Hello Everyone,
A couple of weeks ago I was trecking through my favorite haunt and came across this….
It wasn’t the painting that caught my eye. The frame did. I loved the detail on it and knew right away it would look great after a makeover. Considering it’s size I thought the $12 price was a pretty good deal. My first thought was to turn it into a bulletin board for my daughter’s room.
I brought it home, plopped it in the garage and there it sat for a few days. Then one day I was sitting on my couch staring at my walls when a lightbulb went off.
I found this great bird inspired canavas print last year when I was doing a Simple Staging Project on a vacant property.
I liked it so much that when it was time to tear down the staging props I brought the print home and hung it in my living room.
The colors were perfect for the space and it inspired the bird theme I now have in the room. One thing irked me though. It needed something. I thought a new frame may make it more substantial and planned on building one when I got a chance.
As I said before, I was sittinig on my couch, looking at the print when a lightbulb went off. Hmmm, I wonder if it would fit in the new frame. I took some measurements and got excited when I realized it would indeed fit after I made a few adjustments.
I removed the not so lovely artwork from the frame. I dismantled the canvas print from the inner wood frame that held it together. I recycled the painting by adhering the print to it with spray adhesive. I had to trim off some of the edges to make the image fit.
Then I turned my focus to the frame and painted it a crisp white. The original gold color just was not working for me.
To bring out the details of the frame I gave it a colorwash treatment. I created a color wash with some brown acrylic craft paint thinned with water. I started by brushing the colorwash onto a small area, getting it in all the nooks and crannies…
and quickly wiped off the excess before it had a chance to dry.
This technique allows you to highlight the details of a piece as well as giving it an aged look.
I continued the process, working in small sections all around the frame.
After the colorwash dried I rubbed on some Minwax Paste Wax to give it a soft sheen and to protect the paint. I use this stuff on most of my painted pieces. I love the finish it gives to a piece. Soft, Subtle and Smooth.
Once dry, I gave it a buffing with a soft cloth and popped in the print.
Ahhh, THAT’S THE TICKET! I am very happy with the new look.
I hung it above the sofa, right in between my two decorative birdcages I purchased a few months ago from Through The Country Door. I love the look. What do you think?
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day!
~Lisa
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