Winner of my Giveaway, and a sneak peek at my latest project!

Good Day Ladies!

I am so very excited to announce the winner of my $25 etsy giveaway!  Without further ado.........
The winner is:  Renae of The Fantastic Flores Family!
Congrats, Renae!  I am so happy for you!  Please contact me & let me know what you would like in my etsy shop, and I will get your selection out ASAP!

I wish that all of you could have been winners! I had so much fun doing this that I know I want to have another giveaway in the future for sure!  And I owe a huge thanks to Jan over at BobbyPins Boardwalk, for making my giveaway possible!  Jan so very graciously offered to host the giveaway for me.  What a sweetheart she is! So, thank you Jan, from the bottom of my heart!

Today I thought I would give you a little sneak peek of a project that I am working on!  A few weeks ago I showed you the "before" picture of a framed print that I found at a garage sale. Well, I just knew the frame would make a perfect chalkboard!  Believe it or not, the frame is made of a Syrocco type material.  Syrocco is a type of heavy resin like plastic, and you see alot of it in gold tones. It was really popular in the 1970's I think, mostly at home decorating parties.  So now you may run across alot of this at yard & garage sales & think it's hideous, but wait til you see what a little paint can do!  I am so amazed at how much this frame really looks like wood now that it's painted!  Unless you pick it up, you would never guess that it's made of plastic!  So I don't think I will ever look at the stuff the same way again! I am ready to scoop every last bit of it up that I see at yard & garage sales!

 Ok, here she is in her "before" state!  Very dated, very plasticy looking!  The first thing I did was remove the glass, then give her a good bath! I then primed her, and I used these paints to create a pretty turquoise color.  I have been having so much fun mixing paint colors lately!  For very little money, you can mix up a bunch of different hues with just a few paints, and it's a blast, too!

I picked up some "spa blue" by Deco Art at Michael's, using a 50% off coupon (by the way, did you know that Michael's accepts competitors coupons?  Yes!!  So I used my Jo-Ann Fabrics coupon, and a Michael's coupon on something else.  Hobby Lobby does not accept other coupons!  Phooey!  I asked them, twice!).
I also used "Turquoise" by Apple Barrel, and "Leaf Green", by Anitas.  I just mixed them all til I found a shade I really liked.  I love saving little glass jars for this purpose, that way I can save any leftover paint I may have & use it for a future project.  Plus, it's a good excuse for me to buy more of these yummy marinated artichoke hearts (Haha!)!!

I used a foam brush to apply the paint, as well as an artist's paintbrush to get in all of the little nooks & crannies.  A bit tedious, but fun, too!  After letting the first coat dry, I gave her another coat, then let the paint cure over night before lightly distressing.  I just used a fine grit sand paper to lightly sand the raised edges.  I then used good old Ralph in "smoke" to give her that wonderful aged appearance that I love.  Again, I used a foam brush, and an artist's brush to do this.  It was really tedious applying the glaze too, what with all of the nooks & crannies in the frame.  When you are using Ralph's antiquing glaze on a larger piece, such as this frame, be sure to work in sections at a time.  If you cover the entire piece with glaze, it may start to dry before you get a chance to wipe off the excess.  So, I would do one or two sides at a time, then wipe off the excess with a lint free rag, before moving on to the next section.  Ralph is pretty easy to work with.  He's a pretty easygoing and forgiving guy!  That's why I am so obsessed with him!  If you do find that part of the glaze has dried before you get a chance to wipe off the excess, just lightly dampen a rag & go over the area, and you can always apply more glaze if too much comes off.  After I was done with the Ralph treatment, I gave it a coat of clear matte sealer.

Now all I have to do is all the chalkboard insert, that is drying as I write this.  I will be sure to show you the finished project!  I really am so happy with how the frame turned out!  I think I have found a new favorite color in turquoise!

Edited to add the finished product!

This is what she looks like now!  You will notice that the color of the frame looks different in the photos below.  This is the true color.  I took the abover pictures (before I added the chalkboard insert) outside, and for some reason it made the frame look more aqua.  Anyway, after posting it in my etsy shop, it sold within a few hours!  I am totally thrilled!  So now I need to go & find some more ugly frames to transform!!

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