Labor of Love Part 2

   These dressers have been so much fun to redo, and Prima came out with the transfers just in time, which gave me the idea for them.  We have had these dressers for a few years but as kids have moved out we need fewer dressers.  Very sturdy with weighted drawers they were perfect for these make overs.  This one is painted in Soft Pink paint by Dixie Belle.  I wanted to make this dresser a little bit different from the other one, so the placement of the animals is a bit different.  I was able to put the larger animals on the front of this one, because the frame and drawer placement was slightly different.  The fox hugging the rabbit wrinkled a bit when I applied it, so I gave her a little crown of greenery with flowers.  Applying the transfers can be a bit tricky sometimes, so a little creativity is sometimes needed.  I love these dressers and am so happy to be able to give these to the newest babies in the family!

Gilt Mirror Update

    I bought this piece a few years ago and it spent a couple of summers in the cabin as is.  It was a gilt picture frame with a modern poster rendition of a painting.  I was told by the owner that it had originally held a mirror.  While it is vintage and I am sure it held a mirror, I don't believe it is any older than 1950 or so.  It did have some damage and I did do a few repairs as I did the make over.

    Gilt frames sell rather well on ebay and usually command prices upwards of $100.  Aside from a few repairs though, I also felt that it was just an awful lot of gold.  Just way too much.  I also wanted to use a mirror and add transfers, although a mirror for this size of frame (24x36..huge!) would be extremely expensive.  Instead of finding a mirror I used Mirror Effect spray paint and a vinegar water spray to mimic the look of a very old mirror on the glass that came with it.  This was the first time I had used this technique.  I painted the frame in a combination of Muscadine  Wine and Plum Crazy by Dixie Belle Paint.  I added Gilding wax to the areas of the frame that I did not repaint.  The transfers are parts of Midnight Floral from redesign with prima transfers.  This is a beautiful, elegant piece and it is waiting for a new home.  The pictures do not do it justice!

Labor of Love

I was so excited to do this little dresser for our next grandbaby, I forgot to get pictures of the dresser before I painted it.....but that isn't too surprising, lol!  We have had this for several years and it has been used in various rooms, but no longer need it and it is a great size for a child's dresser.
    I've really enjoyed adding transfers to my furniture lately, and especially like the re-design by prima brand transfers.  They are coming out with a large variety of designs lately.  I bought two of the new Hello Baby sets to use to create something for my daughter in law and also one for my daughter.  Babies are due over the next couple of months and I wanted to do special pieces for them.  I used Dixie Belle paint, for the first time and am so happy with the results.  Coverage is excellent with this and the color I used is a very light blue called Haint Blue.  Adding the transfers was very challenging because the drawer fronts are rather curvy on the edges and not very wide, so there was some working around the curves to be done.  The sides had the largest areas where I could be creative.  I watched a video on how to do faded stripes, and I am thrilled with how they came out.  I have been frustrated with trying stripes before and decided they were not my thing, but this video encouraged me to try again.  The silver stripes are actually wax.  Yes, it dries to a hard finish and then with poly added it is just as durable as paint.  I really am happy with this and looking forward to gifting it and doing the next baby dresser!