I usually wouldn’t post a personal project on my professional blog, but it’s 2013 and I’m changing things up! I also thought it was a great opportunity to remind all of my clients and non clients alike that read the blog to display their photos! I know I have to be reminded of this often, and it takes me awhile to choose which photos will go on my own walls since I’m a perfectionist, but EVERY TIME I get a print/canvas/album in the mail, I am again struck with the utter gorgeousness of printed materials. A computer just doesn’t do most photos justice!
I don’t know about you, but I also just LOVE a good DIY project. My husband rolls his eyes whenever he comes home and sees a new chair dissected or a table half sanded… but I can’t help myself! My DIY propensity takes new form each year when I update my office space during the “off season”. Last year, I built myself a Sawhorse Desk… It was a super fun and rewarding project and the top made of a wooden door has been perfect for my sprawling mess of cameras, paperwork, iMac and *cough* junk:) This year, while changing my samples, I was trying to think up a creative way to display some 12×12 foam core backed textured prints I had ordered. I knew I didn’t want to frame them traditionally, but I also wasn’t sure I only wanted to mount on the wall or hang with ribbon. Enter these amazing little shadow boxes that I found at the local Ben Franklin craft store:
To my utter delight, these babies were only $12.99…. and when I got to the register I realized that they were an additional 25% off. I purchased three.
I then assembled my ingredients- don’t think for a moment it looked this neat. I’m the messiest DIYer ever, so I just organized these for a photo later!
And here are the EASY instructions:
1. Lay a towel down and the shadow boxes on it. The great thing about working with these relatively non toxic ingredients is the work can be done indoors!
2. Brew the tea. (I brewed mine pretty strong… 5 tea bags for a medium bowl of water)
3. Paint the tea on the unfinished wood. Let this dry for 20 minutes or until dry to the touch.
4. Dip the steel wool in a bowl of white vinegar and rub over the tea stained wood. Let dry till completely dry to the touch, about an hour. You’ll start to see the weathered look come through as it dries. It will look dark grey. You can stop at this point and skip to step 6 if you’d like a darker finish.
5. Mix about 1/4 white paint (I just used an old antique white paint I had from a former project) with 3/4 water and mix well. Paint on over the tea/vinegar finish. Let dry completely.
6. Seal the finish with a clear satin polyurethane finish. I used the kind that comes in a can and used a sponge to apply, but you could also use spray paint. I cracked a window at this point. Let dry overnight.
7. Mount foam backed photo in the shadow box. I wish I could say I was super sophisticated at this point, but I just used tape since I’d like to change the picture in and out. I’m sure you could use glue for a better more permanent solution.
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I think I love this finish so much I’m going to use it on my coffee table next!! Comment below if you have any easy finishes you like, or if you end up trying this out!
Xo, Kina
