Freestyle @ Friends' - Mirror makeover

The freestyle inspiration keeps happening across all the lands!  I got an email from a friend halfway across the country with one line, "This mirror is made out of some cheap wood. What do you think I should do to it if I want to paint it?" (and two attached pictures).  The pictures show a shiny-surface frame, probably a plastic-based veneer over pressboard / particleboard, but with nice proportions and a timeless shape.

free mirror, take 1

free mirror, intact and shiny veneer

My recommendation was to NOT sand the piece because that might cause bubbling later if the pressboard underneath were to absorb liquid from any paint. LEARN FROM MY EXPERIENCE! I had this happen with a scandi-superstore piece before - where I followed generic refinishing instructions and lightly sanded to scuff the surface but that then allowed the liquid paint I later applied to seep through the veneer and into the pressboard (or particleboard).  This ended up causing some low bubbles and didn't ruin the project, but it was visible in angled light. So, anyway, back to this particular mirror. I recommended spray paint primer (optional) and spray paint as opposed to roll-on paint.

The refinished outcome is below, much improved with a lighter wash over the fake wood veneer.
Yay for backyard DIY and free furniture!

Happy freestyling, and if the mirror is intact, take it!

Framed! In gold, and linen, and some more gold for good measure

As part of the great February Frame Find I scored this ornate vintage frame.  I loved the layering of the (fake) gold, linen texture (also probably fake), and more (fake) gold along the innermost edge. 

What I didn't like was the aged looked on the frame achieved with (or because of?) brown speckling.  At first I thought some of brown speckles and grey colors inside the raised ("carved") parts of the frame were just accumulated dust or dirt that could be cleaned off, but nope, that was part of the original paint treatment.

I realize this sort of aged treatment gives the frame a softer look, and is sometimes deliberately used to good effect  to show the detail of the 'carved' details on the frames - often done with glazing.  This softer look is definitely less hard and shiny, but to my eyes it also made the frame look dirty and that made it distracting.  So after a full cleaning it was time to get out the Antique Iridescent Gold paint and my tiny brush (yes, still the one that was chewed up by a previous roommate's cat) and get to work. After two-or-so coats of paint I'm satisfied with the lighter and brighter and glow-ier look.

Post-paint and sitting pretty

The 'carved' design around the outer edge of the frame - which to me looks like apostrophes and quotes - no longer has gray color in the grooves. The inner corner rope-like detail is not so dark as before, and the brown speckles that were along the broad flat areas have been covered over.  In a few spots they still add a bit of shadow from behind the paint, but I'm ok with that because it breaks up the uniformity of color and the very non-uniformity of my uneven brush strokes.

Corner details, from gray to glowing.

I don't have a painting or photo to put in this frame yet, so the full reveal will have to be at some future date.  Perhaps a seascape? 

In the meantime, remember the transformative power of paint, and happy freestyling!

Meow That's A Fun Frame Find

One night a neighbor friend was browsing his building's message board and saw that someone was leaving a bunch of picture frames outside their door, for free, obviously.  He scampered over and grabbed a whole box, following the scavenger-hoarder mantra of 'take it now, figure it out later.' Approve.  After taking what he wanted he offered the box of associated small frames to me, and I managed to find a group of frames the same style, all around 8x10 to 8x12.  Yay for third-hand picking! It felt positively luxurious to lay out the frames on the floor and look at them all instead of grabbing a box and scurrying off into the night.

Here is a snapshot of the 'before', very basic black wooden frames, at least 20 years old.

Basic frames sitting on cardboard

I have a different friend who wanted to add some art to his walls for the bargain price of next-to-nothing, and was into the idea of painting some free frames with gold paint. Below is one of the frames after the first coat, not very encouraging, but I knew that it takes a few coats of gold to really build up the shine.

In process, don't judge it yet.

Here is the final product, with a picture of the beloved cat printed out at a local drugstore.

Kitty says Meow!

Now we just have to finish painting the rest of the frames, find and print some more suitable artwork (probably more cat pictures), and arrange a custom gallery wall. Stay tuned.

Happy freestyling!