This has got to be one of my favorite creative pieces of all time! I just love her beautiful pale pink with white stripes on the back wall and gold accents on the exterior. Love, love, love! All dressed up and so many places to go! I give her a hug every time I walk by. She sold and went to Texas! I wanted to look at her for a little while longer, she’s so pretty. Do you ever get attached to your favorite pieces?
I purchased her at the Restore / Habitat for Humanity. She wasn’t cheap, but I instantly fell in love and had to have her. I even named her Louisa…its from the French name Louis, which means ‘famous warrior’. Let’s face it, Lousia has been around for a while no matter how you look at it. She was loved and used and given up on. Now, she’s reliving her fabulous life, renewed and repurposed.
The Pretty Pink Clean Up
To start my work on this piece, I cleaned it thoroughly. Prep, prep! Because remember, no-prep is just a myth. Keeping it from possibly bleeding through with the old varnish, I put one coat of a good stain and odor blocker. BIN Shellac Based Primer does a great job! (Note: For best results, I let the primer dry for 24-hours before applying any paint.)
This was painted with a beautiful Tea Rose by Dixie Belle Paint, its lovely soft pink color. You can find that in my store here, on my blog.
Taping off the windows helped me to keep the details natural along with the legs. I wasn’t completely sure what I would be doing, but it was my original thought and I’m happy to have kept them that way.
I had the idea of putting a transfer inside the back wall, but with the shelving it wouldn’t have shown as well as I would have liked. The pink and white stripes really set it off, especially with the newly stained shelving.
I used the cotton mineral chalk paint, also by Dixie Belle.
Stripping The Shelves
The shelves were beat up, so I used Citristrip to clean them up, it made such a difference. This is a quick and easy way to remove old paint or varnish. Citristrip is safe to use inside and it makes things easier. Just apply with a disposable chip brush. I do use eye protection and gloves, just in case.
A dark chocolate gel stain by Shabby Paints was mixed with water, to give it that tint of darkness.
I didn’t want them to be too dark, and the wonderful thing was it matched the original color perfectly!
Inside the drawer, I used different craft paper I had for scrapbooking, with pinks in them. I painted the insides of the drawer white first, then painted a layer of Mod Podge on the bottom, laid the craft paper down, then put a top coat of Mod Podge on top. A little bit of fun added to the classy lady!
To finish the piece off, I used rub-n-buff in Antique Gold, for the hardware and on the feet for a dipped look. Rub-n-buff works great and it goes a long way. You can use your finger, or you can use a small brush. It gives a smooth finished look.
I am very happy with Louisa! What do you think of her?
Do it with purpose!
Wendy 🌸
-Saul Bass
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