Oh my goodness you guys, I stepped so far out of my comfort zone on this makeover that I had to do it in the comfort of my pajamas. It's one of those you either love or hate kind of paint techniques. I personally love highly distressed or dry brushed painted furniture but I'm not known to do them. But this dang wash stand wouldn't accept anything less.

Believe me, I tried persuading it to be more modest but it's been hanging around some very creative women for many years. I wish I could tell you where I got it but they'd have to kill me. Just know that it was surrounded by vintage movie cameras and film reels, and old brick walls and the drawer was filled with makeup.

But the poor old gal was getting a little worse for wear.

Before I get into all the juicy details, today is Furniture Fixer Uppers day, one of my favorite days of the month. Six talented and creative bloggers coming together to breathe new life into six furniture pieces that had seen better days.

In case you missed last months challenge, I transformed Mom's Floor Standing Jewelry Chest and had a little fun with dollar store napkins.

You may want to grab your favorite beverage because this post is loaded with photos, I'll wait.

Antique Wash Stand Dry Brushed White

This piece is so old look at the casters that were on it. I've never seen wood casters before. Sadly two were missing so they had to be replaced. I kept these because you never know when they'll come in handy.

To get a better look at the dry brushed paint technique, this is what the sides look like.

So all I did was dip the tips of my paint brush into Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the color Old White and used long random brush strokes over the original wood. In areas where I loaded too much paint, I simply wiped the paint off with a wet rag. Easy peasy and finished so quickly.

But before I started painting, I had to vacuum the cobwebs and give this old gal a much-needed bath in a 50:50 ratio of water and vinegar. Once clean the broken harp and trim pieces needed to be glued and repaired.

Next, I got to work on the inside and I almost left it alone because it was so rustic and primitive. But again she would have nothing to do with it. She wanted to be bold and make a statement from the inside out. So we compromised and I left some of her rustic charm peering through.

I used the same dry brush technique with the color Creme Brulee by Country Chic Paint. Those of you who have been following me know that I'm on a mission to use up all the paint in the workshop before purchasing any new cans.

But of course, I couldn't stop there. Because the plan is to use this Antique Wash Stand as a coffee station in our dining room, I pulled out my Homestead Coffee Stencil (not an affiliate link) from Funky Junk Interiors.

Earlier this week I shared a Coffee Tray Makeover where I used this same stencil but instead of paint, I stenciled with stain. I did it again with the wash stand...

And I used my Hot Cocoa stencil (not an affiliate link) also by Funky Junk Interiors inside the drawer. Check out those lovely dovetail joints too while you're at it.

But the front of the door got jealous and wanted to be stenciled too...

And so I used my Jacobean Floral stencil with the same Old White chalk paint.

Then she shouted, "what about some jewelry?" I wasn't a fan of the original knob and I question whether it was original to this piece. I replaced it with a classic white ceramic knob from my stash that I think is a lot more fitting.

The entire wash stand, inside and out, was protected with creamy FAT Wax, a combination of beeswax/carnauba wax and it really brought out the rustic dry brushed finish.

A gal who has been hanging around creative women and vintage movie cameras needs a harp.

Here is a closer peek at the top of the Antique Wash Stand. The original plan was to sand the wood and stain it a dark walnut but there were too many stains that could not be removed so it also received the dry brushed treatment.

Have you ever dried lavender?

I harvested the lavender in the pitcher from my garden last year and shared a post about How To Harvest And Dry Lavender.

Mr. Frugalista is an avid collector of CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) silver and I staged the photos with a few pieces from his prized collection.

Let's take a fun look at the Before and After of this Antique Wash Stand. Here is another look at the Before...

and the After...

Last year I attempted the dry brush paint technique on another furniture makeover and you can see it here in my post, Carte Postale Queen Anne Desk.

If you enjoyed this Antique Wash Stand Makeover, please share it with a friend and/or save it on Pinterest.

I'm so excited to see what my talented Furniture Fixer Upper friends did with these furniture pieces.

PRESS THE LINKS BELOW TO SEE THE AFTER PHOTOS

Girl In The Garage

Confessions Of A Serial DIYer
Petticoat Junktion

Prodigal Pieces

Just The Woods
The Interior Frugalista (moi)

You will find this project linked to these fabulous PARTIES.

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Did you know you can stencil with stain? I didn't until I gave it a try on a Faux Snakeskin Wood Tray.

But that wasn't the original plan.

The original plan was to repair the chipped wood, paint it brown, and decoupage the top with coffee napkins that I picked up at the dollar store.



