Yard Sale Find to Show Stopping D'Vine ! #SPiTchallenge

ZENGARA Designs
by ZENGARA Designs
$45.00
5 Hours
Medium
This little table became our featured piece for our first big show! Unicorn SPiT's Gel Stain and Glaze in One™ helped me created this amazing flower design by hand! My first attempt with this technique generated a lot of interest, and (BONUS!) the set sold at the show before noon !
Yes please !!!


We picked up this boring old table and chair set for just $25 from a Facebook yard sale site. It sat for months...I was just flat-out uninspired. Finally, I dragged the table into my workshop, removed her legs, and sanded down the top to remove all imperfections and the old finish. We wiped the bare wood down with a wet cloth, and allowed to dry.
I have always wanted to freehand a design with stain, ever since seeing the technique as done by the phenomenal Sawdust and Embryos team - you can see their work here: https://www.facebook.com/SawdustAndEmbryos. I decided to break out my Unicorn SPiT and a clean cotton cloth and just do it! {t-shirt fragments work well...so save those old t-shirts}. After seeing the tutorial videos by Sawdust and Embryos {definitely go check them out on Youtube}, I was feeling intimidated, so, I decided to use chalk to roughly outline the design first...believe me...not a bad idea - this little artistic "hack" helped !!!! (A dry cloth was later used to wipe away the chalk when the Unicorn SPiT was dry)
I sat on the floor and began to apply the Unicorn SPiT - heavier toward the middle of the petal and fanned the colored stain outward with my fingers. The SPiT can also be blended or lightened with a damp cloth, in case of a heavy hand.


This was when she was still in the studio missing her legs, but loving her new look !!! We achieved amazing results with Unicorn SPiT ! This pic is the finished artwork - hand-stained using only Unicorn SPiT in the colors MIDNIGHT'S BLACKNESS and just a hint of WHITE NING... and about an hour of sheer concentration - but I loved every minute of it !!! She even looks good before her Polyurethane !! {BTW...I used so many coats of poly, she ended up looking like glass} !!
The first coat of Minwax gloss polyurethane changes everything, really allowing the stain to pop against the wood!!! Before each coat of poly is applied, I highly recommend a very light sanding with very fine 220 grit sandpaper. Make sure to wipe the dust off thoroughly before applying another coat of polyurethane, which you can apply with either a brush or sponge. Watch the drips as they tend to "sneak" down the sides, and nobody likes drips! I repeated the sand and seal process five times for this piece, since tabletops, as we all know, get the most daily use and wear !
Finished and waiting to make it's debut ! She looks nervous, doesn't she ? The SPiT flower finally has her legs back and has been reunited with her chairs !!! I love how the polyurethane helps highlight the natural wood grain of the table ! I also found the perfect material for the chairs - it matched beautifully without taking away from the artwork ! {shhhhh.....don't tell anyone, but I used my drapes from my living room and, yeah....now I have to get some new drapes!}
She finally made it to the BIG SHOW - Vintage Revival in Melbourne Florida !! {We waited 2 years for an invitation, and finally got one...I wonder if the pics of this set had anything to do with their decision this year?} The work of Sawdust and Embryos is insanely popular and awe-inspiring, but luckily, our flower table was the only piece at the show displaying this unique technique. Again, I strongly encourage watching their videos ! https://www.facebook.com/SawdustAndEmbryos?fr...
We live in sunny Florida, so the glare is inevitable - I wish I could have better captured her shine ! Like glass - told you !! This amazing hand-stained table and her the chairs, which thanks to my curtains complimented her beautifully, generated A LOT of attention around our booth....AND......the set sold before NOON !!!...We had an ALL SPiT Spectacular, but by far, our delicate flower was the SHOW STOPPER !!!! I think I'll try a dragon next ! for more information on the stain used on this table, go check out www.unicornspit.com or https://www.facebook.com/UnicornSpit
Frequently asked questions
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  • Leslee Leslee on May 16, 2019

    Can you do this on laminated-furniture?

  • Tabitha Jeter Tabitha Jeter on May 16, 2019

    That’s absolutely gorgeous 💝

  • LA LA on Oct 09, 2022

    Fabulous job! This question was asked earlier with no response but here it is again 3 years later(I just saw this in 2022,lol) What did it sell for??? The true value of your artistic piece is invaluable SOooo someone got the gem for a song but I would still like to know. I hope that you see this. Great job!

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