wax? How do I dark wax?

After I posted photos of the new bench yesterday, I’ve had a couple people ask me how I achieved the aged patina, and what to do with dark wax. I’ll try to explain it here, but will “show” you in my next post. I’m currently working on a small bench, and will use the same techniques – and photograph them, so you can “see” what I mean.

For the curvy white bench, I painted first with Annie Sloan chalk paint in Old White. I gave it a coat, wait ed for it to dry, and then gave it another coat.

Next I rubbed on Annie Sloan clear wax. Her waxes come in clear and dark, and have the consistency of Crisco. The clear wax leaves no color, but bonds with the paint to provide a protective seal. It definitely gives the paint a deeper hue, and just the tiniest bit of sheen. You can buff (rub with a clean cloth) the wax after a day of drying to give it a higher shine if you prefer (I did not do that).

So, I had rubbed the clear wax over the entire piece. I use a big wax brush to apply clear wax – it really got the wax into crevices and those turned spindle legs. Then I used fine sandpaper and distressed the edges by gently rubbing the white paint away until I could see the wood underneath. If I had planned to NOT patina the piece, I would have then just clear waxed the distressed areas again to give it the final seal. And I would have been done. But, since I thought the piece was just too bright white for the white fabric on the cushion, and the look I was going for was shabbier, I decided to try some dark wax.

It’s funny – I was afraid of dark wax before this project. And my plan for this bench was just a clear wax coat – no tricky business. But, like all the experts said at the Annie Sloan workshop I went to, “let the piece tell you what to do.” And it did. It called for dark wax.

To apply dark wax here’s what you do: you take a lint-free cloth (I purchased a bag of them from Lowes, and they are basically clean unused t-shirts torn into small pieces) and dap it into the tin of dark wax. Then you rub it on to a small space of your furniture. Always work in small spaces.  After you have rubbed it on, use a clean cloth to wipe it away. You’ll immediately notice the patina – or aged, brownish appearance. It especially settles into cracks, crevices and the places where you distressed. For a carved piece of wood, or furniture with a lot of detailing, the dark wax really emphasizes those beautiful areas!

So, I applied the dark wax with the cloth, and then rubbed off the excess. If there is too much patina in some places, you can actually take some of the clear wax on a cloth and rub it over the patina area and it removes it! The clear wax acts like an eraser! Pretty cool, huh?

“Wax on, wax off”…you know that reference, right? At least if you grew up with the original Karate Kid – not the cheesy, new version with the Will Smith kid that Saxon insisted was a girl. (but, that’s for another blog)

After you’ve wiped off all the dark wax, you are done. In my next post, I’ll provide the photos for each step, so you have a better understanding of what each part looks like.

Until then, happy painting!