But no matter which way I tried to lay the napkins, the repetition in the pattern didn't line up nicely.

Onto Plan B for a coffee inspired makeover but before I get into the details this is what the tray looked like before...

Faux Snakeskin Wood Tray Stenciled With Stain

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links so you can see what products I used or recommend to complete this project. What that means is that if you click on one of the product links, I may receive a small portion of any sales at no additional cost to you to support the costs of running this site. See my disclosure policy page.

Refreshing the wood

Instead of painting the wood I decided to refresh it with Saman Canadian Maple water-based wood stain.

Painting the base

To make the tray pop I painted the base with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the color Old White. Because of the dark stain underneath, I was expecting to have paint bleed but to my delight, there was none. It took two coats for full coverage.

I dry brushed old white onto the rattan wrapped handles as well.

Stenciling with stain

The plan was to use my Homestead Blend Coffee Stencil using brown chalk paint but then I wondered what if I used the stain I refreshed the tray with?

And it worked and I'll tell you how.

The process is exactly the same as when stenciling with paint.

• Dab the stencil brush into the water-based stain.
• Offload the excess stain onto a paper towel.
• When the stencil brush looks almost dry, pounce or swirl the brush in a circular motion until you get the desired coverage. 

NOTE: This is a water-based stain and should be stenciled over a porous paint like chalk or milk paint.

Protecting the top

Wait for at least 24-hours before applying a clear protective top coat over the stain. I used Clear Coat by Dixie Belle Paint Company.

The trick to applying clear coat is that you use a damp (not saturated) paint brush and apply a thin layer in just ONE stroke (do not use back and forth motions). It will be dry in an hour and repeat with a second coat.

I'm determined to find a project to use the coffee napkins originally intended for this tray. I have a few ideas up my sleeve so stay tuned. In the meantime, I think this beat up thrift store tray looks pretty darn good stenciled with stain.

If you like my Faux Snakeskin Wood Tray Makeover, please share it with a friend and/or save it on Pinterest.

Here are some other tray ideas if using stain isn't your cup of tea...ahem...coffee. Like this Rustic Homestead Blend Coffee Tray or this Large Thrift Store Coffee Tray. I also built a simple Farmhouse Coffee Tray and share step-by-step instructions on how to make it.

One can never have enough trays around the house, right? So would you give stenciling with stain a try? 

You will find this project linked to these fabulous Link Parties.

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This was such a simple project I almost didn't blog about it. But then I got to thinking I bet there are a lot of people out there who have odd numbered sets of cups and saucers. This is a great way to make that odd one stand up and get noticed.

With Summer BBQ's and dinner parties alfresco, these easy Handmade Demitasse Espresso Candles would make great hostess gifts for the coffee lover in your life.

 

Easy Handmade Demitasse Espresso Candle

Lately, I've been enjoying a nice strong shot of espresso in the morning but I didn't have any demitasse cups to enjoy it in. I sent Mr. Frugalista on a thrift store mission (it's his favorite lunch hour past-time) to find a set for my morning ritual.

He found a cute set but unfortunately, there were only three but you can't beat the price. That was fine because really I only need one cup but having two comes in handy when sharing an espresso with a friend (hubby doesn't drink it).

What to do with the third?

It was so easy to make and these are the supplies I used...

I happen to have a 20 pack of IKEA Jubla candles in my stash, you know for emergencies. Well, this was one of those emergencies.

Not having any soy or beeswax in my stash I did the next best thing and melted two of those Jubla candles. I've had this mini potpourri crock pot since the 80's and use it in the shop for this exact purpose. As the candles were melting I removed the old wick carefully with tweezers onto a sheet of wax paper.

I also saved a bunch of metal bases from burned tea lights. I strung a 4/0 wick through the bottom to use as the base for this candle wick.

To make my candle dark and smell like espresso when lit I added ground espresso beans from a K-cup into the wax as it was cooling.

I had some wax left over after I poured it into the demitasse cup (using an old gravy spoon). Bonus, now I have a wax puck to use when doing wax resist on furniture makeovers.

If you look closely at the candle in the photo above you can see a little chunk missing from the top right.

Tip 1: Don't flip the cup upside down after you've made the candle. Ask me how I know.

Tip 2: Glue the cup and saucer together with E6000 glue BEFORE making the candle. 

Tip 3: How to easily remove old wax from candle holders

Did you know that if you want to easily remove old wax from candle holders (or anything for that matter) put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes? The wax will pop out like Grandma's teeth when she sneezes.

If you like this Easy Handmade Demitasse Espresso Candle idea please save it on Pinterest and/or share it with a friend.

