Friday, August 26, 2011

Just a Little Blue!!

When I started this journey (painting furniture) a few weeks back I purchased a very old secretary off of Craigslist. I bought it from a girl who had just moved to Ocean Beach from out of town. When I saw the posting for this she was asking $20 for it, which was within my budget. I was so excited because I could tell it was a very old piece but when I went to pick it up my excitement fizzled. It was in fact old and but it showed. It had a separation of the wood straight down on the side (plus other stuff) and it was actually smaller then I had expected. The girl told me it was her grandmother's and that her grandmother used to pay her bills on it. I loved that history and for $20 bucks I decided to take it. For the last several weeks I have just stared at it wishing I hadn't bought it. It was pretty beat up for my skill level.  I spoke with a wood guy and he said the type of separation in the wood was not really fixable. So I just left it and got to work on my chair, and then my table. My table needs a few more coats of poly but it has been so hot that I haven't wanted to mess with the poly drying to fast. In the meantime I decided to do something with the secretary. I had a vision in my head and have really loved the French Images from The Graphic Fairy. I wanted to put a graphic on the front and on the inside of the secretary. The funny thing is when I went to check out her blog, there was a vintage secretary that did the same thing! Well, I had to figure out how to get that image onto the secretary and saw that it mentioned a Modge Podge technique. I printed my images, this one for the front and this one for the inside. I wanted to paint the outside of the piece Paris Gray and the inside Aubusson Blue (Annie Sloan Chalk Paint). I painted the inside first and then started on the outside but it wasn't looking right. The two colors weren't working that well together and the Paris Gray didn't look like I had thought. I continued painting until the whole secretary was finished. It was getting late and I had things I need to get done so I started to clean up. As I was cleaning up, I spotted a paint can and was like "which one is this" I took a look "uh-oh, Paris Gray, oh-no!" running outside "what have I been paint with??, Are you kidding me, DUCK EGG BLUE!!!" Yup, I painted the whole thing Duck Egg Blue, which would explain why Paris Gray just didn't look right. I AM NOT EVEN COLOR BLIND!! The crazy thing is, it wasn't until I read the words Duck Egg Blue that I saw it as blue... geez! It is a good example of how the brain can trick you. The next day, I got to work and re-painted again with Paris Gray. This time the Aubusson Blue looked beautiful! The two colors were working so nicely together... more work but I was happy! I left the desk to dry and waxed and worked on my images. I woke up this morning and well the Modge Podge thing didn't work out so well. The imaged is still on the inside but there isn't one on the outside anymore. I found Red Hen Home blog and she used a projector, my hubby has one so in the future this will be the technique I will use. I really wanted the modge podge to work because it seemed so easy. When I look at others who have used this technique I don't see any paper left but mine had paper still. Any tips?
I didn't mention it above but with the secretary I just filled in the split wood with wood filler and nailed it together where I could. You can see a line but that is okay.
Here are the pictures of my Secretary. I am still trying to figure out waxing with both clear and dark wax as well as the distressed look. I want it to look naturally distressed and in some areas it does look like that but in others not so much. I would love your feed back and tips. Currently I have Annie Sloan's clear wax and Fiddes and Sons Clear and Ruggar Brown wax. Okay while on that topic, I want to give a shout out to John Millen Hardware who I bought the waxes from on recommendation from Miss Mustard Seed. I ordered it and it was to me in 2 days!
I am still trying to figure out linky party etiquette so if you could also give me some tips on that I would appreciate it!


Paris Gray's feeling a little Blue!
Mommy's helper!









Thank you for looking!



                                                                         Linking to:

 
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The Shabby Nest
Furniture Feature Fridays

12 comments:

  1. Your secretary is very sweet!! So sorry to hear of the paint color snafu but it turned out beautifully. I have struggled with distressing furniture for the last 18 years but I am happy lately just distressing the edges and lightly sanding around knobs, hinges and turned legs. Seem to give a head start on natural wear areas. Hubby says look carefully at a piece to see where it would receive heavier use or bumped parts and leave the rest to nature-he's pretty smart too! I'll be back! (Sorry if that sounds like stalking!)

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  2. Ugh! That must have been horrible to realize you were painting with the wrong color, but I love how it turned out! Secretary desks are perfect for so many areas of the home, so I'm sure this will look great anywhere. You're doing an awesome job!

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  3. It turned out super cute~ I love how the inside is blue and the outside is so lovely and distressed! The color mix up ended up working out wonderfully! Would love for you to come share at Feathered Nest Friday at my blog! :)

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  4. I love this secretary! I also love that you know the history behind it. You did an awesome job painting and distressing it. I love your choice of colors- just wonderful!

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  5. Beautiful transformation! Love the blue inside and lovely distressing.

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  6. Love seeing this again~ thanks so much for coming over and sharing at Feathered Nest Friday! :)

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  7. Your transformation is spectacular!!!!

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  8. That's a great color combination! I think it turned out wonderfully and yeah for you just glueing and puttying the crack. I'm sure it just adds to the patina. I am your newest follower.

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  9. Hi! I just saw your post at Met Monday. So pretty. I really like the blue and white layered together. I just finished a secretary and the insides are a beast to paint in all those nooks. Really nice job- even if you had some frustrations! Hope you'll come by and say hi. From one pink girl to another! :)

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  10. I just loved how the color turned out! Sometimes mistakes turn out the best. Thanks so much for sharing on Market Monday!

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  11. beautiful. Stopping by from Sweet Little Gals Turquoise Lovin' Link Party.

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  12. Look how pretty she is now! Fantastic job on her redo. Found you via My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia. Pop on over for a visit when you get a moment. Tootles, Kathryn
    http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2011/08/goodwill-artwork.html

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