CRAFTS

This summer I went to a yard sale down the street and found this old wooden chair that was old and worn, and someone had chopped the legs off super short.  But somehow I feel in love with the weird little thing and brought it home to call my own.

First I scrubbed it clean with a scrub brush and hot water.  It sat on my front step for a few days looking kind of plain. That is when I decided to BE BOLD… and spray paint it (you can tell I live a pretty boring life when turquoise spray paint is me living on the edge).  I was a little worried as I did not know how it would turn out, and I did not want to ruin it… after all it was a pricey $3 investment .

 So singing the smurf jingle “la la, la la la la” I started to paint my chair a pretty shade of blue.  Starting with the bottom first to try and get my amazing spray painting skills perfected before I did the top where people could see my painting skills.

Since the chair was old and weathered it absorbed a lot of paint in the spots that the finish had been worn off.  But I loved the distressed look to I left it like that.

 After it dried I took a sanding block to it, and started to sand down the edged where it would naturally be worn.

I was starting to feel more “Martha Stewartish” with every passing second.  But still in the back on my mind wondering if this turquoise chair was going to turn out or not.

Next I tested a few different stains on the bottom of the chair (where no one will see them, unless they turn the chair upside down) it is a good thing I did because the first two stains I used did not look good at all.  One was way to black and the other was red and clashed with the blue. I was just using what we had in the garage left over from other projects.

I got lucky and found this Minwax stain the color was just what I was looking for.  I brushed it on, let it set a few minutes then I would rub it back off with a clean rag (use an old rag because it will ruin it).  The stain helped to restore that aged look, and show off the years of wear the chair had been thru.  But now it had a fancy new color as well…. It is kind of like when your Grandma gets false teeth, same adorable Granny but with a jazzy new smile

 Next I put on a vinyl letting that said Welcome, sprayed it with a clear coat and I was done.  It now sits happily on my front step with a plant on it, and I have to say I am glad I was feeling bold… because I LOVE the way it turned out!

Tagged as: CRAFTS, DIY, DIY Chair UpCycle, Martha Stewartish