A Table with Racing Strips?

Ok, sweet friends.  My teachers come back to work tomorrow so this may be my last post for a week or two until I can come up for air.  No worries, though.  I've got a great buffet in the garage waiting for my attention.  Soon enough!

So I found this library table at a flea market last month.  To my delight, it was already painted white.  One less thing to do!

The only problem is, it was too plain.  

So I decided to put stripes down the middle.  First I measured for their placement and used a straight edge to draw them in place.  Then I used the pencil lines a guides for the painter's tape.

(If you look closely you can see the pencil line for the bottom edge of the stripe)

Once it was taped off, I started to paint.  I used ASCP Emperor's Silk.  Two coats was just enough to get a great red stripe.

Well that little stripe needed some help, so I decided to put smaller stripes on either side.  I used the same method as above to mark and tape off the stripes.  Then painted them in!

When I pulled the tape off I had the coolest grain sack-inspired stripes!

I loved it!  But it was still lacking something.  So I decided to follow through with the grain sack motif.  I printed out (in reverse) a design I worked up on my Silhouette and copied it on a toner-based machine.  Then I taped it face down in the center of the table.

I used a blender pen to transfer the image and burnished it with the back of a spoon, working one small section at a time so it wouldn't dry out.  Here's what it looked like when I finished.  

The transfer worked great but I wanted it a little darker so it could compete with my bold red stripes.  So I grabbed a Sharpie marker and started filling in the design.

Darker is definitely better!

I was careful not to color in each area completely so it would have a more distressed look.

It turned out exactly as I had hoped!

Does it look like a landing strip?

Or racing stripes?

This is yet another piece I would love to keep if I had room!

I bet this one won't last long!

Showing up at these parties:

A Desk fit for Florence

My teachers come back to work on Monday.  I'm doing good to come up for air.  It's a good thing I got a few pieces finished before the back-to-school rush hit.

A few months ago I found a great desk and did a fun make-over on it.  You can read about it here.  Anyway, the desk sold the first week it was in the shop!  Well believe it or not, I was in a completely different city recently and found the same desk at a flea market.  I'm no idiot!  I bought that sucker and brought it home!

I decided to follow the same recipe: strip and refinish the top, paint and distress the body, wax, and apply new hardware.

So I started by stripping the top.  You can read more about stripping and refinishing the top here.

I applied a Black Cherry stain.  Then it was ready to paint.

I recently bought a new quart of Annie Sloan paint in the new color, Florence.  I decided to try it out on this desk.  So I gave it two coats.

I know this color looks like Provence, but Florence is really more of a green-turquoise.  This picture is deceptive!

I grabbed a sanding sponge and started distressing.

Then I applied a coat of clear wax and a dark wax glaze.

 The color in this picture is much more accurate.  It reminds me of Indian turquoise jewelry!

Let's party!