Bird Bath Cover Up

There was this ugly sewer tap in thing in our back yard. I hated it from the minute we moved in and thought long and hard on how to cover it up.

So, what does every back yard need besides a bird feeder to attract those cute little feathered beauties? 

A Bird Bath, of course! 

Hubby made this box from plywood. Just cut four equal pieces and nailed them together to fit around that sewer pipe.

Next; Bright blue spray paint. 

Then I took chalk and drew some flowers and birds and painted on some whimsy. 

After it was all done I used a spray sealer with UV protection so it would withstand the rain and sun. 

Once that was dry we glued on one of those bottoms to a flower pot. I think it was maybe $3 in Lowes. We used an all weather glue to hold up to the elements. 

Finished! Easy Peasy Bird Bath Cover Up! 

Quick & Easy Table Redo

Found this old, scratched up table in the Artfully Repurposed supply shed. I love Peacocks and thought it might be a challenged to paint one on a piece of furniture.

Structurally sound, I gave the table a good sanding and wiped it down with a damp cloth.

Spray Paint time!

I dragged the table outside. Three light coats of light blue spray paint went on the table. Let dry for a few hours between coats.

Tip: When working with spray paint keep the coats light. Layering on several light coats will go on smoother, heavy coats tend to drip. Keep a damp cloth in one hand to give any drips a quick wipe.

The next day I sketched out the peacock with chalk and started at the head, working my way down. I knew the tail feathers would be a challenge, but wanted them to get a little wild. I painted the "eye" of each tail feather first then just layered in some feather lines to fluff it out.

Inside the drawer there was one place where the wood was marred. I sanded it down but it still needed to be covered up. One lonely peacock feather was painted over the spot.
And there's the table! I put it up for sale at Artfully Repuposed in Middletown, NJ.

Refinished Old Stool Roars to Life

I always try to take photo of my projects before and after. Most times I'm so excited to get started, I forget, but here's the before of a Tiger Stool.....

I found this old, beat up stool in the shed at Artfully Repurposed and knew I had to paint it.

After giving the whole thing a good sanding (and wipe down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust), I spray painted the whole thing black.

It dried over night and I started painting. Using white paint, I blocked out the lighter areas and eyes. Then I painted the eyes, nose and ears just to get some perspective. The rest was layered in white, orange (with some yellow for highlights), and black.

Since I layered on the paint thicker in some places I let this dry for a week before spraying it with a high gloss acrylic spray.  Again I used several coats of sealer so it would hold up to some wear and tear and butts...if anyone actually wanted to sit on his little face.

This item went up for sale at Artfully Repurposed in Middletown, NJ.

Painted Chair

Found this chair in the supply shed at Artfully Repurposed, an artist shop in Middletown, NJ. Artist join and are welcome to sell their own art or take one of the items there and recreate it to sell in their shop. (More about this place in a future post!)

The chair a plain, wooden (brown) chair. Light scratches that could easily be sanded out, but structurally sound. If you lifted the seat it would fold up. Nice feature! I knew this would be an easy fix up so I took it home.

First out came the sanding block and I gave every inch a light sanding. A damp wash cloth was used to wipe it down. (Wiping down after sanding is an important step or the paint will look fuzzy.)

Next step? Black gloss spray paint! Work slowly and give the chair two or three light coats until every space is black. Let dry overnight.

Now for the flowers. I worked simply and used white paint to block out where I wanted the flowers and leaves. Let dry. Then I painted the flowers and leaves on. Let dry overnight. Spray with a high gloss acrylic sealer.
Simple! Done!

I put this chair up for sale at Artfully Repurposed, but kind of wish I kept it. I loved the bright flowers on the black background. now I'm on the lookout for another chair I can do this too again.