Nautical (or beach) side table (or plant stand)
Every once in a while I like to challenge myself by creating with a style that is NOT in my comfort zone. I can honestly say that the Nautical style is NOT in my zone. Beach vibe?? Now that I can do! But todays's focus is Nautical based on the name of the transfer that I used..... although I think it could easily go "beach-y"! I also don't know if this should be called a "side table" or "accent table" or even "plant stand"....... but does it really matter? LOL! NAUTICAL BEACH SIDE TABLE
It's cute..... it was fun..... and it's handy! Let's go with that!
I picked this up at my local Goodwill for just a few bucks! I love the budget friendly pieces that are also easy to pick up and carry out of the store with one hand! Not near as bulky as an armoire!
This piece needed a good cleaning so I used White Lightning. It released a LOT of wood tannin/stain residue onto my cleaning rag no matter how many times I went over it so I knew I needed to prime it before painting to BLOCK the stain and tannins. I chose Dixie Belle BOSS in gray and gave it two full coats.
I painted this first phase of this piece on my Wednesday night LIVE broadcast so I don't have photo of the first few layers. I do have a full You Tube video for you if you'd like to see that part. It's listed at the bottom of this blog. I will tell you that I pulled my colors from a kit! I used a Dixie Belle Paint Inspo KIT! They are so handy as they contain all the products you need for a project in a single box! And a really cute box I might add! It looks like this:
I opened this box from a line up of ALL the kits and had no idea what was inside! It is sooooo much fun to challenge yourself to create with whatever is inside and to not veer from that design style! I happened to open the Nautical Transfer box! Oh mercy! So not my thing! But if my friend Brandy of "Brushed By Brandy" can do it..... so can I! This box includes:
FIVE paint colors
White Lightning
Transfer
Paint Brush
Dark wax
Gilding wax
Sanding sponge
Top coat
Here are a few of the colors here:
I began by painting the bottom of the legs in Stormy Seas. I painted the middle of the legs in Mermaids Tail. I painted the top of the legs in Sea Glass..... and then the top edge and top surface of the table in Manatee Gray. This looks rather crazy at first as none of the colors are gradually blended together YET! That is next! For now it looked like this with very hard lines between colors:
Blending
Now for the fun part..... blending those lines!!! This requires a brush for each color, a rag close by and a mister bottle. You simply add fresh color over each area of color.... so fresh Stormy Seas over dried Stormy Seas..... and fresh Mermaid Tail over dry Mermaid tail..... and then just start brushing each color back and forth over that hard line until the colors "marry" and the hard line disappears! (it is much easier to understand on video....the YouTube video that I mentioned) Do this with every hard line between colors on your entire piece. See the difference between the unblended leg in the left photo and the blended leg in the right photo?
I finally get to add transfers! You can apply transfers to raw Dixie Belle Paint. It does not need to be top coated first. It does need to be dry to touch though. I chose the Kraken for the top of the table. The video will show how to easily apply the transfers. They are applied by removing the white backing sheet.... pressing into place.... and rubbing with the included flat wooden stick and lifting as you rub! You lightly sand (burnish) with a DB sanding sponge to marry the transfer fully to the paint. It is a really easy process and I LOVE applying transfers!
For the drawer front, I chose a combination of transfer and silk screen stencils. The ships wheel in the center is part of the Nautical Transfer.... but the coral pieces to the right and left are from the Nautical Silk Screen Stencil!!! Those silky's are SOOOO detailed you can't even tell they are not a transfer too! Just look at that detail and comparison!
And to make the detail even more crisp...... Dixie Belle has just recently added a new TOOL! It's called the Thing-a-ma-jig!! LOL! Not kidding! It is a silicone bendable application tool with different angled sides that allows you to get in all spaces and apply just the right amount of pressure to those silky stencils!! Have you tried it yet?? You need one in your life! I used that same tool to press Stormy Seas through the silky screen and to apply the compass rose to the center of the bottom shelf!! I love that part!!!
Now it was time for GOLD!!! Nothing takes your flat and boring project to next level gorgeous like Gilding Wax in GOLD! I'm looking a little like Jack Nicholson in this crazy photo.... but that little pot of GOLD looks good!
I added gold everywhere I could possibly get away with!!! As I always say.... I have to force myself to use constraint with this stuff! There is never enough GOLD! It's also easy to work with.... if you happen to use too much you can immediately wipe it off with a baby wipe or damp cloth! And, have I mentioned it's scented??? It smells divine!
The gilding wax needs about 24 hours to cure. Once it's cured you can apply your protective top coat. I lightly sanded the entire piece with my my Dixie Belle Finishing pad. This helps the finish to have a butter soft feel! I wiped back with a micro fiber cloth and began the top coat application. I chose Dixie Belle Satin as my top coat. It works really well as a protector for durability and also works well to seal your transfers.... which is a must! I applied two coats letting dry in between. And that is that!!!
I hope you enjoyed reading about this project as much as I enjoyed sharing it with you! I also hope you will treat yourself to one of the 12 Inspo Boxes! They really are fun..... and a great thing to use if you struggle with not knowing what colors work well together.
Each box comes with a full tutorial from a Brand Ambassador offering step by step on how to create a specific look! This little table isn't near as dramatic as Brandy's dresser that she shares in the Nautical box.... but it certainly looks like the dressers little brother! I really enjoyed creating it!
Don't forget, I've included the shop section below with "clickable" links for you to shop...... sharing every single item I used in this project! And for those of you that would like to see this process from beginning to end, in action...... you can check out my YouTube video!
What was used on this project?
Inspo Box & individual products it contains:
Extra products used:
Similar projects that take you to the sea!
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdbUPLp4izRlir-5pANKNKMadYS1a4vvt
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