Hello! I ran across this desk on a yard sale site and knew it had great potential. I needed one for my office and this was the perfect size. I wanted something simple that wouldn’t take away from the bold decor I have in there. This was perfect!
It was in pretty bad shape when I got it. Covered in several layers of black, teal and red latex paint and lots of gouges on the top as you can see here:
I sanded it down and painted it with Heirloom Traditions Chalk Type Paint in French Vanilla. For the gold accents I used this fabulous product called Little Billy Goat Sticks. I chose the “Gold Leaf”. These are so awesome! They are little sticks for highlighting that come in seven different colors and are super easy to use. I love how it turned out!
I found this awesome cactus tapestry online that I’m loving!! To see the details click my affiliate link here. I’m a bit tapestry obsessed now.
I hope you enjoyed this makeover. Thanks for dropping by! -L
Hello! I’ve done a couple of these and I thought I’d do a quick tutorial on them. The skill level required is pretty minimal as long as you have (dry time) patience.
Here is a list (and affiliate links) of the items I used:
Get ready to use a ton of tape. I worked under a ceiling fan to minimize dry time. This is a pretty easy project and can be done with muted or bold colors which makes it versatile and fun.
First, I drew a small dot with a pencil where I wanted my center to be. Then I just taped off different sections one at a time from that center. I taped and painted and waited for the painted section to dry, then taped and painted again. I just kept repeating until I was finished.
The finished piece:
A smaller version I did:
Hope you enjoyed this. These are for sale in my Etsy Shop. Thanks for stopping by! -L
I received an email from my client that purchased this “Carnival Chic” piece I painted below from me a couple of years ago for her home in New Orleans.
Her message stated that she wanted her hutch finished in a similar fashion for the new home she bought in Austin, Texas. As we went back and forth coordinating shipping her piece to me, talking design, different colors, color placement, etc. we ended up deciding on a combination of the Carnival Chic Chest and a leopard/floral handbag she’d found.
My son and I went to see Suicide Squad about a month ago and I absolutely loved this quote:
“Normal is a setting on the dryer. People like us, we don’t do normal!” ~Harley Quinn, Suicide Squad. I found it kind of fitting for this piece.
After she told me to “DO YOUR THING!”, I decided if my Carnival Chic Chest of Drawers and the Leopard/Floral Handbag had a hutch baby and threw in a dash of Harley Quinn (I love her red and blue combo and her spitfire personality.), this is what it would look like. It’s got it all; polka dots, stripes, harlequin, leopard, tons of color, flowers and a little grunge. Some folks are going to say what on earth did she do to that beautiful Ethan Allen hutch? This is what I did. LOL. #teamfearless
In the video below I’m adding Aging Dust to the crevices of the piece to create some subtle aging. I applied White Lime Soft Wax first so the Aging Dust would have something to adhere too. You can seal with clear wax if you want to, but it’s not necessary.
Don’t forget, if your planning to purchase by clicking the links provided to each product to use my coupon code, VELVETGLOVE (All caps. No spaces.) for 10% off your online order. I had a client last week place a large online order and she got so excited she forgot to enter the coupon code. LOL. You can also click >> here to purchase.
I love, love, love distressing. Distressing, detail work and pulling tape off of stripes are my thing.
Tape, tape and more tape.
140 Gold Polka Dots.
Pink Stripes are painted in Heirloom Traditions Chalk Type Paint in the colors Pink Posh and Begonia.
Distressed door on the right, non-distressed door on the left. I love distressed black.
Another before and after:
And one final shot because, shhhh, I don’t want to give her up. I kinda want to keep her. We’ve spent a lot of time together but her owner loves her and can’t wait to get her shipped back to her forever home. 🙂
Want to give it a try? Get 10% off your online order by using my coupon code: VELVETGLOVE (All caps. No spaces.) by clicking >> here.
Thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful day! XOXO -L
Paint if you prefer to paint the finish before you apply the tissue paper. It’s strictly up to you. I used a coat of Vintiques Chalk Type Paint in the color Barkcloth and a coat of Posh Pink Chalk Type Paint by Heirloom Traditions for this demo. I do this finish on raw wood so the wood grain shows through and also on painted surfaces. It’s a matter of preference depending on what you’re working on.
I let it dry for about an hour and then I applied a coat of 1GEL on top to seal.
I let the top coat of 1GEL dry and then sanded the excess paper off of the edges with 150 grit sandpaper. I also use this little blue treasure craft distressing tool by Ingvild Bolme I bought from Prima Marketing a few years ago to distress the edges. I love it!
I sprinkled on some Ancient Agings Aging Dust to add some contrast and worked it in with a 220 grit sanding block.
Hello! Just a quick blog post to share how I did this antiqued silver finish on these lamps. It’s a finish I get a lot of requests for. Here is what you need:
I cleaned both lamps really well, then painted on a coat of Black Bean, a very light coat of Thunderous, then Tarnished Silver and finished off with Jet Black Liquid Wax.
And the After After picture my client sent me.
Not too hard and a classic look!
For more information on Heirloom Traditions products click here.
This little chair was rough and I mean rough, but I like it’s rough and toughness. I sanded it some so I wouldn’t get splinters and got my Aurora Staining Gels out. I wanted to keep the rustic feel of this chair. I wanted to experiment more with them on raw wood. It was a match made in heaven. If your piece has any varnish on it you’ll need to remove that before applying Aurora Staining Gels. I used Aurora Staining Gels in the colors Cherry Bomb, Island Paradise and I’m Jaded. I put the Cherry Bomb on first. It comes in these great squirt bottles! So easy to use!
