Cosmic Kismet - A wooden frame finds a new destiny

In the beginning...

...there was a frame posted for free on a website, amongst some other frames.  And it was taken by yours truly sometime in the fall of 2019. THANK YOU FRAME GIVER!

The first part of this freestyle

The wooden frame was examined, turned over, considered from all angles, and offered to friends who might be looking for an unusual size piece to fill with some original art (or who were into the original Wyeth print).

Andrew Wyeth print in wooden frame

Back side of the fame

The frame was pondered for a while, offered to other friends, and I considered trying to create something original of my own to fit the size. But its time had not yet arrived, destiny was still waiting, my indecisive delay was all part of the plan.

The chance conversation that revealed a destiny

And then a friend went to Nepal, and brought back a hand-painted poster of the cosmos wrapped up tightly in a poster tube for transport.....and then some time after returning the friend mentioned that he needed a frame for his new art, and asked if I could help.

Upon seeing the cosmos painting my eyes nearly popped out is disbelief. Not only did I have a frame, it was beautiful wood and had the PROPER DIMENSIONS. This was freestyle fate, or magic, it couldn't have been a coincidence.  So I started the process of dismantling the frame and carefully flattening the hand-painted poster that had been rolled up for so many weeks. I covered the art with wax paper and then some heavy books and just let it sit undisturbed for a few weeks.

Hand-painted cosmos, covered with wax paper,
underneath the original matting for size comparison

When the time was right to get started on the frame makeover, the first step, as always, was to disassemble the frame to clean all the components.

Back of the frame, dust cover and points removed

Wooden frame on its own

This particular wood frame had a very open grain, and it was a bit rough in places. I'm not sure if the roughness of the wood was a deliberate choice to go with the rustic style of the print, or a result of the age of the frame and perhaps the wood drying out over time.

Corner view of wooden frame before refinishing

Scuffed part of wooden frame, before refinishing

No matter the cause, I like my frames to feel smooth, even if their main purpose is to be looked at, not handled.  So I decided to gently sand the whole frame to smooth the surface with a fine grit sandpaper.

Wooden frame, smooth after a gentle sanding

After sanding, I finished the whole piece with furniture wax to give the wood some protection and shine.

Frame after first application of furniture wax

Closeup of frame after furniture wax application

After applying the furniture wax and buffing it to a shine, I allowed the frame to sit for at least a day to allow the wax to cure.

Conclusion

I delicately reassembled the frame with the poster, and was over-the-moon with the results.  See what beauty some patience and karma can lead to?

Refinished wooden frame with hand-painted cosmos art

Sweet cosmic dreams

Happy freestyling.

Purple plastic Adirondastic

Lawn Chair Lowdown

Plastic Adirondack chairs seem to be quite popular in the world of patio furniture.  Who doesn't live a nice reclined back and broad arms that can hold a drink?
  I found this pair of light purple Adirondack style lawn chairs on the loading dock one night. (Full confession, this was approximately 3 years ago, but the lesson still stands!)

Just sittin' here.

Conclusion

Since our patio is was full with other free lawn chairs I passed these along to a friend.  They are enjoying life in their new home.  Even if your lawn chairs are dusty or covered with pollen and you don't want them anymore, spray them with the hose and give them a new lease on life by posting for free on your local social network of choice.



Happy freestyling!

Chair season - furniture finish comparison

Paint vs. Wood Dye

Earlier in the year I decided to refinish two different chairs, one using black dye on the wood and the other using sort-of-black paint named 'Wrought Iron'. The outcomes were very different, and I thought this would be a useful reference - for others or for my future self - when deciding whether to sand a piece of furniture down to bare wood in order to dye the wood or just paint it.  Sanding is an unpleasant chore, so sanding down a whole piece can be quite the investment in time and clean-up energy.

Here are the two chairs, the splat-back (left) and the angular colonial reproduction (right).

A little bit closer view, the left chair was sanded and dyed and finished with furniture wax. The chair on the right was painted with a variation in Benjamin Moore 'Wrought Iron' that I had to bring back to have more dark pigment added.  The hardware store folks were really nice about adding more pigment to try to get me to the 'soft black' color I had in my mind.....but I'm not sure it exists in reality.

The tricky part about sanding and dyeing is that you have to remove EVERY. SINGLE. PART of the old finish before dyeing.  If you miss any spots while sanding you will get places on the chair that resist the dye, and show up as light spots.  This shouldn't be a problem if you are working with raw wood, but for furniture makeovers it is something to consider if you plan to use any sort of chemical or mechanical stripper.

Conclusion

If I were working with raw wood, or wood that was confidently fully sanded, I would use the dye. The way the color sinks into the wood while leaving the grain slightly visible is a much more satisfying look. What's the word I'm looking for instead of satisfying: maybe authentic? aged? natural? organic? inviting? woody?  Something along those lines.   However, in the case of chairs with lots of spindles, if the chair already had a finish on it I'd try to get the right kind of paint to apply over the existing finish.  Sanding spindles sucks.

Happy freestyling!

From protein powder to plant home

Plastic planter made for free

Earlier this summer I was casting around for small, lightweight, and weather-resistant planters to use on our balcony.  And free, they had to be free because I'd already spent enough money on plants and didn't want to buy things that I would likely have to store indoors over the winter. 

 I must admit that prewashed salad clamshells are pretty baller because they meet those requirements and are in plentiful supply, but I was hoping for things that were not too obviously reused food containers.  A friend offered up a few empty plastic containers that originally contained protein powder.  Lightweight, weather-resistant, and no printed label on the basic white plastic? 

Yes please.

I drilled a few holes in the bottom to give them drainage.

The drainage holes should probably be larger to allow for more air circulation, but I tried to compensate by drilling extra holes.

I added a lavender plant to each, put them on a balcony, and crossed my fingers hoping that the plants would survive and maybe even flower. 

Conclusion

Still waiting for those lavender flowers....

Happy freestyling!