The Long Awaited Table

This table was so much fun to do! From the moment I saw it I knew I'd love painting it. This was actually the second table, in a couple of tables they had given me, and although a bit more labor intensive then the first, I didn't care because the end result was pretty cool.

The first one I did for them was a smaller table. Per their request I used the same color palette.

  The Miniature Table For Two was an easier transformation compared to its larger counterpart

But I was certainly up for the challenge.  This table had great character and I was looking forward to  expanding on it.  

After priming it two times  I actually took it apart to start the painting process. 

I started with the base first then graduated to the top. 

When I first started I THOUGHT  I knew exactly what I wanted to do on the top, that was until I painted the base. It was then that I realized it was taking me in a completely different direction. This, crazy as it sounds, is when a piece just tells ME how it wants to be painted.

As I started painting the top Graphics Fairy came to mind. 

This website is a virtual GOLDMINE for anyone looking for free, really cool, clip art.  I could spend hours looking around there and find tons of inspirational graphics for furniture I was doing now and future pieces I had yet to conquer.  This is how I knew I wanted to put a vintage label on this piece, because while on the website researching another table awhile back, I came across this label.  

Once I printed it out on plain regular printer paper I used a projector to transfer the item to the top. I then used a white colored pencil to trace it out and a black Deco Art pen to color it in.  I then outlined the swirls in a gold metallic pen because I felt it added a bit of interest and contrast to the black and burgundy. 

When I had originally painted the top, I had painted the entire thing burgundy, but in the end changed my mind and opted for the infamous quarterly checks instead. I guess I wanted the sides to be different from the rest of the table, because when the sides were down I wanted the eyes to move all over the piece, instead of them just blending in. 

I was really pleased with how it turned out.  I think Mike & Joann will be too.

Just a quick note, I have recently joined the team of PaintNite Syracuse 

And will start instructing events in April!  I can't wait to share my passion of painting with others.  It's a very unique opportunity and I look forward to seeing some familiar faces out there in the audience.  You don't have to have creative bone in your body! So I don't want to hear any excuses! All you need is an open mind and willingness to have fun. I guarantee you will walk out with a fabulous picture to hang in your home and a lot of fun memories.  And I'll warn you now,  once you do one, you'll want to do it again, and again, it's that much fun!

Remember to

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Personalized Gifts For You

Christmas season is the busiest time of year for me.  I love all the unique gifts that people come up with; original, personalized gifts, for family and friends.  My friend Eva asked me to create a couple of just such items.  

This style table is one I have readily available. As a matter of fact I have created a couple different designs on this very surface.  Here's a couple of past posts

Sticks, Pinning & No Sewing Involved

Martini Time

She had seen this particular table 

and had asked if I could possibly do it in purples and greens. Being the accommodating lady that I am I said, "Yes!"  So, this was her first table:

Maybe, you recognized this faux from this recent post?  I used the same greens in this armoire to                             create a mossy styled faux for the backdrop of this flowered cat.

Her second table was for her daughter's boyfriend who was an avid Boy Scout.  She sent me their emblem and asked if i could recreate it on a table.  Being the accommodating lady that I am, I said....yep, you got it, "Yes!"

I hope y'all get/got some pretty creative and interesting gifts this holiday season!  

Stop on over to our Etsy Shop and see all the wonderful new items we have. I encourage you to bookmark our page and come back to create your own personalized gifts at some point in time. We are adding new things all the time. 

Or stop by our Pinterest page or Instagram for some creative inspiration.  

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

Sexy Legs

I'm sure this title will probably get me some not so sexy hits on the Google search Engine, but as they said in Advertising 101, "Sex Sells!"  So, with that said, let me introduce to you, my idea of a sexy leg!

I can spot a sexy leg from miles away.  Even driving by something on the side of the road at 55mph, my eye immediately goes right to the legs.  If the legs aren't sexy, chances are I'm not going to be excited about a piece.  Who's with me here?! Okay, no one...I think I just heard a cricket?  Well maybe, I have some weird fetish, but good legs turn me on.

When this piece was dropped off to me, I could hardly contain myself, "What a leg!"  The curves, the thickness, it was beautiful. Sigh....just take a moment.  Call me crazy people but it was swoon worthy.

I usually start at the top of a piece and work down, but this time I built up.  I had my color palette. The customers front entrance was a taupe/brown color, her front door black, but she wanted this piece to make a statement.  She told me reds, greens, browns.  Of course it was perfect because I was feeling some "Fall" colors coming on.  

Now, for just a moment, look past the legs here and bare witness to my shelf of paints!  Some people are crazy cat people, me, I collect paints.  That is only the corner, it runs the whole length of the wall, onto the floor and into every crevice of the studio.  Seriously, when I say I love paint...I LOVE PAINT.  Anyway, I digress, back to the legs.  

After I base coated them out I went back in with gold metallic paint.  These legs seemed almost regal to me, and a gold accent always amps it up.

This is the best metallic out there, at least for me.  I've used a lot, but this one is thick and takes the least amount of coats to get the desired look.

The top part of the leg was painted brown and a little blah, for my taste.  Even after I painted a design on it, I still wanted it to have more visual interest, so I crackled it.  

I buy a crackle paint that goes on top of a piece.  Then you let it set, and as it sets it cracks.  

Or if you are impatient like me, you blow dry it.  What you get are these tiny little cracks (or larger, depending on the amount you brush on).  It almost gives the effect of porcelain. Here a some pieces I've done this technique on in the past.

The Checker Table  

Spring Inspired Table

A Peace Offering

Stars & Stripes

The Leopard Print Table

You get the point.  The thing is, this is a fast and easy way to give character to a piece.

You brush it on in a well ventilated area, unless you like getting high on fumes.

 Blow dry it.  It only takes minutes to set up

Then you see the cracks appear. It's really kinda cool.  If you spread it on in different directions you get cracks going in different directs (see how that works).  Once I have the cracks I want, I take some stain, rub it into all those little cracks, and get that beautiful aged look we love so much.

Okay, so we've got the sexy legs going on, now for the top.   Over the past years, I feel my art work is evolving into a more folky, indy, type of art. Like this cedar chest and this podium or this end table.  I like the flower patterns, circles and pointillism if you will.  You kind of just keep adding and going deeper into your piece, until someone has to come in and slap you into reality. I felt this piece was calling for that slap worthy kind of style.

I laid out the basic design first.  I just used stencils that I cut out of manila folders (love manila folders-but that's a whole other post) and traced around them.  I'm a planner to a degree, I don't usually just PAINT I always draw out my design first.

The end result were these bold, detailed flowers. Once the flowers were finished though I knew the perimeter needed something, but I didn't want it to compete with the inner part, so i opted for a scrolling design (caring your eye gently around the piece) in a very similar color, making the design, very subtle.  

Then I brought in stripes around the underneath part.  Using a credit card to smooth down the tape is a fabulous idea!  NO BLEEDS!

A lot of this piece was done in monotone colors, to create visual impact without really taking away from the focal point, which was the flowers.  

In that spirit, I added light brown circles to an espresso brown drawer and added a new knob (which I changed out for a handle as you can see in the below pictures).   Slapped on a cute tassel for bling and here's the final piece, sexy legs and all.

So there you have it...I guarantee after this post  you wont look at furniture legs without a little smile on your face.  You'll think of me and say. "She's right, those are damn sexy legs!"

Happy Holidays!