Meet Frenchy

Being a professional educator for 18 years, I've met kids with all kinds of unusual names.  Most teachers will tell you that it's hard to name their own children without having flashbacks of monsters  students that they've had in the past.

So I've never been one to name furniture....until I finished this piece.  It was a simple oak plant stand that my mother passed on to me years ago.  It hopped all over the house serving various roles.  The other day I decided it needed an update.

So I gave it two coats of ASCP Old White.  You should be proud of me. I remembered to take a "before" shot before I finished painting it!

I love this image from The Graphics Fairy and have been waiting on the perfect project.  So I pulled it out and used it.

I printed the image in reverse, copied it on a copy machine, and used a blender pen to transfer the image.

I finished it with some light distressing and clear wax.

Perhaps it's the small size.  Probably that combined with the French label.  "Frenchy" just seems to fit.

I'm safe.  I never had a student named Frenchy!

Crashing these parties:

Bee Stool, Round 2

Who knew such a simple project would become so complicated?  A few weeks ago my husband brought home this stool.

I had the idea of using a Graphics Fairy image on the seat.  I tried a new transfer method using Mod Podge.  It was a miserable FAIL! 

 You can read more about it here.

Anyway, I sanded it down, repainted the seat, and decided to use the Chartpak Blender Pen recommended by Rosemary at Villabarnes.

That was an adventure in itself!  I went to my local Michaels store to buy the pen.  They didn't carry it, so I bought a different brand.  THAT didn't work!  Like Rosemary said, it's got to be a Chartpak!

I was at a conference in Austin and decided to look at a "big city" Michaels.  They didn't have it either.  Rosemary suggested I try Amazon.  Found some there for less than $2 each but Amazon wanted $4 per pen for shipping!  Ridiculous!  So I contacted the company directly and was able to order from their website.  For less than $2 each I decided to go ahead and order several and save on shipping.  If you're having a hard time finding them, you might check Hyatt's Art Supply.

Anyway, the pens arrived this week and now that my grandson has played and gone, I decided to finish up this project that seems to have gone on forever!

I had printed out the flipped image from the Graphics Fairy on my ink jet printer.  Then I took it and had a copy made.  You must use a copy that comes from a toner print machine.  

This really was as simple as Rosemary suggests!  Place image face down, rub the back of the image with the Blender Pen, and voile!  

This is what it was supposed to look like the first time!

So what would I say is the secret to the success of this project?

Persistance!

Joining my friends here:

Chalkboard Menu to Die For!

This weekend I wrapped up three chalkboard projects that I've been lingering over.  Tonight I'll show you the first one.  


I found this awesome vintage frame at a flea market last summer.  It was missing one of its finials, but that didn't deter me!  We cut off the lone finial and attached two matching ones that I had from a previous project.

It has fabulous carving and detail but you just can't see it.  So, let's paint it!

I gave it two coats of ASCP Old White.  After giving it a coat of clear wax, I brushed on my homemade glaze to help show off the detail.

"Before glaze" is on the right, "after glaze" is on the bottom.  

I had my husband cut a board to fit the frame and then I painted in with black chalkboard paint.  

Then I headed over to my favorite graphics spot, the Graphics Fairy for the perfect graphic.  I printed it out and rubbed chalk on the back of the paper.  Then I traced it and it left a chalk outline of my image.

I filled in the design with white marker.  It turned out awesome, if I do say so myself!

We mounted the board into the frame and it's ready for the shop

Or the kitchen!

I'm gonna party hearty at these fun places: