A Robin’s Egg Glass Vase

Here’s a fun project using Missouri Limestone Paint Company’s chalk-style paint – MO Duck Egg and French Roast.
We have it locally at Gift Emporium and Half-Crocked Antiques, and we do ship.
Maybe, just maybe, painting a pint jar like a robin’s egg and filling it with faux forsythia or another spring bouquet will bring on the sun and Spring.  I was getting desperate here so made this one yesterday. 😳  ☀️ 🐦 💐 🐝
Do you remember flicking paint with a toothbrush?  Or is that something only weird people who paint do?  I remember “antiquing” an old vanity for our cabin and doing this when I was about 10 or 12. ☺️ 👩🏼‍🎨 🎨
Directions:
1.  Pint jar or canning jar or any glass jar will work.  Dollar Tree has pint canning jars with no embossed wording.  I like using those.
2.  Important step…. glass is such a smooth shiny, surface it is hard to keep paint from getting scratched off.  Not with this trick.  Clean the jar well.  Then paint a coat of water based sealer.  Any brand will work, but I use Varathane water based polyurethane.  Let dry. This is the secret technique that really works!
3.  I painted the jar with two coats of MO Duck Egg.  A trick I like to use on glass is to use a stencil dauber and pounce the paint on.  It looks very textured going on but dries smooth.  Let dry.
4.  You might want to take your jar outside to flick on the French Roast with a toothbrush.  It’s kind of messy.  You might want to wear a plastic glove, too. Don’t get too close or you will get globs and lines.  Trust me.🙄  I had to repaint and reflick in a couple of areas.  Let dry.
5.  You will want to seal your beautiful vase with a top coat.  I could have used the Varathane again, but I used my favorite magic trick.  It is a spray Pearlized Glaze by Mod Podge.  I love this stuff.  It gives a kind of Pearl shimmer and is a great sealer.  This seals the paint as hard as concrete. You can’t scratch the paint off! I found it on Amazon.  Mod Podge Pearlized Spray Sealer… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007QNI3AI?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
6.  I glued sisal rope around the top and filled it with my faux forsythia.  Now, come on Spring!!!! Today the sun is shining so I think it worked. I have also now made two more!
Awww!!! There’s the sun!

Depression Era Vanity Gets A Makeover

I just have to show the final results first. Some pieces just shouldn’t be painted. This small depression era vanity is one of them. She only stands about 22″ tall, but isn’t she beautiful now she’s had some tender loving care? She is still soaking up her “antique improver solution” but I couldn’t wait to share her gorgeousness. I will share a staged photo of her when she is completely finished and ready to show off.

We stop often at St. Mary’s Antique Mall in St. Mary’s, Missouri when we visit our kids in Cape Girardeau. I have seen the display for a Missouri made antique improver product several times and often thought about getting some to try and finally did. I am so glad I did.

I used it tonight on this Cinderella vanity. The top did need a quick sand and stain but the rest really just needed a good drink!

Meet Kramer’s Antique Improver, made the old fashioned way in Sugar Creek, Missouri. They advertise all natural ingredients – two of which are ingredients my dad used when refinishing furniture back when I was growing up….Linseed oil and Turpentine.

The next photo shows where I applied it on the left panel. Pretty amazing.

Next is a full size view. I also applied on the left side of the drawer to show the difference.

A few more photos show some close ups after applying on all but the top. Waiting on the stain to dry before applying it to the top to protect the newly stained top.

The following photo shows the back of the piece, which has me perplexed. It is open and has a shelf. Is it secret storage? I need to do more research on that feature.

Stay tuned for the staged photos coming soon. Once this beauty is dressed in her finery, she will be for sale.