UPDATE - foiled sofa table

You might remember a cheapo sofa table I redid a while back. No? Let me refresh your memory:

 After I faux silver leafed it (ie. aluminum foiled it), it looked like this:

One of my wonderful readers commented and asked if I was going to do some cool lettering on it like I had done on other pieces and it got my wheels turning.  I decided to go with a french/postal theme and now we have this:

I used a white chalk ink marker I got from Michael's and I also used my trusty black sharpie.  First I drew out all the postal images (thank you Graphics Fairy!) in the white chalk ink marker.  Then I sanded them all down to almost nothing and added some black to bring out the details.  Sanded it back down again then waxed with light wax.  That was enough to just make the images subtle on the top, but if it hadn't worked I was totally prepared to use dark wax all over the top to tone it down.

 

And, voila! It's finished now.  Going to the shop this weekend.  Simple and sophisticated.

Have a smashing weekend!

Foiled sofa table

On the heels of my last post I'd like to share a new table with you.  I picked up this run of the mill pine sofa table last weekend because I really liked the clean simple lines.

It had some water spots on the top and it was, well, boring.  It didn't have any 'life'.  Hopefully, I've fixed that problem.

I used basically the same technique as this post but instead of modpodge I used this spray adhesive which I picked up at Michael's.  It's like Elmer's spray adhesive but WAY stickier.  I coated the table outside and then brought it in to work.  I also sprayed each individual piece of foil before applying them.  I had a small box that I used to spray in so I didn't get sticky all over my house.  {one tip - if you get adhesive on your hands use oil to remove it.  I used body oil, but cooking oil would work fine - soap and water are hopeless}

After the table was dry I did a three step wax process - clear, clear mixed with Graphite ASCP for an aged look, and then clear again.  It gives the foil this 'soft' look, not super shiny like foil normally is and the Graphite mixed with the wax gave it a well worn look.  Without further ado, here she is:

I stripped the top and stained it with Minwax walnut stain.  This is two coats and still not quite dark enough.  I will probably add another coat and then wax it with Hannants medium wax.  

I just finished it about an hour ago and was too excited to wait to share it!  I just love the way the foil and dark top play off each other.  What do you think?

fabulous french (ish) coffee table find

I found this amazing rusted and gross table on the side of the road one day while I was out driving searching for junk (ie. trash). And I just went searching for the before photos I took to show you but they are no where to be found :(

So, you'll just have to take my word. This thing was a piece of junk. All the tiles around the center are metal. They were rusted pretty bad, it looks like someone left it sitting outside maybe on a patio or something and the weather took it's toll on it. The wood was in decent shape, at least not broken or falling apart and the entire center of the table was missing. The metal legs were in great shape but were this hammered silver with black finish - not bad, but left a lot to be desired.

Despite all this I tossed it in the back of my van and scooted home quick before someone else decided it was something THEY needed :) Since then this table has just sat in my garage. It's not a small table - at least 3 foot square, so it's rather large to have to keep moving over and over again. One day I had an epiphany (I constantly work on problems like the center of the coffee table, over and over again until a solution comes to me) and realized I had recently picked up this nice square frame one day at GW while it was 30% off. Not a bad deal - frame and glass for $6. Once it was painted it would be great. I wondered to myself - "self, will that frame fit in the center of that coffee table?" so, I skipped slowly walked over to the table and held the frame next to it. Yup, looked close. Hmm...put it up against the back of the table...still close. Then lost all finesse and just crammed the frame in the hole. It fit!!! And it fit perfectly, you know, like it was made to go in that hole.

After dancing myself around the garage with happiness I got my super yummy chalk paint out and got to painting. I painted in in Old White and then black washed it and distressed it to no end. Waxed with clear and medium wax. When that was all painted I went to work on the image for the center. I went over to my favorite graphic website - the Graphics Fairy - and found a graphic I wanted to use. Then I enlarged it and did this fancy hold the fabric {drop cloth} on top of the paper and up against the window and trace technique. Worked like a charm. Glued it to a piece of foam core, put a couple coats of hard coat modpodge on it and then put it all together.

Here's the end result: (Don't mind the glare of the glass on the center)

50s dresser redo

Well, I promised last time that I'd take pictures of the round wall art with my good camera. Apparently, I lied. I haven't. I have been so busy! But, I will tell you that it's the top to a coffee table (minus the glass) that I picked up by the trash. All the pieces were there to put the coffee table back together, but all I saw was something to hang on the wall. So, there you go!

I am going to share with you a dresser that I did a while back. I bought a set of three beautiful ugly dressers to redo.

Here you go:


Yellow. Gold trim on the drawers. And really shiny. It had great clean modern lines but needed an update. Enter new paint and some stripes inspired by the many grain sacks seen around blogland lately. Now, I have this:



I mixed the white from a couple I had on hand. I didn't want bright white so I toned it down with a little tan. Then I meticulously taped off the stripes and painted them on with a piece of burlap. Removed the tape, let it dry and then waxed and buffed it. This one is not for sale. It likes it at my house :)


Have a great day and add some color to your life!



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