I'll walk you through how to get a textured finish with pops of colors on this antique card catalog makeover using Dixie Belle Paint and Belles and Whistles products!
Here's where we are going....
GET ALL THE PRODUCTS to recreate this look on your own piece👇🏻:
And here's what we are starting with....
The first thing I do, and THE most important step to prepping your furniture, is to properly clean all the dirt and grime off. I used a premixed bottle of White Lightning and water and spray the piece down generously in sections and let it sit for a few seconds. Then, I take a finishing pad that has been cut into a small square and scrub the piece while the white lightning is on it. You'll wipe that off with a shop towel. You'll want to rinse off your white lightning residue well, so then I spray with a water bottle mixed with 50/50 ratio of white distilled vinegar and water. You'll wipe this off with a shop towel too. Now we are ready to create!
This piece had been sanded down and had a lot of tannins coming through while cleaning, so I decided to add one coat of Clear Boss and let dry for an hour.
I knew the colors I wanted and the transfer I was using going from the room that it was going to be in (this was a commissioned piece). I decided to go with a textured finish and wanted little pops of color that matched the Sunflowers Transfer. I decided on Colonel Mustard, Florida Orange, Terracotta and Caviar for the colors.
To begin, I mixed Colonel Mustard on a plate and added some Sea Spray. With Sea Spray, you can add as much or as little as you want, depending on the amount of texture you're looking for. It is a paint additive that thickens your paint. I knew I would be using a transfer, so I wanted texture, but not so much that it would make applying the transfer extremely difficult. If you're using Sea Spray for the first time, add just a little at a time until you get the consistency that you want. Sea Spray should NEVER be washed down your drain and it will ruin your synthetic brushes, so I applied my mixture with a chip brush.
I dabbed the paint on in random sections until I ran out. Between colors, you'll want your paint to dry. I did the majority of this on camera, so I used a heat gun to dry, although I do prefer to let it dry organically. After it dried, I then moved on to the next color, Terracotta. I repeated the same process with Terracotta and Florida Orange, drying in between layers.
Once everything was good and dry, I painted over the entire piece with Caviar, using a flat mini. Once the Caviar was dry, I applied Black Glaze over the Caviar before sanding back. The reason I did this, is because when I am using Caviar, I do not want to struggle with the possibility of steaking when I top coat. To avoid this, I do an initial seal with Black Glaze and it works like a charm every single time. It also, in my opinion, enhances the richness of the Caviar as well! I didn't want the glaze to take away the brightness of the oranges and yellow, so you want to paint, glaze and then sand. I didn't sand the entire piece, I sanded over the textured areas only and tried to only hit the high points. Sanding too much would remove the layer of glaze that was on there.
Watch the entire process here:
You can see here how the Black Glaze richens the Caviar and prevents streaking with your top coats!!
After the piece was painted, glazed and sanded back, I applied the Sunflower Transfer. I chose to add in pieces of the transfers mainly on the areas with no Sea Spray. They do overlap on to the Sea Spray in areas but since the texture is at a minimum, I had no trouble with adherence. It's important to note, that when you're applying a transfer over a textured surface, you'll need to burnish a little longer, and doing this will rub the transfer bare on the raised areas of the texture. This was perfectly ok with me, just adding to the look of the piece! You also need to give your Sea Spray several days to dry completely, as Sea Spray does retain some moisture and transfers do not like moisture!
I sealed the entire piece with 3 coats of Clear Coat Satin. This piece was going to be in an elementary room classroom for a year or so before sitting in an office, so I wanted extra protection against those little hands on the drawers every day! :)
Here she is!
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Full YouTube Video for you here: https://youtu.be/apetDLiH3Ps
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