I think I'm going to look for a complete set of demitasse cups to turn into soy espresso candles for gifts considering they are so easy to make. I'll attach a pretty little card with my wax removal tip and they can be used later for their intended purpose.

Have you ever made your own candles? If so, I'd love to hear about it. If you have any helpful tips you would like to share, please leave them in the comments below.

You will find these projects linked to these fabulous Link Parties.

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Dollar Store Birdhouse Decoupaged With Napkins

A few weeks ago I shared my Mom's floor standing jewelry chest makeover. Remember how I decoupaged the sides of the drawers with napkins? If you missed it, you can see the post here at Jewelry Chest Makeover. I enjoyed the process so much I decided to try it again except this time on a simple dollar store birdhouse.

It all started when I went shopping at JYSK to buy bedding for my grandson's new toddler bed at Grandma & Grandpa's house. I barely got inside the doors when I noticed a display of pretty Summer napkins. I bought two packages, one to use at the dinner table and the other to decoupage onto something, eventually.

Then I remembered the birdhouse sitting all naked on our DIY Potting Bench.

You can see what the birdhouse looked like before and these are the pretty napkins I used to transform it.

How To Decoupage Dollar Store Birdhouses With Napkins

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links so you can see what products I used or recommend to complete this project. What that means is that if you click on one of the product links, I may receive a small portion of any sales at no additional cost to you to support the costs of running this site. See my disclosure policy page.

Materials List

Wooden Birdhouse (dollar store)

Napkins

Mod Podge

Americana Chalky Finish Everlasting

Americana Chalky Finish Serene

Americana Chalky Finish New Life

Chalkboard Stand Base (dollar store)

Gorilla Wood Glue
Retractable Razor Knife
Small Sponge Brush (dollar store)

150 grit Sandpaper

Step 1 - Painting the roof

• Painting the roof with layers of color is so easy. Start with a base layer of Everlasting white. 
• Dip just the tips of the paint brush into the color Serene blue and with light pressure apply long random brush strokes. 
• Repeat the previous step with the color New Life green. 

Step 2 - Decoupaging with napkins

• Before adding the napkins I painted the walls with Everlasting white. 
• Most napkins are 3-ply and you will need to separate and remove the two bottom layers of paper.
• See how the bird lines up with the perch? Line up the paper how you want it and with scissors cut a small slice to slide the perch through.
• Cut the napkin a little larger than the birdhouse (as pictured below).
• Apply a thin but generous coat of Mod Podge onto the face of the birdhouse.
• Line the napkin up and let it gently fall onto the birdhouse. The less you handle the paper with your fingers, the better.
• In the areas that don't have good contact, with very light pressure dab with your finger. NOTE: A reader informed me she places her hand inside an inexpensive plastic baggie to gently pat the napkins smooth. Don't worry about wrinkles, it adds character.
• You can see my napkin wasn't large enough to completely cover the front and so I cut a smaller piece of napkin and repeated the same process as above.
• Continue the same process on the back and sides of the birdhouse.

Step 3 - Trimming the napkins and top coat

• Once the decoupage is dry, trim the excess paper with a sharp retractable razor knife. If the blade is dull you risk ripping the paper. Of course, safety is key during this step - take your time and be very careful. NOTE: A reader informed me that using a nail file also works by pulling the file down the sides and across the edges.
• After you've trimmed the paper, gently use a fine sandpaper or a nail file to smooth any rough edges.
• Apply 1-2 generous protective coats of Mod Podge over the paper. The key is to generously load the foam brush and don't go over the same area twice or you risk tearing the paper. Let it dry and repeat for the second coat.
• I also applied a coat of Mod Podge onto the roof to protect the paint finish.

Step 4 - Adding a pedestal base

I had just the base of a dollar store chalkboard sign leftover from my daughter's wedding. It was perfect to use as a pedestal base on the birdhouse. I attached it with Gorilla Wood Glue and once cured I painted it the same Everlasting white color.

You can see what happened to the top half of the chalkboard sign here in my post Rustic DIY Wedding Ideas. You'll find it hanging from my grandson's neck.

I think the birdhouse looks so pretty and can't beat the price of a whopping $3 to make it.

If decoupaging with napkins is something you'd like to give a try, please save my birdhouse makeover on Pinterest and/or share it with a friend.

If you've been following my blog for any length of time you know how much I love using birdhouses in seasonal vignettes. Remember the Pedestal Birdhouses for under $5 I made for the master bedroom? 

I used this birdhouse to create another vignette.

You'll find this project shared at these fabulous Link Parties.

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