In spite of the storm tonight I did make progress on a project that Hubby thought up! When all is said and done this project will cost 25 cents!
Category: chalkboard paint on furniture
Visiting Facelift Furniture
This past weekend we visited Facelift Furniture in College Station, Texas. I am so proud because I planned a trip for the social planner, Tanis and our husbands. Planning a trip is not what I am known for. Facelift Furniture is a business opened in 2011. I discovered them when searching the Internet for repurposed furniture near us. I am so glad I ran across his web page, and then his Facebook page
I recently purchased his ebook too… I sound a little like a creeper here, but I promise, I am just a fan of his work!
Facelift Furniture is located in the back row of a group of industrial buildings, so don’t let the GPS fool you like ours did.
2151 Harvey Mitchell Pkwy S #329, College Station, TX 77840
Open 8-5 MWF, 8-4:30 TTh
I lifted this information straight from Jeff’s web page because I could not say it any better:
Facelift Furniture specializes in furniture restoration. We love getting creative with dated, worn down and ugly pieces of furniture, transforming them into valued pieces for any size or type of room. These transformations are made using latex enamel paint, glaze, and distressing techniques. We sell finished pieces, and furniture you can select to be painted. We can also upstyle your furniture!
My goal in going was just to get ideas, see the quality of work he did and hopefully get to see the great colors he uses. I love his turquoise pieces and the green he uses. Jeff was so gracious. He gave us the grand tour and answered a million questions for me.
The photos above are from the show room.
Now on the way to College Station Tanis mentioned that she was looking for a large buffet type piece for the Rocking F Ranchito. In the spirit of full disclosure, I advised my buddy to wait until she moved in to make sure that once she saw the space she could get what she wanted. My social planner is one stubborn chick! Within ten minutes of arriving I could tell that Jeff had a new fan. Within 15 minutes he was clearing out a path in his work area so that we could see a long unpainted dresser that he thought would work for the space.
I knew as soon as I saw it we would be returning to pick up the painted piece in a few weeks. After much deliberation, the deep red that Jeff calls chili red was selected. It really will be perfect in the Ranchito and add that “pop” of color the house needs.
I would like to thank Jeff for allowing us to see the projects under way right now, answering my questions, and best of all, giving me a reason to go back in the end of February to shop. I love the way he repurposes old cabinet doors and into hat racks and chalkboards, but I especially liked ethe way that he repurposes old chair backs and headboards into hat racks. I did not photograph any of the furniture he has in his shop or projects under way because I know that he will be posting them himself. Please take a look at his amazing work. I hope one day that what I do looks as good as his. Oh… buy his ebook. It is really easy to read and he provides a great material list and even shares the colors he uses.
Update: Here is the finished piece via cell phone camera.
Painting an Armoire for the Yellow and Gray Bedroom
We have an armoire that has been around for 28 of our 30 married years. It started life as unassembled, unfinished pine furniture we bought when our sweet daughter joined the family. It then moved into the boy’s room when he decided to join us four years later. It has had some rough treatment over those years. A few years ago the social planner and her husband needed a place for their tv at their lake house so it moved in with them for a while. I really had no plans to ever get it back but the social planner sold their lake house in preparation for the permanent move they will be making to Coldspring. They brought the armoire back to us about a month ago. I immediately thought it needed to be part of the yellow and gray bedroom. It was small, solid wood, and most importantly, FREE. It came back painted red over blue with fish knobs.
I decided it needed to be painted black and I wanted it to have a little moulding added.
I found some 70’s hardware at a resale shop for $4.00 but it needed to be jazzed up. I painted it silver but that was a bit bright for the room so it got a glaze to tone it down.
I read in Mandy’s (Altard) e book that her favorite black is chalkboard paint. That was a great suggestion because I already had some to use at no cost. Yeah!
I think it turned out great and it is going to become a craft cabinet as soon as I can work on the guts. I have a rescued bulletin board and dry erase that will be going into the inside panels of the doors. I just need to finish the room and get the rest of the house cleaned up for the holidays.
By the end of next weekend I should have the room finished except the curtain on the window. Thanks to Pinterest, I know what I want but it looks like I have to make it because I can’t find it. I did get a lot done this weekend
DIY Framed Chalkboard
Project number two from the weekend was to turn a frame that Sweet Amanda and her mom found at a thrift store into a chalkboard. That girl is quite the thrifter! She found an amazing gilded frame in the trash that will make an appearance at the wedding and I think she paid $3.00 for this one:
The frame was in overall good shape. I believe it once held a large mirror and is made out of particle board. It is HEAVY! There was some damage to the front of the frame that allowed the particle board to show through in a couple of places.
Sweet Amanda plans on having her wedding program written out on the chalkboard as everyone enters the wedding chapel so she wanted it to be fancy yet rustic/vintage… just her style. I could not figure out how to fix the damage to the front of the frame without totally redoing the finish…so I repainted and refinished it. I sure wish I were more talented and could have just touched it up but it would have not looked right with my lack of skill.
Between showers I laid the frame outside and got out spray paint. I am not the best spray painter in the world. I tend to spray too much in one spot. I really focused on thin even coats of gold spray paint this time. I also had some shiny silver paint in the cabinet so I very lightly sprayed a coat of the silver over the gold.
The frame looked a little scary at this point. I had visions of having to call Sweet Amanda to tell her I ruined the frame.
After the frame dried and before the rain came, I brought it in to the Garagemahal. The frame is really divided into four concentric rectangles so I decided to work on applying the antiquing glaze one whole rectangle at a time.
Working with such deep detail on a large frame meant really working fast. Even as humid as it was the glaze dried quickly. I use cut up t shirts to wipe off the excess because the cotton really seems to pick up any puddles and it allows me to get into the small spaces. I have two t shirt towels going at one time. One is for the first wipe over and it is really gross, the other is for the second wipe over and is more clean. When the second rag starts to get dirty I demote it to the first wipe over rag and get a new second rag.
After I finished the entire frame, I went back over everything at one time with a fresh rag… really rubbing hard. Some gold and some silver shows through the glaze.
I loved the results. The frame really does look like an old plaster frame for $7.00 in gold paint and left over silver paint I would have to say the frame was a success.
The next step was to make the chalkboard part. Hubby cut a piece of hardboard to fit the frame on his table saw. We buy tons of hardboard. It comes in 4 X 8 by 1/8 sheets and costs about $8.00 a sheet. I use it to put backs on furniture we recycle, I paint on in like canvas and about a million other uses. I primed the hardboard with Kiltz primer before I started painting on the chalkboard paint. I bought Rustoelum chalkboard paint in a can to use and got out the foam roller and small paint tray. My advice is that if the chalkboard you are making is small, go with the spray paint version. The paint on version of the paint was a pain in the neck. I wanted the finish to be smooth so I rolled on thin layers of the paint. It took 4 coats to get the finish I could tolerate and it is still not perfectly smooth.
The picture above is after coat number one.
After the chalkboard paint dried over night I put the board into the frame. We were really lucky here, the frame had some easy to use tabs that made putting the board in a snap. I was pleased with the results. According to the directions, I have to wait three days for the paint to cure then condition the chalkboard by rubbing the entire board with chalk then wiping it off. After that it will be ready for use. I will make sure to post a picture from the wedding.
On the Internet there are several crafters who have posted making their own chalkboard paint by adding un-sanded powered grout to regular latex paint. I may try that down the line.
TADAH! At the wedding. Not bad for a resale find.
