SK's Two Dozen Poppies

by SK on Elderberry

Musty, Ugly, But Sturdy. Two dirty upholstered slipper chairs.
Let's begin by stating a very clear fact. These were solid wood framed but the most disgusting old velvet fabric you can imagine. Soooo.....

see how she saved these disgusting old velvet chairs, chalk paint, painted furniture, reupholster

Busting out of the box again to see if I can create beauty from a sow's ear.

The previous upholsterer did an amazing job when upholstering these chairs. I am not an expert at reupholstery so I didn't want to mess with tucks and sewing.

So custom chalk paint it is...After cleaning thoroughly with Dawn and damp cloths. I cleaned them until my cloth no longer came away dirty. But I didn't soak them through. Just damp. I let them air dry for two days before starting the painting process.

Chalk paint recipes can be found on many, many sites. The best one I found is: http://salvagedinspirations.com/best-homemade-chalk-paint-recipes/

I have tested all Denise's recipes and I agree with her the chalk based recipe gives me the overall coating that I am looking for. I only mix a quart mason jar at a time because I like newly mixed paint when I start a project. make sure to keep your paint and chalk blended smooth throughout your painting.

Calcium Carbonate

2 parts paint

1 part Calcium Carbonate

The calcium I buy is from this online store:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ZL1XUK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000ZL1XUK&linkCode=as2&tag=salvageinspir-20

With flat paint mixed with powdered chalk, I custom make my own chalk paint colors. Keeping the old fabric damp, I use a really old brush to scrub the colors into the fabric. Each coat needs to be lightly sanded between coats. Keeping the fabric damp as I paint each additional coat. This chair took four coats to cover the rusty colored old velvet.

I did not sand the last coat of white. I wanted to use a watercolor technique and the resulting rough coat of white chalk paint gave me the perfect surface.

The backs of each chair are painted with a black chalk paint. I use a painters tape to block off even stripes. I then painted the edges of the tape with black chalk paint this helps seal the tape.

When the black is cured I painted each stripe white. I painted three coats of white.

With watered down paints, I start to make large splotches of color, knowing these will eventually be the foundations of my flowers and leaves.

As I finished each flower I added dimension with light and dark accents.

Each chair features a dragonfly by The Graphics Fairy.

I created a larger stripe on the back of each chair.

With contrasting paints, the French love note starts on one chair and is completed on the second chair.

The wood arms and legs are painted with Modern Masters Carbon Black and then coated with a high gloss top coat for durability.

They make me smile. Job Done!

Thanks for visiting.

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3 of 458 comments

Sex4351684 on Feb 02, 2016
OMG'zzzz my mouth is still open, so impressed and I can't wait to try it. Thank you for sharing

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- SK on Elderberry on Feb 02, 2016
  Thank you Miss Sexy. They were a bit of a chore, but well worth the time. Thanks for the visit and kind remarks.
  
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Me_49622824 on Sep 24, 2020

How does this wear. I love it and am thinking of trying it.

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