Pile of Wood = Artsy Desk

It starts with a basic sketch

"Let passion fuel your purpose"

 Some wood and a hubby skilled with saws and stuff..

A compass to always find my way & sunshine for happiness. 

Transferred the pictures from the sketch to the wood. 

 Burned the pictures into the wood. It's called Pyrography. I'm not that good at it but I just went over the lines transferred to the wood. Then got out the paint and colored in the lines,

Each leg had a different flower. 

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams." 

Compass side goes to the inside (belly side?)of the desk.

Front of desk- Moon to Sun

 Stained the unpainted areas with a warm walnut then comes three coats of Polycrylic. (Sand and wipe down between coats) I used four coats on the desk top because I figure it will get the most wear.

 Sides of the desk get a heart design and carry over the leaves from the top of the desk.

Sketched, burned, painted, stained Polycrylic 

Finished Desk! 

T

Hand Painted Kids Chairs

 I was asked to paint some crummy, chipped, faded red kids chairs. Sure, remove the paint or sand it down, how hard could it be?

Grrrrr....

These simple chairs should have been a piece of cake, instead I couldn't wait to get them off my bench.

The paint, layers upon layers of paint - a whole rainbow of paint under the top layer of faded red - would not come off.  I think there was so many layers of paint that nothing could seep in enough to melt it away. So out came the electric sander, Dremel sander and elbow-grease sander...Oy! I did my best.

After getting the remaining paint as flat and smooth as possible, I spray painted everything black.

Sketched everything in chalk. I wanted it cartoony and playful. Then I just colored in the lines with acrylic paint. Using white paint and a short bristled brush, I used my thumb to pull the bristles back and sprinkled white paint over it to give a "star" effect.

Spray down with a high gloss acrylic sealer (3 coats) and they're done!

This was not my favorite project and some of the placement of the pictures was done to distract from the problems with the underlying paint job.  If I had this to do over again .... I wouldn't have accepted this job. Small chairs equal small nooks and crannies and too many years of layered paint that would just not remove easily. The majority of my time was spent trying to get a paint-able surface.  I love upcycling old furniture but wonder if a different approach would have been better for these chairs.

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.