Monday, November 18, 2013

patina finish using modern masters metal effects

I was recently given the opportunity to try out the Metal Effects line of paints and patinas from Modern Masters.  I’ve gotten the chance to use it on a couple of projects so far, and wanted to share this fun product with you.

The water-based paints have actual metal particles in the paints that react over time (if left to the elements) or react right away with the addition of Modern Master’s chemical reactors, giving authentic patinaed finishes on any surface that you can paint!

I was working on a set for a client’s guest room, including a desk, chair and nightstand.  I big-fat-failed to get before pics (I hate it when I do that!), but the desk, like many out there, had some pretty deep gouges and years and years worth of damage on the veneered top.  Since the client wanted the body of the desk stripped and stained, and only the desk drawers painted, I had to come up with a solution to cover the damaged top.  There was some gorgeous wood inlay in a pretty border around the desk top, so I decided to mask inside the inlayed border and paint a faux blotter using Modern Master’s Iron Reactive Paint and Rust Activator.

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I was so happy with how the set turned out, and so glad the client felt the same way! :)

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I also used the Iron Reactive Paint/Rust Activator in combination with the Copper Reactive Paint/Green Patina Aging Solution on this side table top.  I love how it turned out in combination with the turquoise base (CeCe Caldwell’s Destin Gulf Green.)  This is southwest done right! ;)

Modern Masters Metal Effects Reactive Paint Patina

Here’s a close-up on that fantastic patina!!

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I love the look I’m able to create with these paints and reactors!  Thanks Modern Masters for the opportunity to try them out!

 

(While I received product to review, I was not given any further compensation from Modern Masters.  All opinions are completely my own.)

Monday, November 11, 2013

how to make a realistic faux card catalog from an old dresser

How To Make A Faux Card Catalog From An Old Dresser, from Twice Lovely

One of my favorite sources for affordable drawer pulls and hardware online is D. Lawless Hardware.  I don’t know if you’re aware, but they recently designed and released their own line of Library Card Catalog style Label Holder Pulls that are surprisingly inexpensive, and if you’ve ever priced this type of drawer pull, you know that they can be very pricey!  They offer two different styles and 4 different finishes. 

I couldn’t wait to find just the right project to use these great pulls and create a realistic-looking, faux, library card catalog.  I got this simple but substantial 10 drawer dresser that I thought would be the perfect piece to execute my vision on.

Dresser Before

First, I went to Home Depot and had them cut 30 (3 for each of the 10 drawers) little squares from a sheet of 5mm Flooring Underlayment (around $15 for the sheet and I had tons left over!)  Then I began the tedious-but-necessary task of sanding the fronts and four edges of all 30 pieces.  Yikes!

Once all the edges and corners were rounded and they were nice and smooth, I used wood glue and clamps to affix the little faux drawers to the drawer fronts.

Create Faux Drawers from 5mm Flooring Underlayment

Once I got all the faux drawers attached, I started to get very excited about how it was coming together.

Smaller Faux Drawers attached to Dresser Drawer Fronts

I decided to go with the bright, shiny brass cup label pulls from D. Lawless, with some extra realism added using this little half inch brass knob below the label pull.

Yay for Hardware!

A dramatic, warm, charcoal gray was a great choice to showcase the beautiful hardware and allow it to really be the star of the show.  So excited with how it turned out!

Faux Card Catalog from an Old Dresser at Twice Lovely

Card Catalog Hardware from D. Lawless Hardware Online

Faux Library Card Catalog from Twice Lovely

I took it to the Vintage Market I participated in this past weekend, and though it didn’t sell (lucky for you locals it’s going to be at Livy Lou’s very soon!) it was totally fooling people all day long!  The larger drawers make it much more practical, usable, and versatile piece than a real library card catalog.  I think it was totally worth the extra effort. :)

I received the hardware for this project from D. Lawless, but received no other compensation for my review.