Fun With Painting and Appliqués

Madison McGahan
by Madison McGahan
4 Materials
$10
Easy
I love re-styling outdated pieces. One of my fondest ways to update an old look is to add appliqués and age the look with various painting techniques.
This is the mirror my daughter got from my mom for her very first apartment 15 years ago. But now that she is a wife, and a mom-to-be, it's just not working for her
I should probably point out that even though the original color is dark brown, the same as this picture, it had dings and scratches so I decided to paint it and start with a clean slate.
I just used inexpensive chalk paint from Walmart. Usually I like to make my own, but I already had these colors. I painted it 2 coats of the brown and made sure to get brush strokes visible in both direction so as to get lots of texture.
Once dry I added vaseline sporadically (not too much) to the edges so that when my next paint coat was dry, I could wipe it off and it would appear as though the paint were chipped.
I also added a small amount of crackle medium. If you do not have access to this, you can simply use Elmers glue.
You can see it wasn't applied all over. And once it was dry, I added the 'plaster' (or off white) colored paint. Just one coat making sure to cover it heavily.
Next I started to play with the appliqués!! I LOVE working with appliqués, and these were given to me to play with by "Rejuvenated Creations" (Etsy). They are not wood appliqués but more of a resin type. I like using both, but these have gorgeous details!
One thing I can't stand is when I see beautiful appliqués whose details have been nearly ruined by people sanding paint off them, in an attempt to give them the "aged" look. (I am of the belief that sandpaper is WAY overused for aging purposes!!!!)


As you can see, these appliqués or 'moldings' already come in the same color as my mirror's original brown
So I painted them heavily with the 'plaster' color, then quickly rinsed them off.
As you can see, it gave them a gorgeous aged look and they were never once violated by sandpaper. That's it, all I did was rinse them with water then let them dry!!!
Next I added them to my mirror with a little glue, then waxed the whole thing twice for more texture.


And TA DA........
It looks like an older aged mirror.
Can't wait to find a place to hang it! This was really such an easy painting experience. The most difficult part was waiting for each coat of paint to dry. By using the vaseline you can actually layer colors and get the chippy paint look with all the beautiful colors shining through.
Suggested materials:
  • Waverly chalk paint and clear was   (Walmart)
  • Appliques   (Rejuvenated Creations (Etsy))
  • Crackle medium   (Hobby Lobby)
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Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  2 questions
  • Debra Debra on Feb 07, 2017
    What does the wax do for it?
  • Lynn Lynn on Mar 12, 2017
    How can we speed up the process?
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