Bunnies to the Attic

Hello friends
I am putting away the few Easter/Spring decorations I scattered around the house this year. As I was gathering them up and admiring my work, I decided to share their make-overs with you.

This large bunny was found at JoAnn's on sale and with a coupon. He stands 9" tall from surface to ear tips; both his stance and size appealed to me but his paint job was reminiscent of a case of the mange.  I was so eager to start his make-over that I neglected to take a "before" picture. Trust me, it wasn't pretty.

Some of the best patterns and designs can be found on paper napkins, especially cocktail size ones. I buy the ones I like whenever I see them. I've found pretty ones at both TJ Maax and Home Goods, and at after season sales in gift shops.

Looking into my stash, I found the perfect design and decoupaged it onto the body. Simply separate the layers of paper napkin, using only the single, top patterned layer. Then paint the Mod Podge onto the bunny and smooth the pieces of napkin onto the body. Wrinkles are OK - they will not show and "a man on a galloping horse" will never see them. I worked the napkins around the eyes (so no re-painting there) and used brown paint for the nose.

Adding white paint for the bow was the finishing touch to make him much more handsome . . . now this bunny has a high-end decorator feel rather than a poorly painted Made in China look.

Here's a four-side view. I had thought for a millisecond to paint his tail white but decided against it. All in all, I was pleased with this handsome guy.

The little bunnies (4" tall) seen below were found at the Christmas Tree Shop. Each was spruced up with a new look using the same decoupage method. 

None of the four I bought had perfectly clean fur (what do you want for $1.29?) so out came the Mod Podge, napkins and tissue paper. Here's the before and the after in their Easter finery:

The French script bunny is covered with tissue paper I rediscovered in my supplies. I used some green napkin for the base and painted the flower and nose with nail polish. 

Paper napkins were used to make a twin to the large bunny and for the more feminine stripe bunny. Again, I worked around the eyes on all of them so I didn't have to repaint. Nail polish nose.

The bottom of each was covered with coordinating paper to minimize furniture scratching.  I added a postmark from the tissue paper to the green bunny base for a bit of whimsy.

 Now that they have ushered in Spring, they are off to the attic 'til next season! 

If you happen to have a decorative piece you like but are tired of its look, try the Mod Podge and paper napkin makeover. It's pretty simple and fun to do.

Cheers!

Susan

The table rescued from "the shed"

Once upon a time, many years ago, I was rummaging around in my parents' shed and came across a side table among the odds and ends of furniture.  Ann and Ted collected "stuff" that they brought home to "the shed" where it lived while awaiting repair, refinishing, or repainting. This little table was buried behind something or another, dusty and dirty, but the paint captured my interest - it had naturally crackled and aged - and time-worn finishes were all the rage.

I wanted the table . . . Mom said "take it," so I did.  She assumed I would repaint it but once I cleaned the grime off, the genuine crazed painted surface was actually quite nice. Much nicer than could be "faked" with any of the bottled crackle finishes on the market. There were a few dings and scrapes on the top and legs, and a small section of the bottom shelf had broken off, but that was OK with me. After all, this was a "found" table, not something from Marlborough Barn.

I gave some thought to trying to paint over the blemishes, but I knew matching the color would be next to impossible - probably making the dings more noticeable rather than less.  Inspiration came in a 4 oz. bottle of Aleene's  "Paper Napkin Applique Glue" that had come in a craft kit I ordered from QVC.  (Yes, I did that.) I looked through my stash of paper napkins and just happened to have a package with wildflower and nature images that melded well with the table's paint. I was in business.

Following the directions on the glue bottle, I cut around  flowers, ferns, leaves, trees and butterflies and separated the plies (layers) of the napkin so I was using only the top layer of paper for the actual decoupage. Then I spread glue in one area at a time where I wanted a particular image to be and gently placed it on the glue. It was gingerly smoothed to remove any bubbles or wrinkles and then more glue went over the top of the image. After a few false starts and ripped images, I got the hang of it  . . . below you see the results on each side of the table.

I don't have any "before" pictures - twenty-plus years ago, I think I was still using a film camera and who would have anticipated needing photos of this little table for a blog post.  (Did blogs even exist back then?)

I must admit it took a while to finish this whole table project. I had intended to cover only the dings and then add enough images to balance the design, but once I got started, the table took on a life of its own. Although the process was fairly simple, cutting the images from the thin and floppy paper napkins was fairly time-consuming.

The top of the table

                                                                    
After I had added enough to the table and the images were dry, I used a gold paint pen and drew squiggles and dots on the surface of the table to add some interest and a bit of glitz.  I cringe a bit when I look at the amateurish pen work - it was one of my first attempts. I'm much better at it today, but it is what it is and has a charm all its own. A conversation piece, so to speak . . . with a kind of "found in a French ladies sitting room" feel.

Detail of the naturally crackled paint

If I were doing this project today, I may have used fewer images . . . I got somewhat carried away . . . but one never knows . . .

A closer look

To complete the make-over, the table feet were painted a darker gray color and felt floor protectors added to their bottoms. After several days of drying time, a clear coat was applied over the entire piece to protect the decoupage work.  A ceramic drawer pull replaced the damaged original (a gift from my friend, Donna) and its butterfly image complements the table perfectly. Finished!

If you have a tired, worn, or boring furniture piece crying out for help, try giving it a new personality with  decoupage. Book pages, maps. napkins, wrapping paper, scrapbook paper, newspaper - any type of paper, actually - can be applied to just about any piece of furniture with Mod Podge (or similar decoupage medium) with startling and unexpected results.  If you have been drawn into Pinterest, do a search for decoupaged furniture and you'll see some great stuff. Go for it!

Cheers!

The table sits in the hallway with some of my sheep