Another Syracuse University Fan!

Here’s that rocking chair I've been squawking about all over town!  When I picked it up from my friend Karen’s second grade classroom it was, shall we say, in dire need of some lovin’!  Or maybe that was the problem it had been “LOVED” to death. I’m sure it had been in her possession for quite some time, either that or her second graders are a pretty rowdy bunch (which, if you've ever experienced a second grader, you know it's a distinct possibility). So, she contacted me for an upgrade and you all know I never shy away from a good challenge.

Let me tell you something about my friend Karen, she is an avid SU (Syracuse University) fan and every year, without fail, she incorporates "March Madness" into her lesson plans.  Now, most of the time SU makes it into the highly anticipated basketball tournament (most of the time, being the key word here) but that doesn't stop Karen's loyalty. So being the die-hard fan that she is, she wanted the chair to reflect her team spirit. BUT, other than it having the universities colors (orange, blue & white) and the school mascot (Otto the orange guy), she pretty much gave me artistic range.  I absolutely LOVE when people give me artistic range. First off, that word is just sexy to me “artistic range” sounds so chic and sophisticated.  Secondly, I love when people respect my judgment, my work, enough to say, “Hey I trust you. Do your magic girlfriend!” So I did, and this is how it turned out!

I think Karen was very pleased with the end result! She wouldn't even let the kids go near it! Hahaha! We’ll see how long that lasts!  Good thing we’re such good friends-she can always call me for touch-ups!

Here are the next two pieces on the chopping block.  These I got over the summer at a garage sale; $15 for the pair! FANFREAKINGTASTIC! I live for a good bargain.  And the best part of these two pieces is that they are going to be my design choice and my color choice, free artistic range at its finest!

Happy Holidays all! Have a joyous time with your families! I know I will. Peace!

Happy Painting! Mary

Syracuse University Chair

 As promised here is chair #2!  If you remember it started out looking like this:

 And ended up looking like this.

 How cute is this little guy?  He’s Otto, Syracuse University’s orange mascot. 

Just a quick note; I had someone ask me a really great question on how I do the stripes and here’s what I told her, maybe it’ll help, who knows, it’s just a little trick to make life easier.  We could all use easier, right? 

Once you have your tape in place (and you can use Frog Tape or Scotch Blue I really have no preference, they both work well. But I've found cheaper ones really stink, so get something more towards the top shelf) you will paint, your first coat, whatever your base coat is.  What happens is the first coat A.) Bleeds the most, so if you’re using the same color no one will see the bleed. B.) The first coat seals the tape not allowing more paint to bleed under. For instance in the case of this chair, I primed (let that sit a couple days), painted the rungs white (let that sit at least 48 hours) Then taped and painted white as my first coat between my tape lines.  Once dry I went back and painted blue (at least 5 coats).  Let that all sit over night and removed my tape the next day.  Now, like I told my friend this isn't full proof.  I did have SOME touch ups but not nearly as many as I would have (especially when doing a white/dark stripe).  We've used this technique on walls too and it really works.  I also let my tape sit over night before I pull it off which helps with less bleed and peeling. AND, I use Benjamin Moore Interior paints which helps because the paint is thick-the waterier it is the more bleeding can occur. 

So there you have it…Here's the next piece in Santa’s workshop…so look for "reveal" in the next week.

Again, this is going to be a Syracuse University inspired chair for my friends classroom!  So, get ready for some more orange and blue!

Happy Painting! Mary

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A Hand Painted Rocking Chair

When I was a little girl I had a very small rocking chair that had a tiny music box on the back.  Every night when I would get out of the tub my mother would wrap me in a big towel, twist the music box on the back and I would rock to Frère Jacques until I was dry. 

It was the first thing I thought of when I saw these chairs from Judy. She had saved them from when her kids where little (the smaller one was actually her husband’s). She wanted them re-painted to match her new grandchildren’s bedrooms.

The smaller one had a music box on it too, but it had long stopped working, so it had to be removed. We patched the holes, sanded some chipping and primed the entire piece.

She wanted to have it match the wallpaper border that they were hanging in the room.  I loved the monkey, so I chose him for the focal point. I used transfer paper to lay down a basic outline then painted it in with the colors that matched the border.

Then I put the funky alligator on the back.

I also added 3 circle appliqués to the head rest just to bring in some color.

Then tricked out the runners with checks and polka dots.

On the next chair we had to remove an old laminated plastic cover that had been tacked on with thumb tacks. Then we primed it. 

Painting the tiny rings took FOREVER….ARGH!!!!! I was going to rip my hair out! Especially with navy blue on white! I left the seat plain because she was making a cushion and pillow for the back of the chair out of fabric that matched the paint.

Well, besides these custom orders we were busy getting ready for Plowshares, which was amazing by the way! Not only did we see great (old) friends but made some new ones as well! Plus, we sold a lot of "stuff" and came away with even more custom orders!

