A Mod Podge & Graphics Fairy kind of Day!

I had a few things gathered that I had just painted with chalk paint, and wanted to add some graphics, so its better to do these kind of things all at once don't you think?

Hang in there, because today I'll let you in on how I do Mod Podge transfers on to wood.

I didn't take before pics of all these pieces :-( but think "PLAIN WOOD" - you get the picture. Here are some close ups of the finished look using some favourite French graphics from The Graphics Fairy. If you haven't discovered Karen's amazing array of antique graphics and vintage images, her blog is a must see. Images like the Chocolat Lombart on this recipe box below, 

The image on this French Country Blue tray below, I have used on a few of my pieces: serving trays, stools, chairs, and cushions.

And this French Boutique label was a great size for this little rustic box:

But WAIT! What about that tray with "Tea & Biscuits" etched into its sides??

I'm glad you asked - I KNOW, I thought the same thing - a little on the boring side!

So back to The Graphics Fairy, searching for just the right image (because French just would NOT suit this one)... I finally decided on a Union Jack - after all, what says "Tea & Biscuits" more than the Mother Country herself.

Bring out the Mod Podge! Now I usually do black and white images, but the antique colours on this Union Jack were perfect for a lovely aged look. Remember to print in reverse using your printer settings if your graphic has text, as the image will be placed facedown. Paint the image thoroughly with Mod Podge and lay facedown, smoothing out any wrinkles. Allow to dry totally - DON'T continue until it is dry. I usually leave overnight for best results.

When the mod podge has dried, wet your fingers or a sponge and GENTLY rub over the image. Effectively, you are removing the paper, leaving the image behind which sticks to the painted wood via the Mod Podge. If you rub too hard, the image may come off or the mod podge may tear away. This sometimes happens along the edges, but adds to the aged effect. In the picture below, you can see the whiter part in bottom left still has white paper backing I have not rubbed off yet.

Here it is all rubbed back. Allow it to dry again. You will notice a slightly "furry" surface as the paper has not totally disappeared or your image will disappear too. I sand this back when it is fully dry, carefully sanding around the edges too, so they don't stand out too much.

And here's me sanding SUPER fast - ;-)

I had sanded the edges of the tray and on bits of the surface to give it a shabby chic look, but the wood underneath was a light colour, so didn't stand out very much (I could have opted to stain bits of it beforehand, but I didn't think of that at the time). My solution was to add some dark wax to a cloth and rub it into the sanded bits where the wood is showing through. This gives a nice aged look. I then went over the entire piece with clear wax. I would normally cover it over with another coat of Mod Podge to seal in the motif, or you can use a polyurethane varnish (satin) to seal it instead (probably a more waterproof option).

Ta Da ... Here she is. Tea & Biscuits anyone??

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How to Make Bunting out of a Golden Book

Okay, so I'm not talking about your limited edition collectable vintage Golden Books, but there are plenty of reproductions that you can use for this little afternoon project, and you are not limited to Golden Books either.

So lets make some Bunting ...

Here's my book: Walt Disney's Dumbo

Get your exacto knife or Stanley knife and strip it down the left hand side of the inside pages to remove them all together.

Using a ruler, find the bottom centre and cut diagonally from the top left and top right sides to meet the bottom centre. You may have to cut a few times to get through all the pages.

I used about 2 metres of bias binding which comes in a range of colours from fabric stores. Lay out your pages and pin the bias binding folded over each page top, centring the pages across the entire 2 metres of binding.

Straight stitch across the entire bias binding.

Loop each end over and stitch to form a loop used to pin or hook the bunting to your wall.

And there you go! All ready to hang in the nursery or your child's room.

Here are some I made out of ANTIQUE OPERA SHEET MUSIC. Once you start, there are SOOO many options. I think I'll try an old atlas next!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

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http://stores.ebay.com.au/irestorestuffhomefurnishings

Antique Chair Makeover

This antique chair followed me home from The Rubbish Removers one day. I had always wanted to do an upholstered chair like this, so at $5, thought I couldn't go wrong with this little beauty.

(To see my youtube video of this restoration, click here)

 

Then I realised why it was such a bargain ... the little side bar piece between the front and back legs was missing on one side (see pics above and below). I'd been caught out like this before and thought I'd given it a good check over, but must've missed this slight detail.

While I thought about a nifty solution to my problem, I thought I'd get the upholstery done. I found some of the lovely Paris fabric I'd used for my other stool recently (which you can see here), and got to work covering the seat using my trusty staple gun.

Okay, now to deal with that missing part ... Measured up the dimensions of the one that was there and off I went to Bunnings to find me a piece of timber to fit.

Glad I took notice of my dad's sawing techniques as I was growing up, and my Grandpa, being in the building trade, might have taught me a trick or two. So look out!

TA DA!! I had some stain handy, which happened to match, which even though I'm painting this one, is important for the look of the chair when you are painting Shabby Chic style and sanding back to show the timber colour underneath.

So here it is, all ready for painting:

I love using chalk paint at the moment and make my own (since Annie Sloan CP is not available here) using a little plaster of Paris mixed in with regular semi-gloss interior paint. Here it is after 2 coats (no priming necessary when you use chalk paint):

THE FINISHED LOOK - after a bit of sanding to the edges and wearing parts, and popping the seat back in.

And here she is with some of her lovely Shabby Chic friends - aka, projects I've worked on.

Click here to see the little CD Rack shelf transformation.

And here for the tiny Milking Stool project.

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Play my youtube video below of this same restoration project.