Do you ever start a project and somehow it evolves into a way different finish than you were initially imagining?! That’s how this little framed bird table project was for me!
Hi! Liz here, from the DIY shop Redo Your Furniture (aka Frame and Frills) where I stock and sell, both online and in-person, all sorts of great DIY products. I’m going to share with you how I used some of these products for this table transformation, (I put in convenient shopping links back to Frame and Frills as I mention each product in this post). Here’s how this project started:
I found this table and thought it would be a great starter project for someone. (I have a literal stockpile of pieces for potential clients. When they purchase one of these found pieces, they receive a gift card to the Frame and Frills shop to get them on their ‘re-doing furniture’ way! It’s a fun way to help people learn how to redo furniture).
No one purchased this little table, I think because it was so plain, so I decided it’d be a good one to show an example of how adding a simple mould, (there are several styles of moulds in the shop) can add character to a plain piece.
As I was washing the table with Fusion TSP Alternative, I realized I didn’t love the chunky trim around the bottom. So I pulled that off, filled the nail holes and sanded the whole piece.
Next was to attach a new back for the table.
After my husband found a scrap from a discarded piece of furniture, and cut it to fit the back, I realized that scrap piece of fake wood had some sort of coating on it. I’ve found that the best way to remove coatings like wax, silicone, factory coatings is with a scrubbing of Fusion Odorless Solvent.
After I wiped the odorless solvent residue away with the lint free shop rag, (I use the paper disposable ones) Then I rewashed the piece with Fusion TSP Alternative to further remove any residue.
On a side note… I carefully properly dispose of all rags etc. soaked in any solvent based products, like Odorless Solvent and Stain and Finishing Oil. When each soaked rag leaves my hand, I immediately place it into a ziploc bag of water, never allowing myself to accidentally forget a soaked rag to self-ignite!
Next step in prepping this piece was to prime it. Although Fusion Mineral Paint doesn’t require primer, sometimes the piece itself does!
I couldn’t identify what type of wood this table was, but the sawdust was reddish…not as reddish as mahogany, but redder than maple…maybe cherry? Whatever it was I primed it with Bin shellac-based primer to ensure no tannins from the wood would bleed through. (at the time of that decision, I thought I was going to be painting it a light color. If I knew at the get-go the way this project would end up, I wouldn’t have bothered to Bin it. But, oh well, it didn’t hurt anything priming it)
The newly cut board for the back of the table was covered in some sort of plastic feeling finish, so after the solvent scrubbing and tsp alternative washing, I wiped on a thin layer of Fusion Ultra Grip, a fantastic bonding agent. A thin coat is all it takes and it’s best if you can leave it to cure at least 12 hours before painting over.
Painting!
I started with a way different idea than where I landed… and guess what? As I got into a mad creative frenzy, I totally forgot to take any pics if this step! But I’ll try to explain how I got to this point…
Going over a dry coat base of Bayberry on the entire side, (Renfrew Blue has a clear base, so doesn’t have great coverage, but the color is sooo yummy! The base of Bayberry under it helps with that clear base)
- I first misted the side with the continuous spray mister of water.
- Then I liberally covered the top section of the side with Renfrew Blue, using a brush just for the blue.
- and immediately covered the lower section with Bayberry, again with it’s own designated brush.
- Then using a third ‘blending brush’, while the Renfrew Blue and Bayberry were still wet, with the Staalmeester One Series #07 brush I blended the two colors together blurring the line where one color started and the other ended. (I had tried several different brushes: natural, synthetic and blended brushes, but by far, this One Series brush blended it the easiest!)
- Keeping the paint wet with the mister, and a lint free rag handy, to wipe any excess paint off the blending brush, I went across the line back and forth, bringing a little blue down and a little green up.
I am by no means a blending expert… I have blended a few projects and am always pleased with the outcome… but there is always a few layers to get there. The more I do it, the easier it is becoming.