But what really has been mind blowing is our online store! Our Etsy store has been off the charts! If you've never checked out our store, please do so!  About a month ago I said to Maggie, "I might take the jewelry boxes out of the shop, because I'm not sure they're selling as good as I'd hoped."  All of a sudden, as if someone had heard me, orders came pouring in! I just mailed out the last one yesterday, just in time for Christmas!-FEW!

As I wrap up 2011, I want to thank you so much for all your support this past year! For reading this blog, for your wonderful comments (you always give this chic a much needed ego boost!) and especially for inspiring me! I follow many of you and find great inspiration on your blogs as well! Have a fantastic holiday and here’s to a rocking, prosperous, CREATIVE, New Year! Oh yeah, that's a wine glass clinging in the back ground-cheers-baby!

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Funky Functional Art

I saw this idea once on another blog (it was a while ago and I don’t remember where I saw it otherwise I would give props I swear and if you have it on your blog please connect the link somehow) and always thought it would be cool to transform an old frame into a family organizational center ever since then. So when I saw this single mirror, unattached from its dresser at the local Rescue Mission, I knew I had to have it! At $5 it was total steel!

The first thing we did was remove the backing. Then we popped out the mirror and replaced it with luan.  We chose Luan plywood because it is more lightweight then regular plywood and since the frame itself is heavy we wanted to elevate any extra weight wherever we could.

Just a side note:  Lowes is really nice about cutting the wood to your specific measurements, so if you don’t have the equipment at home to cut it just have them precut the wood for you and it’ll be already for you to insert when you get home.

Okay another side note: The next time I do this project I think I will paint the board separately from the frame then attach the two pieces at the end but we were so excited to see how it looked put together that we assembled it first. This made it harder to paint along the inside edge, for both the frame and chalkboard. Dugh?!

After one coat of primer we applied two coats of Benjamin Moore Baja Dunes as the base coat to the frame and waited for it to thoroughly dry before we began the faux.

So while that was drying we started on our magnet/chalkboard. Before we had screwed the wood on we did manage to sand it down smooth but did forget to prime...oops! LOL! Can you tell we were excited about this! I’m surprised I remembered the pictures! Grrrr! Don’t you hate when you do that, forget a step!

ANYWAY!  The surface was smooth and the first coat (of 4) of the magnetic paint went on nicely. It took many coats of magnetic paint to create enough hold to secure even the thinnest magnet, even though the directions say 2 coats are enough. If you wanted to use larger magnets I’m thinking you would have to apply even more coats of the paint. And you can only use one coat of regular paint/chalkboard paint over the top because that too cuts down on its magnetism.

After a couple hours the frame was dry and I decided to start on the faux. I went back in with Ralph Lauren Glaze in Tea Stain ($3 on sale @ Home Depot, which stopped caring it so I grabbed the last cans they had!)  and distressed it. Honestly, it looked okay, but I wanted something darker I think, so I went in with actually stain for a more richer, deeper discoloration. I dipped my rag in Minwax (Mahogany) and rubbed that into the sunburst and around the edges for a more weathered look. Then I took gold & bronze Artists Metallic paint and dry rubbed that over the tops of the sun bursts only, just for added effect.

Have you ever used Google Translate? I love it! You just type in a word, a statement, poem or phrase and translate it into one of 20 different languages. I wanted to bring some of the black into the top of the piece to balance out all the black in the middle and bottom, so I thought a cool French statement across the top wood be just the thing I needed. “Life is a Journey” was the statement I chose and once I traced it on the top I painted it in with black paint balancing it all out.

Once the outside was finished we put the last coat of chalkboard paint on the center and conditioned it.

Third and final side note (promise!): If you don’t condition your board the first thing you write on the chalkboard will be “burned in” so to speak.  Although you’ll be able to wash it off you’ll always be able to see it on the board. So here’s how you condition: Take any old piece of sidewalk chalk and rub it all over the entire surface of your chalkboard. Make sure that you cover every inch thoroughly with the chalk. Once that’s done take a wet cloth and wipe it clean.

Now onto the bling! I bought a bunch of different knobs from Hobby Lobby (when they where half off). I staggered them in style and size along the bottom to create a “just found” look. I chose smaller knobs to offset the hook on the side for extra storage.

Once we screwed the knobs in we discovered we needed to cut the back off of the screws in order for the frame to lay flush against the wall. Heavy duty wire cutters did the trick.

In order to hang this piece the hardware had to be strong.  It did not have hardware from its previous life as a mirror so we had to put our own on the back. We drilled 2 hooks (eye screws) into the back of the frame and ran heavy duty wire through them, securing it around each loop.

We now have a fantastic, functional piece of art for the home that can cost you next to nothing to make.  The magnet & chalk board paint are on the more expensive side ($20.00 per qt.) but you only use a little bit for this project and will have plenty left over for many other crafty things. So, get creating people! I know I can’t wait to make another organizational center again, just picked up another lonely mirror this weekend!

Happy Painting!

Mary

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