Armoire Make Over, with an IOD Transfer

I have been eager to use one of the IOD Transfers I purchased about 6 months ago and have been looking for the perfect piece of furniture, I finally found this cute armoire in one of my local charity shops.  When I first saw it I was in a rush but managed to get back to the shop a couple of days later - hoping it would still be there, I was delighted, not only was it still there, but it had been reduced by £15! 

I scrubbed it thoroughly with a scourer and sugar soap, once it was dry I lightly scuffed the shiny surface with medium grit sand paper.  I decided on Fusion Mineral Paint - Cathedral Taupe, a lovely neutral beigey taupe colour.  I used a wax block around the edges and then gave it two coats of paint which covered the dark wood perfectly. Once the 2nd coat was dry I used a fine sanding sponge to rub back the paint on the edges, where I had used the wax block the paint easily rubbed away to reveal the wood underneath giving a nice distressed appearance. 

I waited a couple of days before adding my IOD Transfer.  I made sure I measured and marked the centre as I didn't want it to look lopsided.  It only took about 15 minutes to gently rub over the whole transfer with the little wooden spatula supplied with the transfer.   I was pleased how easy it was, being the first time I have ever used any kind of 'rub-on' transfer.

 Once it was in place I gently rubbed in some Fusion Beeswax and Hemp Oil Wax to seal my transfer.

 I am delighted with the result and can't wait to find some more projects to try some different designs.

This little Armoire will make a perfect addition to so many rooms, with 2 shelves inside there is plenty of storage and the door locks beautifully with the original key. 

CJ

Chest of Drawers with a Difference

 I fell in love with this unit, I just loved all the little extra touches - the shelf underneath and the cute little shelf on the top.  With all these details it could have so many uses.  I staged it for a bathroom, but you could actually use it in so many places in your home - in fact I think it would fit perfectly in ANY room!

 It started out a rather ugly orangey stain, although it had been pre-finished so I didn't think I would run into problems with the stain bleeding through. 

I decided to paint her with Fusion Mineral Paint in the colour Inglenook, which is a lovely soft blue/grey with a hint of green. I literally just gave it 2 coats for a perfect finish. 
I did change the drawers pulls, as I wanted to bring it up-to-date so I added some antique brass cup handles.

This 'little cutie' is now for sale at Lovingly Made, near Felbridge.

Rustic Wooden Box Makeover

 I've had this rustic wooden box a little while now - every time I went in the garage (where I keep my 'stash') I would look at it and say to myself  'I really must get that out and give it a make over' it didn't need a lot to turn it from a rough old box to a beautiful rustic storage box.

And... I was right - out came the vacuum cleaner, then a good rub down with some fine wire wool and white spirit.

 Once the white spirit was dry, I gave it a couple of coats of Miss Mustard Seed Antiquing Wax, then I dug out this great stencil which I have been wanting to try out for some time. I actually stencilled using black wax rather than a paint or dye, which worked well.

I just thought it was the perfect look for this box.

I have to admit if the box was slightly smaller I would have kept it, as I have a space I need to fill with a wooden storage box, and this would have been perfect, but alas it just didn't fit.

I did actually sell this box in 'superquick' time though to a lovely lady who was thrilled with it.

CJ

Vintage Carved Cabinet Overhaul

 

I got this cabinet from an antiques fair, it was sturdy and had "good bones" although there were a few little issues which I thought would fix easily, the main problem was the missing trim...but it soon became a major overhaul!



 



 

There was sticky vinyl paper stuck on the shelves which peeled off very easily, however it left a sticky residue which turned into a royal pain in the rear.  You can not paint over the stickiness as the paint won't adhere.  I used a product called "HG Sticker Remover" it is a chemical based product, which I don't like to use but I had no option. It dissolved the stickiness to an even stickier mess and I ended up scrubbing the shelves with fairy liquid and a kitchen scourer under the hot tap, thank goodness the shelves were removable! In future I will definitely avoid ANYTHING with sticky vinyl paper - be warned my friends you don't want to go there! 

