Black Coffee Table with Copper Top Technique

So today I present another chunky coffee table but with a cool picture frame top and a very fun copper top layered technique that I have now done on several pieces because it is so fun! 

Did I say it was fun?
The secret is using brown paper bags!

It is fool proof! You can't make a mistake and each piece turns out differently so that floats my boat far into the sea. I am not a cookie cutter painter.

Wanna see?

(I am going to apologize now for the pics bc my old camera died and I just had my smart phone for these pictures! But you will get the gist.)

I removed the top frame and the back piece and painted the base and frame black. I basically paint anything chunky black. It just looks good to me.

Then I got to work on my copper top. I painted a base coat of navy and then dry brushed white over it. I dabbed on copper paint and let dry. I dry brushed more navy in places I thought it needed it. Then I painted the whole thing gold and took off the gold with brown paper bags. I let it dry then did copper paint and  took off the copper with brown paper bags. Get new bags for each layer and crumble them up before laying on top of the paint. Press the bag into the paint and then pull off. You get great crinkles in the paint when you remove the bag.

This is what it looked like when I was done.

This is the up close showing all the great nooks and crannies of the layers. You can use any base color I guess but I loved the look of the navy peeking through. I then sealed it with 3 coats of poly to keep it looking good and make it durable.

Here is the fun part. Differnet light made differnt parts of the layers shine. Here it looks green even though I used navy paint.

From this angle it looks more gray and silver.

You can not go wrong with this technique bc if you don't like how it looks you can just add more paint and then remove what you like with the paper bags until you have a finished product that you love. Experiment with colors and combinations to see which ones you like best. 

The possibilities are endless.

Always being renewed,

Please see the link party page to see where I link arms with those blissfully beautiful bloggers that host every week. So gracious they are along with these other sweet ladies!
       

 

     

Black Seaside coffee table

I know many people don't think of black when you say beach but I think this might be a new trend! Or at least I am going to try and start it! You can tell me what you think after you see the finished product…..
This was a table I snatched from the curbside store and was completely surprised when I went to put it into the back of my truck. It looks so chunky that I wasn't sure that I'd be able to pick it up by myself. But then I did one of those graceful moves to brace my legs to give a mighty heave and I almost fell over backwards bc this table is feather light! Kinda funny bc the guy who bought it……did the same exact thing!

There was all kinds of purple crude on it, not sure if it was jelly or wine or just not something I want to know about  but it required a good cleaning, scraping, and then sanding.

For some reason,  the boards cried out to be yellow, turquoise and red. I thought these would look great with black. 

I painted the whole thing black and then dry brushed the colors on. I then very wet brushed over the dry brush to make it more watery and seaside. Or at least that is what I think.

This is the up close to see the dry and the watery mixed together. It showed up better on the yellow and turquoise but I think it contrasted nicely with the more opaque red.

Could you see this in a beach house?

Friday I'll show you another table that looks almost exactly like this but I did a different paint technique on it. You can tell me which one you like better!

Always being renewed,

Dusty Pink and Gold arrow sidetable

This little make over was fun! I love pink and gold and this simple table cried otu for some pretty pink and gold accents.

I am not a bubble gum pink girl or really a pink girl at all but this is called Prairie Rose by Behr and  I love it. It is a nice soft pink that goes great with gold.

This shows the little white accent I added around the gold arrow. I just used a white oil based sharpie pen and a straight edge. 

What do you think of Prairie Rose?

Always being renewed,

Dremel Design

Power tools….. bloggers usually love some power tools and most people think of power tools as largish, as in circular saws, drills, etc.  Today I am talking about a power tool that should be in your arsenal…..for design and  for fun! The Dremel multitasking tool.

I found a wood changing table at the thrift store and then was able to score two very old bar stools from a house around the corner from my shop. 

This how I found them…..

And this is how they came together to form a fun partnership!

I removed all of the seat padding and then glued and screwed the changing table to the stools after I  sanded and spray painted the stools so they looked fresh. And although I liked the overall look, it needed something. So I made a triangle template, outlined them and then used my Dremel tool to score the top of the wood. I used the smallest burr that comes with the set and it was easy. I just took my time and made sure that I was going the same depth and keeping my lines straight. 

Here she is all shaped up. This only took me about 30 minutes to complete but it added a unique and modern touch to this industrial marriage of found objects.  The girl who purchased it saw it at a night market I did in Downtown Pittsburgh. She didn't purchase it that night but called me 2 days later and said she couldn't stop thinking about it and could she come to the shop to buy it? Of course! 

I love it when people fall in love with something that I have created. I know I preach think of ways to use something in a different way. Well now you can think of the Dremel in a new way…..I think I'll be seeing triangles on more things!!

Always being renewed,

Sheet Music Cabinet

At home today with a sick little gal. She has strep so I have been editing photos and getting before  and afters together for future shares and inspiration I hope. Here's a simple one that packed some modern punch!

This is a little cabinet I picked up a long time ago and just loved all of its little drawers. It was a sheet music cabinet but my friend bought it after its makeover and she is using it as a scrapbook paper cabinet.

This was a pretty simple makeover. Opera Glasses by Behr painted on the cabinet and then I gold leafed and sealed the wooden bar to bring out that detail. When you have a piece that has so many of the same detail, keep the rest simple because then the detail will pop. It helps that I have a great color in it as well. Opera Glasses is a great navy color that I have used many times since and keep the swatch in my purse for color matching in case they ever decide to discontinue it! 

Yes, I love it that much.

Always being renewed,