Sunday, May 5, 2013

Fine Finials


 I have said over and over I will not curse the rain.  Last year we had unrelenting drought.   However, the past several weeks of rain and chill have driven me bonkers.  

I am an outside girl.  Happiest in the sun.  But I am not going to complain about the rain.  

I will do inside projects and disregard the set of unfinished chairs in the living room.  

So I chose a finial project to "Rosemary".  If you have never "Rosemaried" anything, go over to Villa Barnes to see how.  Here's a post on Old World finishes from Rosemary. Be sure to read several posts. You will be hooked!

 I was inspired to create some sort of metal-zinc-galvanized type finish by  Deborah at  Green Willow Pond (Old World Finishes)  and  (Faux Zinc Travel Case).


Finials cannot be fine without some embellishment from Karen at The Graphics Fairy.  

I picked out a bird in a laurel wreath.  Sorta reminds me of Noah!

Took the image to Pic Monkey and colored it and put a frame on it and resized it and ... well, you get the picture.












I had these finials and the blocks under the bed.  I am still being a good little crafter and using up my enormous stash of supplies.

Those four blocks are the last of ten I bought about two years ago.  They are the feet from a sofa and chair.  I wish I could find some more - they are excellent for fine finials!

The two acorn finials do not match, but are close enough.  The other two do match. 





 The main ingredient in Rosemarying is gesso.  You can find this in the art supplies.  I buy a big container of it because I use it to prime many things.  It is a bit expensive - use a coupon!

A foam brush works best - the gesso is thick.  It is not necessary to get in all the cracks.

You are after a distressed finish.










 All eight pieces primed with the gesso.  Since I was going for a metal-zinc type of look,  I mixed some gesso with black craft paint to get a dark gray.













After that coat, I threw some more gesso in the mix to slightly lighten the color.

Instead of painting with the foam brush, I dabbed the paint on and gently wiped off with a paper towel.

See the difference?









Here is one base distressed on top of the others which are not.

This is a messy step.  You will have the gesso/paint mixture all over you.

Yes, that is my dining room table I am working on!

I covered everything with waxed paper.








 I was admiring the progress and loving the look of the finials and taking pictures when Chucks walked in and asked what happened to the no working on the dining room table rule?

Did he really think that would last?










 The hardest part of the project was screwing those darn finials into the bases.  There was already a hole drilled into each, but I have the raw skin to prove the holes were not big enough. 

You can see from the pile of sawdust, I broke down and drill out the holes to make them larger.

 



Should have done that first.







 I Mod Podged the images onto the bases and applied a coat over the tops after drying.  I follow with two coats of a satin craft varnish.

In my not-so-humble opinion, the finials are very fine indeed!

They are metal-zinc-galvanized looking!  (Choose one!)


 







 A close-up of the bird image.

Mighty fine finials you have there, ma'am!

I was watching Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Killer (or maybe it was Vampire Slayer - I never remember titles!) while working on these.  It was a surprisingly good movie if you like vampires.  Very clever!

 




GATSBY ALERT!

All of you Great Gatsby fans.  Go the the Thomas Cooper Library (University of South Carolina) website to view F. Scott Fitzgerald's ledger.  They have scanned the actual ledger in his handwriting and have transcribed it.   I have spent hours reading through the book with notations of his expenditures, how much he was paid for The Great Gatsby and other works, and the lists of parties he and Zelda attended.  Go see for yourself!  Read the ledger here!

I am pulling more stuff from under the bed.  Regular readers, this is always a rare glimpse into surprise finds surprising me all over again!

See y'all!







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15 comments:

  1. Fine finials, indeed! I am so glad you told how to do the process with the gesso (I don't have any. I have never been quite sure I had good reason to spend the money. You have convinced me.) I just saw a finish in a magazine I wanted to try to replicate and I think it could be done with a similar treatment. Thanks for the fine finial tutorial! I do so love that you are still clearing out stash (the October overhaul lives on!) and finding surprises. I have done that several times recently. Treasure abounds!

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  2. Love the finials Donna...:) They are too cute! I have never used gesso before, but until yesterday I had never used chalk paint either! I'm getting brave in the DIY & crafting world...:) Are these headed to the shop? I have been trying to get some projects done and am having pretty good success! Come on over and see the three from the weekend...:)

    Blessings, Vicky
    Life On Willie Mae Lane

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  3. Hi Donna, Great job as usual. For my next project I am looking for stencils. I went into a dollar store and asked the young cashier if they carried stencils. Can you guess what she said? She asked me "What's a stencil"? I'm still shaking my head. lol...Connie

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  4. Your finials turned out great Donna. Love the bird image! I've never used gesso before so it was really interesting to read. I love learning new techniques.

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  5. I love the finials! Pick just one? How can I, they are all so perfect! Great job on these, Donna.
    Debbie :)

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  6. Love the finials Donna. I cannot do that advanced stuff-I shall leave it to you:} I am watching the weeds and grass grow-ick.

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  7. Hey Donna; These Finials that you have transformed are just something else!!! I Love them! Are you going to keep them, or sell them?
    I am bad, I would keep a set and sell another :-)

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  8. Donna these are awesome! I mean like seriously awesome. I think they are my favorite project of yours! Now I need to add finials to my list of things to hunt for. I do all of my projects on my kitchen table....and I have a table in my craft room!

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  9. I've never used Gesso - I'll have to give it a try! Thanks for sharing at Fluster's Creative Muster Party!

    Robin
    Fluster Buster

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  10. Donna they're so pretty I haven't rosemarried anything but I grow it, I think it would look fantastic in my kitchen

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  11. Gesso is the greatest. And thanks for letting me know about The Great Gatsby. I love that story.

    Heidi’s Wanderings

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  12. hi Donna ... I love how you finished the Finials. I have two acorns like those ... just need the base for them. Thanks for the tutorial, I will try that method.
    Blessings,
    Audrey Z. @ Timeless Treasures

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  13. Those finials are so pretty! The images on front really make them awesome! We'd love it if you'd link your post to The Creative HomeAcre Blog hop! http://acultivatednest.com/2013/05/the-creative-homeacre-blog-hop-2/

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  14. Such a fabulous idea Donna! LOVE how they turned out!

    Thanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality!

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I enjoy reading all of your comments and will always answer with email. I will try to track you down if you show up as a "no reply" commenter to let you know. Friends are like that!