 





 

For the missing trim issue I decided to try making a mould and cast a replacement using 'Fimo' Although it wasn't perfect it was perfectly fine once painted and I would definitely do this again. The pictures below show the 2 spots where the trim was missing.



 

 

 

 

Here's what I used and what the cast looked like, I made up the actual replacement trim in brown Fimo, and just stuck it in place with wood glue.  Looks a bit messy but once painted...


You'd be hard pushed to notice.

 

 

Issue No. 3 was the top, it was not sitting tightly on the base.  It had just been nailed on, so in my wisdom I thought it would be a 5 minute job to whip it off and re-nail it back on!  Not this time - there were hidden nails, bent nails and nails that went nowhere??? So it was out with my trusty drill and screws, which meant a lot more filling and sanding on the top, but at least I have a nice neatly fitting super strong top now.

 

 

Quite a transformation from the above picture, all thanks to Fusion Mineral Paint! I used Ash on the outside a dark charcoal grey and to contrast I chose Cathedral Taupe, which is a greyish beige, I think they pair together really well, what do you think?

 

I'm very pleased after all the hard work how this turned out, it's such a great piece of furniture and would be perfect for so many rooms in the house.

CJ





Pretty French Bedside Table



Inglenook was one of the first colours I tried in the Fusion Mineral Paint range (Coal Black being the first - you can see my first Fusion Project here.) Every time I have used Inglenook since,  each piece has sold very quickly and this pretty little bedside was no exception.

On our last trip to France I had a Bedside Table frenzy! and ended up with 7! so you may see a few more over the coming weeks!  I think this one was my favourite of the 7 as it was so dainty - in perfect condition and a perfect size for someone with a small space to fill.

I wiped her down with sugar soap to remove any grease and dust, very lightly rubbed over with medium grit sandpaper, and after 2 coats of Fusion Mineral Paint Inglenook she was transformed.

And...yes you guessed, she sold within a couple of days. 
CJ
https://www.bloglovin.com/@olivemaud

Painted French Bedside Table

I picked this bedside table up on my last trip to France - It's got a little bit of a quirky leg - all the legs are firm and the whole table is sturdy but the front left leg sits at a slight angle - looks likes she's about to do a curtsy!!
I wanted to try out a new Fusion Mineral Paint colour - Litchen which I have bought to paint a chest of drawers in my guest bedroom. If you have followed my blog for a while you'll know I love green, I wanted a lovely soft muted green and Litchen is exactly the colour I was after, I will share the chest of drawers once that is finished.

Here's the before pic, which I nearly missed as I had already started painting the drawer - nothing new for me - I'm always so eager to get cracking with the prepping and painting!

I didn't distress this piece straight away after painting - I got a bit distracted so when I finally got around to working on her again a few days later, I was concerned it was not going to work out how I wanted, but I was pleased this was not the case, and I managed to get some nicely distressed edges using some medium grit sandpaper.

I'm looking forward to using this colour again in my guest room - I have some fabric lined up for cushions which picks out the lovely sagey green of the Litchen - Fusion Mineral Paint.

 

 

CJ

https://www.bloglovin.com/@olivemaud

Fusion Mineral Paint Chiffonier

After about 2 years collecting dust in the garage I finally got around to painting this chiffonier,  I don't know why it took me so long to get cracking with it as it is an absolutely lovely piece of furniture, the detail is very appealing with the lovely barley twist side bars and the stunning ornate carving on the top.

 

 

Once I got it into my workshop, cleaned it up and prepped it, I knew straight away I wanted to use a very dark grey/charcoal colour.  Having previously used Fusion Mineral Paint "Coal Black" I thought I would try "Ash" - this is more charcoal and not absolutely pitch black, to offset the dark exterior I painted the inside with Cathedral Taupe, which was a great combination.

The secret drawer had a lovely wooden edge with a really gorgeous patina so I chose not to paint it, which worked really well.

Amazingly this piece sold within 20 mins! - Definitely one of my favourite projects to date.
 Think I'll go and check out what else is in the garage!
CJ
https://www.bloglovin.com/@olivemaud