Filing Cabinet!



I was feeling bugged that my mom took her filing cabinet to the D.I. rather than give it to me! But it's okay, because my husband and I found this beauty on KSL. Only $10 and it works great! Even has a functioning lock and key. Remember, chalk paint can adhere to pretty much any surface. That's one of the many things I love about it!

 

Again! I forgot to do a "before" picture of this baby. But you can kind of see some of the "before in this picture:

 

 

My husband and I both chose Louise Blue (without the other one knowing) out of all of the Annie Sloan colors. It's also the color I will be using for the hope chest my mom gave me to restore (you can see a part of it on the right side of the picture). I will do a post on that piece soon! I have so many projects going on all at once!

 

I loved this color. I was afraid it was going to have a periwinkle tone to it (I DON'T like periwinkle) but it surely did not.  It's a very pretty color.

I had my husband remove the plastic labels that were wedged into the handles. They were functional but kind of ugly and they would have been hard to paint around.

 

Then I cleaned the surface of the cabinet, all over. Then mixed some of the paint with water (don't use as much water as you usually do. Since this is metal, the paint won't get absorbed AT ALL and will drip very easily).

 

Upon application of the first coat, I realized I had mixed in way too much water in with the paint; there were drips everywhere once it had dried! I had to sand all of them down, which took a LONG TIME. And then paint those areas again.

 

Also, keep an eye on the paint while it's drying and catch any drips before they dry. That will make less work for you in the long run.

 

 

After I finished all of the three coats and let them dry, it was time to seal it. I decided to try out a new kind of sealer. It's called Water-based Polyurethane. Apparently you can only purchase it in California in stores. I bought mine through Amazon: Water Based Wipe on Polyurethane

 

I like that this sealer comes in a bottle rather than a can. So that rust doesn't get in it. To apply to your piece squirt some into a bowl and add water. Keep it to a ration of about 50 percent water to 50 percent polyurethane. Wear a mask!  Use a non-terry cloth rag to apply. Preferably one with little to no lint.

 This stuff is VERY thin. And if you don't apply it in long, straight wipes, you'll be able to see the streaks of the application rag. This also dries really fast, so do what you need to do when applying each wipe of polyurethane and then move on. This is not like the polycrylic application at all.

 See the streaks on the top of the cabinet? This was the very first area I applied the polyurethane and I didn't do it right. Make sure you apply the polyurethane in the direction you applied the paint, underneath. Otherwise, you will see criss-crosses. Lightly sand each coat of polyurethane, before you put the next coat on. But of course don't sand the final coat!

The polyurethane definitely gives the paint a more bold, deep color. Without it, the color looked like more of a powder blue. Remember, You need to apply 3-6 coats of the polyurethane since it is so thin.

The end result of the sealer looks VERY similar to the polycrylic. I will make a post soon, comparing and contrasting wax, polycrylic, and polyurethane.

 

How does it look!? Time will tell as to how the paint and polyurethane hold up over. But as for now, I love it!! My husband said he was so impressed with the result that he wants me to paint all of the filing cabinets at his hospital. He claims it will "boost the morale" for everyone there. I bet it would!! All of these beautiful pieces of furniture I display in my own home definitely lift my mood.

 

"It's a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy." -Lucille Ball



Piano "Before"

Good news! My sister found a "before" picture of the piano...

 

I have to say that this picture makes this piano look really good. Let me tell you and hopefully this doesn't offend Christa- The piano did NOT look this good. I suspected that she edited the photo (since she's a photographer) but she denied it.

 

It really is a beautiful piano, though. And I'm loving the way the restored version is looking!

 

I'm still working on it. It's actually taking a lot longer than I thought it would. It's definitely worth it though!!



Piano Sneak Peek!

I haven't completed this project yet, but I'm so anxious to show you the beginning stages!

 

 

I forgot to do a "before" picture again! I'm sure my sister has one lying around somewhere. This is my sister's 100 year old piano and she asked me to paint it! She actually asked me quite a while ago and I'm just now finding the time to do it!

 

It's an incredibly beautiful piano. She bought it off of KSL for free, I think. Or practically free. One of the two.

 

This is a picture of just one coat of paint. I used the homemade chalk paint recipe, which you can get from an earlier blog post of mine. I really like it so far. It's the same paint color I used on the children's rocking chair. And I'm going to give my sister that rocking chair so she can have matching furniture in her front room! Fun! I'm also probably going to paint some picture frames for her, in the same color. We don't want that room to be too matchy matchy, but it's fun, anyway.