Then I put a coat of I’m Jaded over the entire chair. After it dried, I distressed it back some and I’m really please with the outcome.
Aurora Staining Gels come in 20 funky colors including 5 metallic staining gels. No top coats needed. Chalk Type Paint can be sealed with Aurora Staining Gels. Soap and water clean up too.
For more information on Heirloom Traditions products click here.
Hello! How are y’all? I’m a big time lover of before and after
pictures. I think they say so much for what could be, especially if
you have a hard time imagining what can be created. I know quite a few
people that abandon a project because they can’t make it through the
ugly phase and the struggle is real, folks. I’ve had my moments too.
Every time I tell my mom what I have planned for a piece she looks at
me like I’m crazy. LOL And most times I am wild, bold and rowdy in
my designs, but that’s me and that’s what I do. Sugar Skull? Yea.
Leopard? Yea. Decoupaged Magic Horses? Yep. Lots of stripes, bold
colors and harlequin. I’m working on a hutch now that looks like it
belongs in a carnival. A full alligator piece and a splatter piece are
coming soon. So for my mom and others like her, or for those of you who simply dig before and afters I thought I’d put all the ones I’ve done using Heirloom
You can find it all and more here! I can’t say enough good things about this paint company! So many different product lines to chose from, great staff and great support!!!
For more information on Heirloom Traditions products click here.
Hello friends! I can count on one hand how many times I’ve painted a piece of furniture white. I think I’ve done two besides this one, and those two weren’t all white and probably don’t even count. I normally use lots of color and prints, bold stripes, leopard, floral, blues, pinks, red, orange, greens, polka dots, purples, gold and so forth. So many people are afraid of color, but me? I get nervous to do white. Kinda strange, because that’s what is incredibly popular with so many people, including me, loving the farmhouse look. I get quite a few messages and emails from people afraid to use color because they consider white “safe”. So this is me coming out of my comfort zone of color.
A classic white finish using Chantilly Chalk Type Paint, a classic, bright white chalk type paint by Vintiques coupled with Antiqued Brown Spray Wax used as a glaze on a table with gorgeous carvings and tons of curves just begging for glaze down in those nooks and crannies. I sealed it with Vintiques Satin Top Coat. This table brings a lot on its own but I believe the white does soooo much for it and I’ve gotta admit I love the simplicity and classic look of it.
Taped off to preserve that gorgeous top.
Before and After:
For more information on Heirloom Traditions products click here.
Hello friends!! I’ve been busy recently cleaning out my garage. It’s been much more of a chore than I expected and the Arizona heat doesn’t help. When I get in a “get rid of it” mood, nothing is safe. I pulled this chair out (that I bought at a thrift store) and put it in the back of my SUV to take to Deseret Industries aka D.I. I pulled up to D.I. with a load of stuff and took another look at it and ended up bringing it back home.
I came home, blew past the garage mess, grabbed my 1GEL and headed to my paper hoard where I picked out some different designs. Leopard, Floral, Stripes and Polka Dots, cause why not?
I painted the frame of the chair with one of my go to colors, Mint Julep Chalk Type Paint by Vintiques and then sealed with Vintiques Oxidized Patina Spray Wax. I love the depth the Oxidized Patina adds! To apply the Spray Wax, I shake the bottle really well and pour some out in a bowl then apply it with a brush.
And then I attached the paper and sealed with 1GEL as shown in the video above. That’s why they call it 1GEL, it’s a decoupage, sealer and transfer medium all in one. So easy and this chair is so much more fun than before! Click here for a video demonstration on how to use 1GEL.
I waited for the top coat of 1GEL to dry and distressed the paper with 150 and 220 grit sandpaper then resealed.
Here is the before and after picture:
For more information on Heirloom Traditions products click here.
Hello. A friend of mine was getting rid of some stuff one day and asked me if I wanted these huge column candlesticks. They’ve been sitting on my buffet for a few years now. One afternoon, I decided they weren’t really doing it for me and they needed a little pizazz. So I got out my Heirloom Traditions paints and Aurora Staining Gel and proceeded to do just that.
The third one I painted with Aqueduct Chalk Type Paint. “If Mint Green and Teal Green had a baby, it would be Aqueduct. Its a bright aqua green chalk type paint with minty tones.”
Next I used Aurora Staining Gel in the color Snow White as a glaze. I brushed it on and wiped it back. Then I distressed them with 150 grit sandpaper and I love them. They have a fun, beachy vibe now.
For more information on Heirloom Traditions products click here.
It was in pretty bad shape when I got it. Covered in several layers of black, teal and red latex paint and lots of gouges on the top as you can see here:
I sanded it down and painted it with Heirloom Traditions Chalk Type Paint in French Vanilla. For the gold accents I used this fabulous product called Little Billy Goat Sticks. I chose the “Gold Leaf”. These are so awesome! They are little sticks for highlighting that come in seven different colors and are super easy to use. I love how it turned out!
I found this awesome cactus tapestry online that I’m loving!! To see the details click my affiliate link here. I’m a bit tapestry obsessed now.
I hope you enjoyed this makeover. Thanks for dropping by! -L
The finished piece:
Thee Velvet Glove 