So it was a busy weekend here and I finished 2 projects!! Woot! go me!!
Between work and these crazy last weeks of school things get out of hand here sometimes.
I was able to finish my boys' desk and my other dresser matching the one I did last, remember?
And yes I do have before pictures this time!!!
So first onto my dresser number 2, here are pics of the before. These dressers were in pretty good shape when I got them. I did use my stapler to secure the drawer bottoms though.
As you can see I had already taken off the hardware when I realized I needed before pics!!!
But I got them.
So same treatment as the other one, 2 coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, one coat of Annie Sloan Clear Wax, and touched up with Gilder's Paste in German Silver. Voila . Dresser number 2 done!
And the before and after of course.
I love these dressers!!! I looked for so long for the perfect matching ones and my patience paid off.
Now onto the desk.
Since I did not use Annie Sloan paint on this one it did take a bit longer. This was kind of a trial and error project for me lol. It took me weeks, due to weather, wrong paint, crappy looking map and so on.
So I will let you in on a few tips, so hopefully you do not struggle as I did.
First of all I did prime this bad boy, I gave it 2 coats of Killz primer, and let it dry for a couple days.
Next I went to Lowe's and the person who sold me the crackle glaze told me I needed to use flat paint first and then satin. Well I have never liked Lowe's for some reason, I always go to Home Depot and it turned out this person was dead wrong!!! UGHHGHG
After I bough a quart of flat off white paint and painted my desk, I happened to read the instructions on the glaze container, well it turns out you need to use sating paint before the glaze and then flat so the paint will crack nicely. If you don't,it does not crack!!! OMG I was so mad!!
I had even picked up a gallon of oops paint at Home Depot and I planned on using that color.
So now I could not use it because it was satin paint and I needed flat. Luckily I had also gotten a quart of satin off white just to have it and I used it for the first coat ( if you can count, my desk has now 4 coats of stuff on lol)
So off I go to Lowe's and I forget my sample at home, so I end up getting a color that was too blue, I was pretty fed up by now.
So I go and exchange it, and they tell me they do not exchange paint ( what????) but will do me a favor this time, blahhh, so yeah I got the flat paint and I was finally able to finish this desk!!! Geez!
I proceeded to paint the desk with the glaze, someone at Home Depot had told me to lay it on thick if I wanted it to work, since so many people complained the cracks were not that big, I got a bit discouraged by that but I just went with the advice and used like half the container of glaze on the desk.
I let it dry for a few days ( weather, work, kids you know). Finally I was ready to paint!! I had tried the glaze on a small piece of wood and it seemed to work well.
I started with a nice big Purdy brush ( use a brush for the glaze and top coat) and I went at it. Let me tell you the paint dries very fast on top of the glaze, so if you try it, just lay it on thick ( not to drip but you get what I mean) and do not go over the painted area with the brush or the cracks get smaller, so in other words do not overstrech the paint. Be generous.
I was amazed at the crackle effect, as soon as the paint started drying ( like 10 seconds) it started cracking, it was awesome!!! And the cracks turned out awesome, even better than I expected.
You only need one coat on top of the glaze so this step was quick.
After this I let the desk dry for another few days. Now the hard part, the map.
I had purchased a map on Amazon that was a bit too dark for my taste but hey , I was going to use it.
Well for all of us Mod Podge amateurs here is a word of advice, do not attempt to Mod Podge a huge piece of anything without watching at least a few videos on you tube lol.
I pasted the map and looked horrible!!!!! OMG I was so upset, we tried rolling pins, even puncturing the bubbles with pins lol, but it looked hideous. So I ripped out, yes I ripped the map out , washed the surface and went online and ordered a new map at the National Geographic website ( nicer map).
So of course my desk took yet another week to be done. My kids were whining and moping, MOOOOOOOM when is the desk going to be ready????
Finally the map got here and after watching some videos I learned the map needed to be sealed with acrylic sealer for a better result. Well I got the Mod Podge acrylic sealer at Hobby Lobby and I sprayed the map like 5 times, just to make sure.
Finally I Mod Podged it, and it looked much better than the first one. A few wrinkles here and there but, hey, I was happy.
So the desk was finally done!! I gave it 2 coats of polycrylic on the entire desk to protect the crackle from fading and I gave the top 5 coats to make sure the map doesn't rip or come apart and for a smoother finish.
It stayed beautifully and I love it !!!!!! This cost me blood, sweat and tears but I am in love with, not even mention my boys, they are super excited.
So here it is!!! Before and after.
And the chair to go with it.
I am so glad these guys are done!!! Busy week!!!
Hopefully next week I will have finished something else....like my couch!!!
Cheers!
