This workshop walkthrough stays in the order the work happens.
Submitted by Because I Think I Can
Abby is vivid!
I picked up Abby off of Craigslist for an solid deal. When I first picked her up, my plan was to use her as a craft table for my kids.
Abby “Before”
This is Abby’s before picture. The more I looked at Abby and tried to decide what to do with her, the more I noticed her beauty. She is an antique table, and I saw similar tables, unfinished, at antique stores for $300.oo I decided I wanted Abby to be striking… and not a craft table anymore.
Well, Abby didn’t make things straightforward for me.
I first sanded her like crazy. She had a varnish on her that needed to be roughed up, and her top was in pretty rough shape.
After priming her legs, I painted them with a creamy white that I had used on Anna’s furniture in the past.
Then came my first experience with staining.
It was not a good experience.
The first coat took okay, but not as solid as I had hoped for. The second coat completely bubbled, and was sticky and tacky.
So I had my first experience with stripping. That’s not fun either.
I stripped and sanded again, and gave it another try. Again, the first coat of stain was okay. The second… began to bubble. This probably sounds silly, but after being an esthetician for 8 years, I knew what was going on. When nail polish does this, it means the first coat did not dry enough for the second to be applied, plus it was raining and cold out… I didn’t want to admit it, but I would have to wait… I sanded down the second coat and waited for a sunny day. It took weeks. In the meantime I distressed and glazed her legs. …Finally I could drag it outside and try again. All the other times I had applied he stain with a paint brush, this time I used a rag. I enjoyed this much more… Here is how it turned out…
Abby “After”
Isn’t she vivid?! She turned out very different than I had imagined, but I love her rustic outcome. And because I love her so much, I am selling her. She deserves so much better than the abuse she would receive from my kids. The link on Craigslist will be at the bottom… but for now, enjoy her model shots!