The whole idea of a blended paint technique is to totally blur the lines from one color changing to the next. The closer related colors, the easier this technique is.
After the blended paint treatment was totally dry, I wanted to add some age a/k/a grunge to it.
One way to do this is just simply by sponging on some paint.
I poured out some Chocolate, Coal Black and Algonquin colors. Dipped my sponge in and patted/mixed some off onto a rag then dabbed it around where I felt an aged dirt layer would make sense, like the bottom edges.
The final treatment to the sides was adding a stencil.
(For more details on how to stencil, check out this post I wrote!)
I love the juxtaposition of grunge and glamour!
That grungy background contrasted with a metallic Bronze stencil look great to me.
Now, to add some character to the front.
I made a set of resin moulds using the Sicily Frame mould and the Amazing Casting Resin, (yes, I have that in stock too). Making resin moulds is super easy! Just mix equal parts of the resin mixtures into a silicone cup, stir for a short time, then pour into the moulds and let it sit for about 20-30 minutes.
The silicone mould easily releases the resin moulded pieces.
The fine detail of the moulds is really amazing!
A quick coat of Fusion metallic Bronze on the moulded piece before attaching to the drawer front.
When I was painting the drawer front, I painted the inside of the frame in a mix of Renfrew Blue and Lamp White for the background color then applied some transfer scraps, layering to create a tiny vignette.
Yes, I save every scrap, twig and leaf left over from a transfer project for such a time as this! The bird and branches came from 2 different transfer packages. I love how the bird looks hand painted! It came from this Forest transfer. The Botanical Paradise transfer is perfect for filling in bits like these little branches.
The moulded resin is a bit pliable when it first comes out of the mould. So if you had a not perfectly flat piece of furniture, or even wanted to go around a corner, you’d want to glue it on immediately and manipulate it to bend around your furniture while it’s still able to be bent.
To glue it on, I like to use Titebond Quick and Thick. I use a junky artist brush to spread it on the back of the mould and press it into place, painter’s tape is handy to hold it there until dry.
The vintage bronze drawer knobs replaced the plain wooden ones that were on the piece when I got it. At first, I was going to paint them, but realized these were pretty much the perfect color and fun ‘fancy’ style, so no need to reinvent the wheel.
Oh, and the table top…
I sanded all the old finish off and applied Fusion Stain and Finishing Oil, (SFO) by liberally brushing on, letting it sit about 10 minutes to soak in, then thoroughly wiping off all the excess, (I love using those same lint free paper shop towels for this too).
That first coat of SFO was the color Cappuccino.
The next day, after the first coat of SFO was totally dry, (usually takes 12-24 hours) I applied a second layer of SFO in Natural, which has no added pigment, just adds a bit of sheen. This 2nd coat, I brushed on, then using an ultra fine sanding pad, I wet sanded the SFO onto the top, then let it soak in for about 5-10 minutes. Finally, I again wiped all the excess off. (To learn more about wet sanding, check out this video post showing how and why I wet sand)
Now that it’s dry, that wet sanding created a buttery smooth finish.
The drawer sides received a stencil in Bayberry, then a single coat of Cappuccino SFO.
Some clear wax buffed on the sides and bottom of the drawer ensure smooth sliding.
So what I thought was going to be a cottage-y light colored finish evolved into a dark moody Boho finish… but I kinda love it, and I hope someone else does too… It’s available for sale until gone.
Thanks so much for stopping by! Please feel free to follow and share this blog with your friends, as well as on Facebook, Pinterest, Flipboard, Bloglovin, YouTube and Instagram! I appreciate you reading along.
You can also find me at my shop, Frame and Frills, stocked with amazing DIY products like Fusion Mineral Paint, Stencils, Roycycled, Redesign with Prima and Mint by Michelle decoupage papers, ReDesign with Prima Transfers and more! You can shop in person or online here: FrameandFrills.com
Here are more posts from my DIY blog about redoing something:
