Furniture Painting - Gray and White Dresser

I had so much fun painting this dresser.

I gave it a modern gray and white finish.

About six years ago I had painted it for a little girl's room.

This was the dresser then.

After a lot of wear, it needed an update.

Plus, little girls grow up 

so the set needed to coordinate with 

her new modern colorful tribal pattern comforter.

The gray and white will be a nice blender for the room.

After sanding, I ran a piece of an old candle

along the edges 

that I wanted to appear worn.

 I sprayed white primer on the dresser.

To get the gray base on the drawer fronts,

I used a 2" chip brush.

Here are the paints that I used.

I'm showing two cans of white pre-mixed latex.

I've used a variety of brands.  

These are just two that I have on hand now.

I like this neutral gray acrylic.

It is a nice tone of gray.

Pour out two puddles of color on a foam plate.

One puddle of white.

One puddle of gray.

Dip one side of your brush in the white.

Dip the other side of your brush in the gray.

Drag back and forth across drawer fronts in linear motion.

Do this as many times until you like the look.

You will see some horizontal lines.

Then paint any geometric white line design.

I chose one that imitated the tribal pattern in her pillowcases.

When dry, sand entire pattern.

Use 150 sandpaper or 220 if you don't want to take much off.

Now this is the fun part -

Using your chip brush,

make sure it is as dry as possible.

Lightly dip just the tips into the white paint.

Wipe off on a paper towel.

Holding your brush with very light pressure at first,

pull across surface.

Use a back and forth motion

and gradually add more pressure to the edges

to really fade them out with white.

When I get too heavy in spots,

I use a damp paper towel to correct and wipe off.

Then just reapply dry brush white.

Keep going until you get it as distressed, worn, and weathered

as you like.

Sanding all edges now where you had rubbed the wax candle

will remove any paint and leave a worn edge.

The white dry brush really softens the look of the dresser.

A beautiful blender piece.

Could go in any room.

Hope you find a fun piece to paint!

Loving handmade homes,

Deb

Sharing at:

The Scoop

Inspiration Monday

Hello Summer Watermelon Watercolor

Watercolor and Watermelon

make the perfect 

Summer Welcome Sign.

Today I'm sharing some paint tips

and a PDF pattern that you can print and use.

I'm using a 16" x 20" canvas panel.

Download the PDF here.

You will print a 4 page pattern 

and tape it together overlapping edges

so that the pattern lines up.

Turn pattern over

and trace pattern lines with a pencil.

Paint canvas white with any acrylic paint.

This way, if you make any mistakes

or have any touch ups later,

your background paint will match your touch ups.

Once your canvas is dry,

place pattern right side up

and press from front with pencil.

Lines will transfer onto canvas.

They will be random and faint,

but enough to provide a pattern.

Start with your lettering.

I used black acrylic for my letters.

I used a small #2 flat brush.

Use the brush straight up and down

and pull upwards for a fine line stroke.

The press the brush flat and wide

for the down strokes.

Now I'm using watercolors for the watermelon.

I mixed green and yellow for the lightest green edge first.

Use a darker green for alternate stripes.

Start with a light pink for watermelon center.

Add darker pink to edges,

and finally an almost red to shade.

Once the watermelon is painted,

I sprayed with a clear satin sealer.

Now the watercolor won't activate if it gets wet.

Then I painted the seeds with black acrylic paint.

Add grommets and ribbon to the top

and now you have a fun

summer welcome!

Hope you enjoy!

Deb

linking to:

Tatertots & Jello

Inspiration Monday

Finding Silver Pennies