The Black Medallion Table

 The Black Medallion - sounds like a 1940's movie, doesn't it?  It describes this little side table perfectly.

I do not have a before photo as I erased all the photos in my camera while playing with the cat a few months ago.  It was freeing in a way.  I may do it again.


Yes, it has taken me this long to refinish this little guy.

Well, to be truthful.  It has taken me this long to unearth him from the gigantic pile of furniture in the formal living room.  During the spring and summer I use the space as storage for projects since we really only use it around the holidays.  But Christmas is coming and I have unloaded several truckloads to make room for decorations and trees and such.

I wish I had the photo of how he looked when I bought him at an estate sale.  He was cowering beside a disreputable  sofa.  He was covered in pink and yellow flowered Contact paper.  My husband questioned my judgment, but I saw some potential in him.  Just take a gander at those sturdy, handsome legs.

I had to use Lift-Off to remove the stickiness. I then sanded and sanded.

Not a shake, rattle or roll to him!

I had a sample pot of unknown paint from the oops shelf at HD I wanted to try. 

The last photos show the color most clearly.  It is a citrus, lime, greenish, tan, gray color.   I hope it can be duplicated because I love the color.

I distressed with heavy sanding about his edges.

 I decided such a sturdy little boy needed some bold graphics to enhance his handsomeness.

I went over to the Graphics Fairy and examined several examples of French frames.  I chose this oval frame.

Originally I was planning to write French words in the frames, but I know orienting a table in a room with typography can be tricky.

I took the frame over to Pic Monkey and found a floral design to fit inside the frame.  Black was my first choice of colors, and I printed out the design nine to a page on my HP Photosmart on plain white copy paper.

Cutting very close, I clipped out three designs at a time.

 I positioned eighteen on the table and measured carefully the spaces between the designs.

Using blue tape I masked the edges to provide a straight edge for the next step.

What could that be?

Reverse Mod Podge transfer, of course!

The Mod Podge is applied to the front side with a foam brush.  Then quickly place on the table print side down.

You can see that the tape definitely helped line up the images.

If you have not tried this, practice several times on a piece of scrap wood,

Or become best buddies with your sander!

The images were left to dry several hours.  It does not matter if you leave them for longer.  Just make sure they are dry before the next step.

Using a brush or your finger, wet the backs of the images.  Do not work way ahead when working with several images.  I did one section of three at a time.

After the image has soaked up the water, the scary part begins.  Gently rub with your finger until the paper releases.   I keep a paper towel handy to remove the paper squiggles off the surface so the remaining ink does not soil the work surface.  I usually sand my transfers for distressing so if any details get lost, I do not worry about it.  If you want perfect images, this is probably not the way to go.

In the photo above, the bottom right corner shows images with the paper backing removed.  The bottom left shows the image in the soaking stage.  Do not leave your images while doing this.  Once you start, stay with it until all paper is removed.

Ta-da!  The Black Medallion - a table meant for greatness or the sappy romantic lead in a black noir film.

I finished him off with several coats of satin varnish over the top and two coats of Minwax.

Another look at his black medallions.

As always I forgot to tell you something.  I did lightly sand the images before applying the varnish.

Well, I am trying to finish all decorating in the next four days, celebrating my 59th birthday (can that be right!?!), attending a huge craft fair, and getting my booth ready at Riverfront Antique Mall In North Augusta, SC.  We are having our grand reopening and Christmas extravaganza from December 1 to December 9.


Oh, also, while working on another project the other day I accidentally spray painted my silver hair red - bright holiday red.  I have washed and washed until it is now a pale pink on the ends of the front pieces.  My hairdresser thinks she can remove the rest - I hope that does not mean cutting!

Well, back to decorating.  I have missed all of you in Blogland for the last week, but I promise I have taken pictures - a ton of pictures - to document what I have been up to.  Just you wait!

See y'all!


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