Grain Sack Wanna Be..

Vintage grain sacks seem to be a big part of the French country look. People are using them to make pillows, purses, framed art, seat covers and many other projects. I do not have access to vintage grain sacks and if I did I don't think I would want to pay for them. I have seen a lot of DIY'ers making their own grain sacks by using graphics from the Graphic Fairy and fabric.

While cleaning up my garage I spotted a frame that I had purchased a few years back. This frame had a fun vintage like apple farm picture. It accidentally got left outside for quite some and the rain ruined the picture. I didn't want to throw the frame away because I thought maybe someday I would do something with it. When I saw it I thought the framed grain sack idea would be perfect. I do not have a before picture because I painted it before I remembered to take one. The frame was already a pretty Robin's Egg blue but I wanted it to be black, so I painted one layer of Old White Chalk Paint and over that I painted one layer of Graphite. I printed up this image from the Graphic Fairy:



If you click on the image it will take you to the Graphic Fairy and a towel project, which I hope to try out. I liked the look of the grain sacks that have the lines on them, so I taped up the drop cloth I was using to section off lines. I mixed a bit of Aubusson Blue, Versailles, and just a splash of Old White to make a greenish blue color. I then painted the lines waited for them to dry and got to work on the image. I had hoped to use a Freezer Paper transfer technique like this one: http://gardenberger.blogspot.com/2011/09/freezer-paper-transfer-tutorial.html but my printer is a laser printer. From what I have read, laser printers will not work ( I do have an old ink jet so I will dig that out for my future crafts). Instead I used a projector to project the image on to the drop cloth and painted the image using acrylic paint. This was tedious, and in the future I will back the fabric with spray adhesive and maybe cardboard to give it a hard surface to paint on. I didn't do this and the brush just didn't paint well. Learning as I go is becoming my motto! Once that was all dry I took a little bit of sandpaper to try and age it and then I stapled the cloth to the frame. This honestly was the hardest part, I could not for the life of me get it straight. So the image is a little wonky, which will drive me nuts. I will again in the future stabilize the material first, then paint. I have to say if it wasn't for the crookedness of the lines, I would be pleased with the outcome of this project. I will re-do it in the future, but not today! As always, I welcome helpful tips and tricks that you may have.

If there is any doubt how wonderful this could look here is some actual Grain Sack Eye Candy for you!

http://bushelandapeck.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/09/vintage-grain-sack-and-a-picnic.html

http://thegrowersdaughter.blogspot.com/2010/11/reclaimed-rustics-vintage-grain-sack.html

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French Inspiration Table.

I bought this table about 2 weeks ago. This table was purchased primarily because I needed chairs for the oak table. When I saw the picture on Craigslist, I was keeping my fingers crossed that this table was a good quality table. The reason being is in my "design wishlist" is this picture:

I love this table and it is one of the reason why I refinished the oak table in the way that I did. When I actually went to pick up the table it was a so-so quality but it came with the chairs.  Now, just a few days later I came across another table and chair set. This time it was a Henredon table with 10 chairs for $95.00. I couldn't refuse, this was the quality and style that I wanted. The Henredon table is of course done in the speckled finish, so there will is ANOTHER table in my future. Here is a picture of the Henredon:

Can you believe it, it is beautiful and it looks like my dream picture (almost)!

Okay so on to the so-so table, this is a project table for me. I am not sure what I will do with it, maybe try and sell it to at least get my money back. My idea for this table was to first do another refinish on it to get practice for the Henredon table but as I said this table was so-so quality and as I stripped it it showed. On to the next plan do a washed finish on top using Old White, then clear and dark wax like One Nutty Girl. It didn't work out so well for me. Okay on to the next plan, paint the table top in Annie Sloan Graphite. Graphite was not my favorite to work with. It shows so much dust and such as I was painting and looked so dull even after waxing. I was also having an issue with the previous wax (from the white-wash technique) I had put on the table. I know you can paint over the wax with this paint but I wonder if I was suppose to do something first. I did try wiping as much of it off as I could.  Anyways, once I added the dark wax it made a world of difference. I don't know if this is a good thing or not but if I had to describe the look of the table top I would say worn leather. It really has a faux leather look to it and I  like it. I would like to see a piece in person painted by a professional ASCP expert to see the finish. If I had t guess, mine is not how it should be.  I painted the base of the table Paris Gray (love Paris Gray!!), waxed in both clear and dark wax. When I went in with the dark wax I wasn't loving how dark it was so I mixed up the wax with a little bit of mineral spirits and it seemed to go on not as dirty looking and was easier to wipe off. I am still working on the chairs which will go with this table. I don't need them now, that I have 10 Henredon chairs. I am a little nervous about trying to finish the Henredon table because I know at one point this table cost a lot. Well I hope you enjoy my project table. If you have any tips on painting after having waxed please let me know.

Here are the Beauty Shots!

Table Before

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