Hello, Crafters! Today I have another Tommy Art Chalk Paint project to share with you ... this time using these fabulous paints to renew an old candlestick! To see how I used these same paints on a papercrafting project, please see this post.
This pretty 12" candlestick has a larger matching mate, along with a decorative bowl that I've had for over 10 years. While the cream, gold, and bronze color scheme served me well in my old house, the new house is full of white, gray/silver, and black, so I haven't had a place for them . . . until now! Enter: Tommy Art Chalk-Based Mineral Paint! This chalk paint dries rapidly, offers superb coverage, opacity, porosity, lightfastness and is available in more than 35 colors! Bonus: Tommy Art chalk colors adhere to most surfaces without preparation!
This is what I did:
PAINT a base coat of Tommy Art's Clay colored (light gray) Chalk-Based Mineral Paint right over the surface of the candlestick, without any prep work. Use a stiff brush to work paint into the crevices. The paint covers quickly and completely, in just one coat!
Let dry thoroughly. Since this paint is fast drying, that will take under an hour! It was probably dry a lot quicker than that (maybe 5 minutes?), but I was off doing some other things and wanted to be sure it was very dry, before the next step:
Notice the color of the paint doesn't change too much from wet to dry -- if that helps with your project planning.
NEXT, apply Antiquing Coating (a black semi-transparent acrylic liquid coating) over the surface of the chalk-painted candlestick, working in small areas at a time. You want the antiquing to get into the crevices, so work it in well, using a sponge brush. I tested out my color preference by wiping away some of the coating with a soft cloth at different time intervals. The longer you leave the coating on, the darker the color will "stain" the chalk paint. Quickly rub the coating off, if too much accidentally gets applied:
Again, let dry thoroughly:
Don't worry if the coating takes to some parts of the chalk paint better or darker than other areas, I think this adds to the character of the piece. Most of that will be covered up later anyway, and won't be as noticeable.
NEXT, lightly brush Tommy Art Silver Metallic Paint over the raised parts of the design. I used a sponge brush dipped in the paint, then tapped off the excess. You want your brush to be almost dry, to prevent applying too much of the silver paint. Use a light touch, so the silver paint just catches the tops of the design. A little goes a LONG way!
If you happen to get more silver paint on the project than you'd like, just buff with a soft cloth, or re-apply more of the Antiquing Coating over it.
MY FINAL STEP was to buff the entire piece with a soft cloth. And that's it, folks -- super easy! You could always opt to add another dimension of color and protectiveness to the project and apply one of Tommy Art's Waxes all over the piece, but I was very happy with these results! Here's the finished candlestick in my studio lighting:
A very dramatic change, isn't it?!! And here it is on the coffee table in my family room:
Much better -- right?!! Do you have some old items you could make into new treasures? Tommy Art paints can help! I know I have a few more pieces that can be upcycled . . . I better get busy!
I love this so much, Sharon! Beautiful work and I love your step outs! I do think I need to come and inspect it in person - you know just to fully appreciate the beauty! <3
Posted by: Lori | May 30, 2017 at 03:11 PM
What a great job. It looks so nice. It was pretty to start with but this really made it a different beauty. Wonderful job showing us step by step.
Posted by: Bunny | May 30, 2017 at 07:16 PM
Wow! What a transformation! It looks 100% better and modern!
Posted by: Linda Carson | May 30, 2017 at 08:50 PM
wow. i cannot believe that it completely covered the bronze without it showing through. definitely interested in purchasing this.
Posted by: kel h. | May 31, 2017 at 03:00 PM