Tag Archives: stencil

Shabby Chic Diamond Bench – Sold

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Just a plain ole bench. Nothing special but the solid construction.

But now it has pizzazz and character! I’ll show you my “how to”.

I first sanded the bench to remove any glossy top coat. There was no flaking or peeling of the finish so a light sanding sufficed. I then painted the bench using a creamy off-white color. I prefer to use eggshell as opposed to flat or satin.  I applied two coats of paint for complete coverage. The bench was now a blank slate. I was ready to begin.

This stencil from Hobby Lobby was my inspiration…

and this stencil paint was my color choice. Just a word about stencil paint. It has been my experience that the stencil paint “creme”  takes a over a week to dry.

Not a good thing when you are using it on furniture. You can use the type I have shown or use just regular paint. The secret is to keep the stencil sponge or brush fairly dry or it will seep under the stencil.

Use either a stencil brush or sponge, both work nicely.

It is important to tape the the stencil down to keep it from shifting. Shifty stencils are not nice stencils. I squeezed a small amount of paint onto my Styrofoam plate, then spread it around so it was not too heavy and dobbed away. You can “pounce” the brush or sponge or you can move it in a circular motion, just keep it fairly dry. It is rather time consuming but well worth the work.

The paint dried very quickly allowing me to break out the palm sander right away (my favorite part). I usually do my sanding by hand but I wanted to give this bench a really heavy, distressed, aged look. I used 100 grit sandpaper for all the detailing and then switched to 220 grit for a quick sanding of the diamonds.

After distressing the bench I finished up with a coat of mocha glaze, (see my posting on the turquoise armoire to see how this is applied). This further ages the piece.

I love it! What do you think? Be sure to “sign up” on my blog so you’ll be updated every time a new post is written. :)

Shabby Chic Polka Dot Chest -Sold

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Well, here’s the before picture. What a sad little chest. There were actually four drawers, but only three really nice ones. It was time to experiment. I decided to move the top drawer, (the decorative one) down one level. Now I had a very nice top cubby hole. Hmmm, I see potential here.

With solid wood construction and dove-tailed drawers, it would be worth the work needed to make it extraordinary. I envisioned something whimsical.

I was itching to get started, BUT, before I could do anything creative, I had to make a couple of repairs.

The sides of the chest near the bottom had some wood damage. With glue, new trim and clamps it was as good a new.

Next I prepared my cubby to receive a shelf. Existing side-drawer-guides were already in place, but I still needed a support at the back of the chest. This piece of wood was measured, cut, and screwed into place. I then used half inch plywood cut to size for my new shelf. I used an iron to apply real wood veneer to finish the raw outside edge of the shelf before painting and installing (see my Turquoise Wardrobe post for further details)

I gave the entire chest 2 coats of Gliddens, Satin, Sea Spray paint. Woo Hoo! NOW for the fun part.

With a ruler I marked the center of the drawer as well as the center of my polka dot stencil.  I aligned these two marks and taped the stencil to keep it from shifting. Shifty dots are not nice dots. :) I used a mixture of my sea spray paint and some pale yellow paint to stencil the dots. It is best to keep the brush on the dry side when stenciling. When the center section was completed, I moved the stencil over, aligning with the existing dots and continued stenciling until I ran out of drawers. (I like stenciling)

Next came the gentle art of distressing. I took my trusty 100 grit sandpaper and defined each and every edge on the chest to give it that time-worn look.

 The final step involved brushing a coat of Ralph Lauren’s Tea Glaze all over the chest. I love how it transforms the piece, giving it depth and character.

My finished Shabby Chic Polka Dot Chest. I really like it a lot. :)