2 Old Tool Boxes Re-Loved

 

Well it's been a little while since I managed a post to the Shabby Blog but I promise, I have been painting things, Life is just very busy at the mo ;)

Today I am sharing a couple of old wooden tool boxes I picked up a few weeks ago.

I love boxes like this, not only do they look great once painted up but they also tell a story and you get a real sense of their History.

The larger box is an old Carpenters box complete with pull out drawer.

After giving both boxes a really good dust and clean the handles were removed before painting. I did this very carefully as all the fittings are original and I didn't want to strip threads/damage heads etc on any of the bolts, the catches were left in place and cleaned up with my Dremmel with a steel brush head.

 

The Smaller box was given a couple of coats of Decoarts Chalk Finish Paint in Primitive, once dry the box was sanded back till I reached a level of distress I was happy with. I used the Decoart Chalk Finish Stencil and applied my stencil with their  Everlasting (white) Chalk Paint.

A couple of coats of the Satin Varnish were added to give a nice soft sheen to the finish and to protect the paint.

 

 

 

Now the larger tool box is my fave. I really love how this came out and this one will be staying with me. When I got this box the handle had completely rotted away and needed to be replaced. Luckily I have found a Tanner with a workshop not to far from me. Instead of buying a new handle I actually made a new handle myself under his tutelage, I think this may be one of the reasons I like the box so much, learning new skills is always fun and I am over the moon with the result. I'm looking forward to going back to learn more leather working skills. I knew I wanted to paint the box with the Blues so my handle was made with Brown leather rather than black as with the darker wood showing through the distressing I thought it would be a better colour match.

The Blues from the Decoart Chalk Paint range I used were Treasure First followed by Legacy and then sanded back. Again I used the Satin Varnish to finish off, The Satin Varnish really makes the blues pop and almost look electric.

 

 

And of course, I had to include a before picture.

 

As always a great big thank-you for stopping by. I will try not to leave it so long between posts on here. xx



Lots Of Shabby Goings On New Shabby Shop and Shabby Items

 

Sorry for the absence, so much going on in the land of Spesh-Chic and I am finally getting round to writing things up and sharing lots of pics.

A couple of months ago I decided to take the plunge and open a store at the New Christchurch Emporium in Dorset.

So far so good and I am soon to be holding regular Shabby Chic/ up-cycling workshops.

As well as workshops I am also stocking the Decoart Chalk Finish Paint and Sencils.

Items are being added all the time and there are over 100 other stalls at the emporium so If you are local it's well worth stopping by.

 Now for a few pieces I have been working on recently.

 

 

This old table was given a freshen up using Decoarts Chalk Finish Paint 'Romance' before lots of heavy distressing and being sealed with Their clear wax.

 

 

This little box was painted with Vintage and stencilled with Relic before being distressed.

 

Thanks for stopping by. Ill be sharing some newly painted pieces soon.

If you want details of the Classes please drop me a line.

 

 

 

A New Chair and Chalk Paint For Glass

 

 Afternoon and thanks for stopping by. Today I am sharing a couple of things, the first is a new chair,Now you may have notices I love to paint chairs and this year at the Stitches Trade Show I supplied all the hand painted pieces of furniture for the Decoart Stand this included the table and chairs that were used for the customers to sit and chat about placing their orders or any other questions they had regarding the Decoart products. This was finished the night before the show in the hotel room ( I needed to upholster the seat ) Like the black chai from a couple of posts back I kept things clean and simple and gave the char a couple of coats of Decoarts Home Deocor

in Relic, I think this is my fave colour in the range, when you add the clear wax or satin varish over the top the grey just looks beautiful. I used the Wax as I love the soft feel it has once dry.

The material was picked up at John Lewis and is part of the Sanderson dandelion clock range.

The grey in the material is a nice match and the bright pop of orange really stands out.

 

The second share are these little glass bowls from Ikea.

 

 

These were the make and takes I did at the show on the first day to introduce people to the Chalk Finish Paints for Glass. There are 8 colours available at the moment, more of the subtle shades but latter this year Decoart will be releasing a handful of the brighter shades. This paint has been formulated so you can bake it in the oven and make it dish washer safe.

