Tag Archives: painted furniture

Those were the doctor’s orders after my recent surgery.  Once I woke up in recovery, I asked the doctor how long was I supposed to go without  lifting anything heavier than a dinner plate.  He replied, “Eight weeks.”  Like a two-year-old being told “no,” I shook my head in disagreement, and I asked him if he was joking.  (In my defense, I was under the influence of anesthesia and pain meds.) Imagine my dismay when he said he was not joking.   : (

Since I was in a drug induced sleep for the first week, following the doctor’s orders was no problem.  During the second week, I still wasn’t quite up to seeing what I could get away with physically.  But during these last two weeks, it has become increasingly difficult to be a good patient.

A few weeks ago, my Mom switched around some of my wall hangings for me.   All of the cast-off’s have been sitting in the garage waiting for a new home.  Then, as I was blog browsing on Kammy’s Korner, I realized my stash in the garage was like hitting the jackpot! Cha-ching!

So, I thumbed through the pictures, trying to decide which one I could  use to frame  this candle sconce I’ve had stashed away for years. My mom bought it at a garage sale and passed it on to me.  It’d been so long, that I was ready to give it away.  

Back to finding a frame.  This is the one I chose for this project.

I tore off the paper backing and popped out the picture, leaving me with a blank frame to refinish.

 The picture that I  removed from the frame found a new home in one of those frames that is used to display children’s artwork.  It has a magnetic closure, which means I can easily change out the picture anytime.  I love the way the white matte brings out the white flowers in the picture, and I think the black frame ties it all together nicely.  ( It reminds of  when I use to outline my coloring book pictures).  And look at how the colors bring out the granite!

I took the sconce outside and sprayed it with primer, then with an antique white paint.  I had a Lucy (as in Lucille Ball from “I Love Lucy”) moment while I was painting.  The paint can nozzle got stuck on spray, and I couldn’t figure out how to get it to stop.  The air filled with a cloud of paint.  I kept trying to duck away from it so that my clothes wouldn’t turn white.  All the while, trying to keep the can aimed at the sconce so that all of my paint wouldn’t evaporate into thin air.  Finally, when I had finished painting the sconce, I turned the can upside down and pushed.   Whew!  I was never so glad to stop hearing the hissing sound of paint being released out of a can.  :)

For the frame, I used a combination of paints that I have in the garage, and made up the “faux” of the finish as I went.  First, I tried stain.  Didn’t like it.  So, I painted the frame aqua.  Then, I used the stain again as an aging glaze.  Hmmm, not what I had in mind.  Then, I decided to dry brush the details of the frame with gray.  That was more like it.  It’s not the best faux finish job in town, but who is going to stand right in front of the frame and study all of the details of my paint job….besides me.

My original plan was to paint the wall space inside the frame gray.  My family said no to that…something about how I’m always moving stuff around…“wah-wah, wah, wah-wah-wah”  (Charlie Brown’s teacher’s voice).   I compromised, and attached a remnant of linen fabric to the back of the frame.  I intend on replacing the linen with something a little darker…perhaps burlap.

I put it all together, and tahdah….

For a tutorial on how high to hang pictures, select the tutoring tab on the menu of my homepage.

Today’s lesson is this:  Try to appreciate times of rest.  We get so antsy when there is down time, but rest is a gift.  And I believe forced rest is a gift from God.  He knows His plans for us.  So, I should trust Him and thank Him when he provides built-in breaks into my day.

Disclosures:  1) None of the tools or materials that I worked with were heavier than a dinner plate.  

2) cloudy day = not good pictures

Until next time,

Sharon

I’m linking to: