A Seaside Sign

Since we are getting yet another foot of snow here in southern New Hampshire, it seems fit to introduce my seaside sign.  At this point, I'm looking to be welcomed by the sea, lounging on a beach, with an adult beverage in my hand.  But alas, it's a shovel and Motrin instead.

This was a gift for a very special person.

She happens to be my son's visiting nurse, who has been in the trenches with us through two hip surgeries and years of leukemia treatments.  I definitely wouldn't have come through the other side intact without her support.  And shoulders.

I created the planked part of the sign with pallet wood.  After joining the pieces together with strips of wood in the back, the whole thing was whitewashed.  Next, I added my pre-painted 1X2" frame.  I then transferred the fonts from paper to the wood using carbon paper and hand painted them in.

I was very picky about what the mermaid would look like.  After Google searching images, I found the perfect look.  And it happens to be an artist with an Etsy store, so if you want to check out his great art, you can find it here.  I traced her onto wood, cut with a jigsaw, painted and distressed.

I think she is now ready for her new home at the Geary's beach house.  They can either shovel their way to it, or just what for the thaw.  :)

Have a warm day,

Debbie

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Meet Jenna, the dining table

Meet Jenna.

A beautiful, sturdy table that has served families for over a dozen years.  Years of snacks and meals, cookie decorating, valentine creating, and playdoh sculpting.  It didn't take that long to remove the marker stains and dried bits of leftovers, but it was a challenge.

I think the challenge was the weather.  For days on end, it was in single digits outside and below 30 degrees in my garage.  Even the portable propane heater couldn't tackle that much cold.  With that said, my Citrus Stripper didn't work very well.  I did two coats, and I could see all the original varnish still had not been removed.  So I had to whip out the belt sander and away we went.

All stripped clean

Jenna was due for a well-deserved makeover.  I wanted her to keep her rustic appeal, but add a bit of class.  After sanding down the top,  I used my favorite tools to distress the finish.  You can see an example of it in this post.   It's best to use a dark stain after distressing so the character of your work comes through.

Okay, here is where I apologize for the lack of photos.  Jenna was a beast -- in a very good way.  Four hands needed to move this table and most of the time I didn't have four hands.  So I could only take a few pics -- with my phone -- after putting her in my shop.  :(

I went with a creamy white homemade chalk paint for the apron and chunky legs, and then slightly distressed them.  I used polyacrylic to seal the paint and three coats of polyurethane for the top.  Her dimensions are 42" wide, 29.5" tall, 60" long, and 78" long with the leaf.

Loving those legs!

Jenna has just been delivered to Robin's Egg and she's looking forward to finding a new home where they love to play with glue and crayons.

Have a lovely day,

Debbie

Sharing with:
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