Diy Old Desk to Shabby Chic

 

      My latest diy project was an old desk that I use as a makeup table. I bought it at the Goodwill for $14.99. The desk was pretty beat up but it had great potential so I decided to give it a face lift and tryout using chalk paint since its the trend right now.

Before pic

     I decided to use Americana Decor chalky paint finish in refreshing which is a mint green color. For the finish I got the Americana Decor soft touch varnish. I chose vanrnish over wax since this is used as  a makeup table and I wanted to be able to use house hold cleaning products to clean up any makeup that may get on it. The varnish label states that it is scratch & scuff resistant. 

Chalk paint was $8.99 and varnish was S11.99  at Micheals

      This being the first time using chalk paint I didn't expect it to feel so thick when using. For me it was too hard to spread and the coat was so thick that I added about a tablespoon of water to thin it out. Just remember that thining paint means the coverage will be alot more sheer too so you may need to do more coats if you want it to be more fully covered.

                            After two coats of chalk paint before varnish

      Once it was all dried I applied the Americana Decor soft touch varnish.  Unfortunately once I started to apply it I noticed that it was drying with a yellow tint that I really didnt like since it changed my color a bit.  The jar says it dries clear so it was unexpected. The vanish was a satin finish and did make the table soft to the touch, which is very nice.

Left side is with the Americana Decor soft touch varnish. Right side is unvarnished

      I repainted over the varnish and decided to use a different varnish. I bought this one at JoAnns it is a very high gloss but the bottle says that it will not turn yellow. While there I saw some really pretty floral wall stickers and decided to go ahead and decoupage it as well.

Americana Dura Clear gloss varnish $6.99 at JoAnns

      I did some research on how to decoupage with stickers using modpodge on the site below. 

http://modpodgerocksblog.com/2012/09/amazing-sticker-decoupage-table.html

     Wall stickers are clear so if you decide to use them like I did, remember that the color of your furniture can show through the sticker and change the color of your sticker. Also trim your stickers closer to the edge of the pattern so you dont have a visible edge.

     Once I trimmed my stickers I peeled the sticker off its backing and applied an even coat of mod podge to the sticky part of the sticker. After I had the sticker in place I used a piece of cardboard to scrape over the sticker and get all the excess air bubbles and glue pockets out of the sticker.  I then used a brush and went over the sticker with mod podge. I did this until I was done and then let it dry. Once dry I applied two coats of varnish over all the table.

      I still have a quarter of the varnish left, so one bottle was enough for my table. I also used a whole jar of the chalky paint which I did water down and had to open a second jar to go over the part I varnished with the soft touch vanish that I didn't like on this project. 

You can see how glossy it looks in this pic