I would like to say a great big thank you to all that stopped by and said hi or took part, I would also like to thank Decoart for having me back again this year, so much fun and it was great catching up with the faces I know from blog land and face book.

 

Thanks as always for stopping by.

I have recently started a Facebook Page and it would be great to see you join me over there xx.

 

 

 

 

cha UK stylish vintage chair sample

So how is everyone?  Thanks for stopping by, I know I always say that but I mean it, it means alot having you drop by. 

This is my first post with a little preview of some samples I have made for this year's CHA UK or stitches trade show that is coming up in Feb. I am happy to say I am back on the Decoart stand demonstrating the chalk finish paints. Above you can see my up cycled chair. This is what it looked like before.

A nice chair but ugly. The material was picked up at John Lewis and I reupholstered the seat. The chair itself was very straight forward, it was given 3 coats of Decoart's chalk finish paint in carbon,once dry a couple of coats of their soft satin varnish. 

Hopefully you will agree the chair looks a lot better and more stylis?  

In the build up to the site show I will be sharing more of my samples that will be on our stand.  If you are at the show, pleasee stop by and say hi. Xx

Steam Punk Shabby Chic Chair and A Pie Crust Table

 

Morning all, thanks for stopping by, I have the first of a few chairs to share today. In the build up to CHA UK I am working on lots of samples for the Decoart booth, Part of that involves painting several chairs for people to use whilst Andy Skinner and myself do our make and takes at the stand.

The chair was first painted with Decoarts chalk finish paint in Relic.I used a candle and rubbed aling the edges to act as a resist for my top coat. A couple of coats of Primitive over the top for a nice solid coverage.Once dry I took a medium grade sand paper and very lightly sanded the areas I had applied the candle.

To finish I applied 3 coats of decoart's clear cream wax.When the wax is dry you can buff it up for a really soft to the touch, light sheen.

 

 

The Pie crust table was painted with Rouge and Delicate with the stencilling done in Carbon.

Rouge was painted first and then heavily distressed with my black and decker mouse.the Delicate was next and again heavily distressed.

The script stencil is from the Chalk finish range and was sanded back by hand to give a very distressed look to match the table. A couple of coats of Decoarts  Ultra Matte varnish were applied to finish the table off.

 

xx thanks for stopping by xx

 

Up-Cycling Shabby Chic Class with Decoart Chalk Finish Paints

 

 

Thanks for stopping by, another quick post, I just wanted to share some pics and some of the finished pieces that were made in my up-cycling shabby chic workshop I held at the Artistic Stamper towards the end of last year. I would like to thank all of the ladies who came along, I had a great time and loved seeing all the different pieces coming together.

Of course we used the Decoart chalk finish paints and I think you will agree everybody's pieces came out great.

I am happy to say I will be back at the Artistic Stamper a little later this year and I am pleased to say I am holding the Up-cycling workshop with Lisa in Eastbourne at That Craft Place, If you are interested you can find all the details at the top of the page.

2 More Shabby Coat Hooks.

 

Thanks for stopping by, I quick post today but more posts to come very soon as I am currently gearing up for the Uk CHA trade show where I am going to be demonstrating the Decoart Chalk Finish Paints for Decoart, if you are at the show please stop by and say hi.

This post really follows on from the previous post with the step by step on how to get this finish. You can find it HERE.

Again I have used the Decoart Chalk Finish Paints.

For the Fleur De Lis I used Legacy and Escape for the blues and Everlasting for the Fleur De Lis, I used a stencil from the chalk finish line.

For the owl hook I used Enchanted,cammeo and inheritance with carbon for the stencilling, the stencil is also from the chalk finish line. Both coat hooks were given a couple of coats of Decoarts soft satin varnish.

 

Thanks for stopping by, Ill be back soon with some pics from my up-cycling shabby chic workshop I held at the Artistic Stamper at the end of last year, I will be back there a little later on this year and I will be holding the up-cycling workshop with Lisa in Eastbourne at That Craft Place.

If you are interested you can find a full class schedule at the top of the page.

Thanks for stopping by xx