Little Red

I'm so excited to bring the first post from Studio 718!

Other than scrap booking, I have a love of taking something old that was headed for the landfill and recycling it. Or everyday items found at the second hand shops or yard sales and giving them a new life. I had never thought of blogging about them until I started following The 36th Avenue, and learned there are hundreds of people sharing my love.

I picked this cute little table up....FREE!!!  It was a bit rough, but sturdy. It had great potential.

I started by giving it a good ole washin' with hot water and soap. I let it sit for a bit so it would be good and dry, then I lightly sanded it.

Most types of paint work well when redoing furniture, but I personally like the look and feel of chalk paint. On the market, there is an awesome chalk paint by Annie Sloan. I just can't justify spending $56 per quart plus shipping. So I make my own. There are a number of different recipes for chalk paint found on the internet. I found what works best for me it the baking soda and paint mixture. Again, a personal favorite of mine is Valspar latex paint.  What you will need for this.

1 cup baking soda
1 quart of paint
mixing bowl
paint brush
water

mix baking soda and paint, stir well until there are no clumps. That's it! easy peasy huh?. As you are painting, the mixture may start to thicken up, just add a bit of water and stir well.

The paint will look thick and uneven, you DIDN'T do anything wrong. This is how it goes on. Once you sand it, it will be smooth as butter. After sanding and distressing, I rubbed on some wax paste. Oh how the color just popped! I finished it off with 2 coats of wax, waiting for the first layer to dry completely before applying the second.

Are you ready for the final reveal???  I LOVE how it turned out!

 

A couple close ups

What do you think?

I have a few projects waiting in the wings, I recently had surgery and have not been released yet to do any heavy sanding. So check back often!