Twinkle's babies are still all curled up in their nest. Even with their eyes opened now, they aren't ready to explore or do much but sleep and eat.
They are still living in a box in my bathroom at night, and come out to the studio with me during the day. As soon as they are big enough to need more space, the studio will become their full time home.
I haven't had a heck of a lot of time in the studio lately, with or without pups. I've been working on some indoor projects, plus celebrated Earth Day by buying 6 fruit trees to plant in the yard.
After that, I went with some friends to an Earth Day fashion show, where all the clothes were 2nd hand, redesigned or re-purposed. To my surprise, Sugarwing's Hippy Chic Mommy was in the show with her hula hoop group of performers. The whole show was more performance than fashion, really fun to watch, and kind of funky.
My big indoor project has taken a big chunk of the weekend, but now is done. I've repainted my dining table and chairs, along with a buffet to match (kind of). Its been something I've wanted to do for a long time, but hadn't had a chance to get around to it.
Of course, if I could just snap my fingers and have all the projects done at once, what kind of fun would that be? Its the journey of redoing and tweaking, and finding just the right piece or color that makes me do it, not really the finished product.
The buffet (hardware and all) got painted with bonding primer tinted gray. Then white washed with ivory glaze, and that was wiped off with a soft, damp cloth.
Then, I took the cloth with the white glaze on it, wadded it up, and patted the buffet, to make a marbled look. When dry, I sanded a bit here and there, not much, and clear coated it for protection.
Here is a little tutorial on how to paint distressed looking furniture:
Please note that the trick to doing this technique is to NOT BE PERFECT. All the little imperfections are what make the finish interesting.
I started with this factory finish from the 60's. Not bad, but not exactly to my taste. I wanted an older look and thought this dining set looked dated.
The first step was to brush on tinted gray bonding primer. I used Glidden Gripper. It came already tinted gray.
I used a cheapo, flat brush about 2 inches wide. Kind of bristly and rough.
The primer was brushed on in a messy way, not covering up the whole surface.
I'd recommend taping off the edges and covering fabric if you don't have a steady hand.
Second step same as the first, but with creamy white paint ( I use eggshell finish). Messy, uneven coverage is the trick!
Next, rough it up with sandpaper, as soon as it is dry to the touch. If you wait too long, you have to sand harder and it takes the paint off to the bare wood. I wanted the original colors of ivory and gold as well as my gray layer to show through.
After sanding here and there, cover with a top coat. I like Minwax Polycrylic. Its water based and goes on easy for a durable finish.
The table was done the exact same way, with one addition. Before putting on the top coat, I brushed it with a heavy coat of porcelain crackle glaze. Not the entire table top, just random strokes here and there.
I'll be on the look out for new accessories for the room and will have some after pictures to show you once I've finished. My favorite flea market is this week, so the timing is just right!
Here are some of the supplies that I used.