It's more of an aqua color and as I add the coats and polycrylic finish, the color will get deeper and bolder. Side note: my husband would really appreciate my niece's sweater choice. He went to BYU for college.

 

 

I'm LOVING this project! It's a lot of work, though, because there are so many little knobs, hinges, and of course piano keys that you have to carefully paint around.

 

Also, we chose not to do any sanding, for fear that particles could get in between the piano keys. That's why my sister chose chalk paint, specifically. I think that was a smart idea. The paint really covers up the imperfections.

 

*Something that I've noticed about the homemade paint vs. Annie Sloan paint: AS paint produces a smoother surface than the homemade paint and I'm wondering if it's because Annie Sloan grinds her Plaster of Paris down to a finer grit. I'm going to do some research to see if I can grind my Plaster of Paris down to finer particles. I will let you know what I find!

 



Old White Dresser

I promised you I would get my next two projects posted on here as soon as I could, so here they are! Well, the first one, anyway.

 

 

I've been working on two projects simultaneously, for weeks, now! The piano and the dresser. The piano is taking quite some time, but I did complete the dresser. I love it!

 

 

How did I do it? Well, funny you should ask...

I keep forgetting to do official “before” photos. I apologize profusely! I do have some semi- before pics. But basically this was a solid wood dresser that I had been using. I’m not sure what kind of wood it is but it is very well made. The drawer joints are even dove tail joints which is usually a sure sign that a piece is well made.

*Remember, this paint is very washable. That's why I feel confident just putting flattened boxes down over the carpet and doing it on the boxes. There's also no fumes, which is a huge plus.

 

I bought this dresser off of KSL (which is like Craig’s List, but it’s only in Utah and Idaho) a few years ago for, I believe, about $100.  It had a stain color that had an orange undertone. I do appreciate the warmth factor but it was a little to orange for my liking. However, my husband really liked the color. It was just way too tempting to paint it though. And we had another dresser in storage that I was wanting to use for my clothes anyway, so I no longer needed the orange-ish one.

Supplies Needed:

-          Paint brush (synthetic bristles)

-          Paint (I used Annie Sloan’s Old White chalk paint)

-          Water in a cup

-          Paper bowl for paint

-          Low grit sandpaper

-          Rags (no terry cloth!)

-          Old socks

-          Polycrylic Finish

-          Java Stain and Top Coat (Apparently these two products are ONLY available on Amazon)

-          Flattened large boxes

 

1. Lay the flattened boxes down on the floor and put your project on them to protect your floor from the mess. Use sandpaper  to remove troublesome spots. For example: scratches or rough spots. You do not need to sand the entire piece! (one of the joys of Chalk paint). Then use a damp rag to clean the entire dresser and remove the dust. 

2. Remove the drawers from the dresser and unscrew the handles. Store the handles and screw in a plastic bag.

3. Line the top part of the dresser with painting tape so you don’t get the white paint on the top of the dresser where the stain will be. Pour some Old White paint into the bowl. Put some water into the paint to the point where the paint is not too thick or “gloppy”.  Paint the body of the dresser. Make sure to pick up drips with your paint brush she you don’t have to sand those down once it’s dried. This specific project required 3 coats. The number of coats will be dependent upon the underlying color of the original piece and how much water you put into your chalk paint.

4. Paint the fronts of each drawer. Again, I did 3 coats. Wait for the coats on the body of the dresser and the drawers to dry completely.

One coat

3 Coats

5. Apply two coats of the polycrylic finish over the dried paint on the body and the drawers of the dresser. Follow the directions on the polycrylic can.

5. Remove the legs of the dresser if you can (some of them are not removable. In that case, just turn the dresser on its side and put the painting tape  around each leg, covering the already painted areas).

 On your dominant hand, put a plastic bag around it, then put an old sock on over that. Stir the Java stain and dip your sock hand into it (this will be a pudding like consistency). Apply the stain on to the legs with the sock, in a thin layer (if you do too thick of a coat it will look black. If you want it to look black, then go for it). Smooth out any “glops” or weird lines or drips. Your goal is to make the layer as smooth as possible.  Let those legs sit out to dry (this stain has somewhat of a strong smell. Open a window or wear a medical mask). However, it's not very smelly.

