The colour scheme of my Cauldron Shop will be red and black alongside the dark wood. This has meant a lot of layering of paint the last few days. I am learning to take my time with each stage in order to achieve the best possible results and hopefully the effect I actually want!
The shelving for the top floor has a cream under coat and then three coats of Paprika Red as seen here.
I am always grateful for other bloggers who share their techniques and I have shamelessly read and re-read the blogs of Michelle and Katie.
Michelle is the queen of distressing and Katie is the the queen of crackle!!
Thank you ladies your blogs have taught me so much.
After the red layers I applied a generous coat of crackle glaze and then a top coat of black acrylic paint.
Trying to achieve a heavy crackle is very difficult, or it might just be me, and I just could not get enough red to show through.
So I rubbed the units down, again, to achieve a more distressed look. The problem being that having added a layer of the crackle glaze it was very hard work to rub off the top layer of black.
Finally I got the look I want and finished them off with a coat of modge podge glow in the dark.
With the shelving now in place I am having doubts about the fire place on this floor. It is all a bit squashed so I am not going to put anything more in this room until I have dressed the display shelves.
I have also been working on all the 'wood' pieces for the outside of the shop. Same colours as you can see - a layer of cream, 3 layers of the red and a top coat of black.
This time I used a much more generous coat of crackle glaze and achieved a better crackle but still not enough for the distressed and weathered look I was after.
With more sanding it looks just how I had hoped.
All the pieces have been sealed with a semi-gloss sealent and are ready to be fixed to the carcass which means I can finish the two fronts and the outside of the carcass.
Then I will be back to layering the dirty water washes both inside and out, oh and the lighting, and the roof, and the chimneys, and the fireplaces..........
But soooo much fun when it works!!!
Well I think your units look so good! I find it refreshing that you've done a completely different look on the units compared to the floor and door, they really stand out. Most effective and suit the theme. :o)
ReplyDeleteI've not used crackle at all, I do it the hard way by just sanding! lol Kate maybe able to help you more.
The exterior is very original too and I like the look...lots!
Are you going to cover the walls with anything or are going to just apply a dirty wash?
I'm pleased that I've been able to assist and if anything peeps learn from my mistakes! lol
I'm having editing problems (adding photo's to name one thing) with my blog and unsure what to do.Start again with a new blog (I don't think it will help with the photo's) as I really don't want to delete my current one. :o(((
Michelle xxx
Looks great Janice. Have you started on your Cauldron's yet?
ReplyDeleteLooks fab Janice, your paint finishes look like an old master did them. I can't wait to see more :)
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Victoria
I love the distressed look!!! It looks wonderful!
ReplyDeleteIt was well worth all the hard work and sanding back. I've not heard of the "glow in the dark" stuff, that'll be interesting if you can get a pic!
ReplyDeleteI love the effect you have created on the shelves and the shop front! I am usually not a fan of red and black, but in this case I really like it. Quite like the combination with the old wood (which is probably your work table) as well.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, that I got seriously shocked when I saw the first pic of the shelving units... shocking red!!!! But scrolling down made my heartrate calm down ;0)
ReplyDeleteLike Michelle I love what you have done with the colors and the way you have worked with the cracklemedium. Guess I´m now inspired by your tecnique when I´m going to do my window and door at my Borgin and Burke shop.
I have also re-read a lot of Michelles blogposts for methods and inspiration...
So Michelle...don´t you dare to delete the blog!!! Blogger are having a lot of problems lately, I downloaded Google Chrome and since then mine is working all fiiiiine...
usted hizo un gran trabajo con esas capas de pintura.
ReplyDeleteun abrazo
you did a great job with the layers of paint.
a hug
Great job! I loved It!
ReplyDeleteI love it too! Just the sort of look id like for outside my Glad rags WHEN i get round to it! Ive used the spray crackles which work fabulously , they do a red, which ive used with gold before but like you I find the solutions you put on tricky. Saying that a think this worn aged looks more realistic than the more structered crackles you get with the sprays . I really like it!! Katexx
ReplyDeleteHi Janice - your units look amazing! I use a slightly different technique to get a similar effect. Start by painting the entire unit with black acrylic paint (I know it seems scary but trust me!). Then rub a candle (I usually use a wee tealight) over the parts that would get worn, eg edges of shelves, around door handles, etc. Make sure there's a good coat of wax on these parts. Then paint the entire unit in the final colour you want it to be. Might take a couple of coats for light colours. Once it's totally dry take some fine sandpaper or an emery board and gently rub the areas that were waxed. The paint on top of the wax should flake off leaving the black underneath. Then finally seal it all with a coat of matt or satin varnish. I've used this technique on the sideboard, chairs etc. in my conservatory - there's photos on my blog. Hope this is useful to you for future projects x
ReplyDeleteJanice,
ReplyDeleteI've heard of Allison's fab method before and yes, it's a fab one AND it works. Though until now, I've only ever heard it done on real life furniture. I may try it myself!
I've been using Goggle Chrome for some time, so that's not helping, so I think I will try another blog post and see and buy some more photo storage and see if its the solution!
Michelle xxx
Hi Michelle, I will be adding a finish to the outside walls which will be aged of course with the usual dirty water washes. These kits do seem rather small don't they but on the plus side they are quite quick projects.
ReplyDeleteTr Google chrome. It works for me.
Hi Debbie. I have had a delivery of water bombs and fishing bubbles today so I am ready to start two different ways on Friday hopefully.
ReplyDeleteStill waiting for my ping pong balls!
Hi Annie. The red was initially pretty shocking I agree but the black has done its job. I want all the shops to have their own individual colour schemes and I decided that this combination would reflect the heat of the coal fires.
ReplyDeleteI am really pleased with the outside pieces and will be hoping to achieve the same for the other shops.
Hi Kate, agree the sprays do seem to work better but I am going to try the glue method next to see if I can get bigger crackles. Which I will then sand!!
ReplyDeleteHi Allison, I have tried the waxing technique but did not have a lot of success. I think you need to use quite good candles maybe that have a lot of oils in them??
ReplyDeleteI will have another go with the candle I think as it is so simple.
Hi Janice, re the candles I use the cheap tealights that are everywhere, you know 100 tealights for 50p!! I think it's building up a thick layer of wax that does the trick and brushing away the flaky bits before you start to paint (learned that from experience!)
ReplyDelete