Secretary Makeover With Damask "Tattoo"

I have been so busy.
Also lazy.
Well, lazy about posting to my blog, anyway.
But that just means I've gone into overdrive on my Porch!
Check out this cute little wood secretary makeover that I  am too tired to properly write about:

Before: this secretary had seen better days. It was pretty scratched up, and the drawers had major opening issues.

After! The secretary got a lovely paint job and a little sanding to give it a chippy look.

I painted the inside gray with a cute little damask "tattoo". :)

I printed it out in sections and lined the pieces up, then I colored on the back with willow charcoal (at Walmart, craft section). When I lined it up where I wanted it, I traced the design with a regular pencil. Okay, not just a regular one, a HARRY POTTER pencil!

 

The willow charcoal left a decent design behind, which I filled in with paint. Careful not to smudge it away!

I used a dry brush technique to make it look worn and faded. Just dip a paintbrush in your gray paint, wipe it on a paper towel and lightly brush over the white design.

 

Clock Shelf Makeover

So, technically for a makeover, I like to show "before" photos. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to take any.

Suffice to say this awesome clock/shelf was plain brown wood. And the photo frames on the sides were empty. You can picture it... I KNOW you can!

I just added a few coats of satin country white paint, then sanded/chipped it to give it that old, worn, vintage, chippy paint look. I also painted the hooks. I've just recently discovered the awesomeness of painted metal hardware and am now officially addicted.

Next, I mixed black acrylic paint with water and brushed it on, then wiped it off so the paint wasn't so bright and shiny, but rather had a vintage, worn feel and voila!

For the photo frames, I cut out a muslin fabric, using the cardboard frame-backs as a template. Then I used my favorite transfer method (Citra Solv!) to transfer the French labels to the fabric and voila again!

The only real trouble I had was trying not to get paint on the glass clock face. It is rounded, convex glass and is glued inside, so I couldn't remove it. I got a little paint on it, but it wiped off easily. Also, I realized after I'd completely finished painting, glazing and chipping that I forgot to paint the clock piece (with the two little triangles on it). Oopsadaisy. Luckily, I was able to get those painted without too much fuss.

I LOVE how this turned out!