 

 

6.  Tape up the painted area at the top of the dresser to protect your white paint from the stain. Again, dip your sock hand into the stain and apply the stain to the top surface of the dresser.  Keep the coat as thin as you can, while keeping in mind how dark you want it to be.

 

 

7. When the legs and top surface of dresser have dried, apply the Satin top Coat. I believe the directions on the can suggest two coats. Let those dry.

 

 

8. Screw the legs of the dresser back on. Screw the handles back on to the drawers (You can purchase new ones at places like Hobby Lobby, but these were uniquely designed handles, so I had to use these ones. You can also spray paint your handles using combined paint and primer spray paint). I ended up spray painting mine

This was the end result!

To spray paint them: Clean them really well, place them in a box. Outside, spray them about 2 or three times, waiting about five minutes between each coat.

I used Oil Rusted Bronze Paint and Primer in one. Purchased at Home Depot.

 

 

You’re done!!! 6 easy steps!!

I loved the way this sweet baby turned out. I’m really loving this Old White color.

 

 

*Some things that I learned from this project and past Old White projects: I prefer the way the final color looks when I use the Clear Wax on the Old White Paint. However, the polycrylic is necessary to use on pieces that will receive a lot of wear and tear. So you have to sacrifice either the exact preferred color or level of protection it receives. The white doesn’t look bad with the polycrylic over it, but I do prefer the way the white looks with the clear wax over it. I have put the polycrylic over other colors of chalk paint (like Duck Egg Blue) and I really liked the resulting color.

 

Good Luck!!





Chrildren's Rocking Chair

I love this littler chair and actually the color is very different in real life. It's more of an aqua color. The lighting is different for some reason.  But cute nonetheless.

This is my first project using the homemade chalk paint. Here's what I did and how it turned out:

 

1. I sanded trouble spots and cleaned the entire chair.

2. I taped around the wick seat so as to not get paint on it.

3. Applied the paint (2 coats)

4. Applied the Annie Sloan clear wax. (Since it's a children's chair I decided not to use the dark wax. And I didn't distress it at all)

 

 

I noticed that the first coat of the homemade paint turned out just fine. Then I stored the paint in the fridge (covered of course). I did the second coat the next day. After the second coat dried I felt the surface of it and it felt rough like there were little bubbles in it. I have a feeling that had to do with the fact that I stored the paint in the fridge. Next time I will make smaller batches of the paint so that I won't have to store the unused.  I'll let you know how that goes. I hope that it was because of the fridge.

 

On to the next project!!!

 

"Never stop learning, because life never stops teaching."



Homemade Chalk Paint Review

Back in September I posted the recipe for homemade chalk paint. Last night I finally tried it on my current project- the children's rocking chair! I'll post those pictures as soon as I'm done with it, but today I wanted to relay the "test results."

Positives!

I have to say, that I really love it! The consistency is pretty perfect. It's thin enough that it's not lumpy or "gloppy" (if that's a word... probably not), but thick enough that I'm only going to have to do 2 coats on this project and I probably could have gotten away with one! Granted, the original underlying wood stain was very light. It was thick enough that I didn't have to keep catching a ton of drips. There were obviously some drips, but not as much.

I really like that I didn't have to keep adding water to each portion of paint like I usually have to with Annie Sloan paint. That really saved me some time. 

The color looked good. After adding the plaster of paris the latex paint seemed to retain it's color.

It's a lot less expensive than Annie Sloan! You get more for your money, and, there are so many more colors to choose from! Don't get me wrong, I think that Annie Sloan's colors are very classy. But they are limited, let's be honest.  I used Behr latex paint and primer (combined)

Now, let's get negative... The cons....


It was a bit of a pain to mix it myself (but enough that the cheaper price makes it worth it). It was a little more messy and made prep time a bit longer.

Let's be honest, there's no way to know if the homemade version can withstand the test of time compared Annie Sloan's. That can only be tested over time...

I strongly urge you to try it! I personally think I will use up the Annie Sloan paint I have and then after that continue to just make the paint on my own. And then if I notice any problems with the home made version in the future I will let ya know! I suppose I should use it on several different projects before I form an official opinion on it!

I'm really excited because I'll be starting a new project hopefully this week! My sister needs her old piano painted before her son's baptism, and she is requesting that I do it! It's such an honor and how fun will it be to paint it and to document it for you guys!

There are lots of good piano painting tutorials out there, but of course mine will be the best!

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?" - Martin Luther King, Jr.

More upcoming projects!!

-I'm going to be painting my night stand and painting/staining my dresser!!