Monday 3 September 2012

A Crafty Recipe

Hello! I'm back with a little crafty recipe, something that is beautiful AND useful. I envisaged a new life for an old stool, and in my mind we will use it all around the house- reaching the spice jars in the top of the kitchen cupboards, assisting the toddler to brush his teeth at the bathroom wash basin, making an extra seat in the living room for guests, and even using it as a bedside table.
 
You will need:
1 IKEA Bekvam Stool
1 small tin of paint of your choice  ( I have used Dulux colour mix BLUE DIAMOND 6)
Scraps of vintage wallpaper
1 paintbrush
PVA glue/ Mod Podge
Clear varnish
 
Step one:
 
Don your favourite crafting dress, clogs and vintage pinny. One must prepare for a crafty day.
 
Step two:
 
Lightly sand the stool to make sure the surface is clean and ready to paint. Wipe with a damp cloth to remove any dust. My stool was a filthy old thing previously in my mother's shed, so it was FREE! However, they're only £11 new. And they're untreated solid beech so won't need any prep really.
 
Step three:
Take your stool outside. You can prime your stool if you like, however this paint didn't need an undercoat. Give your stool a coat of paint. I have used a (large) tester pot from the bargain bin in Homebase. It cost £1! This is a very thrifty stool so far...
 
Step four:
Make yourself a cuppa and wait for the paint to dry. On a warm day it won't take long. Give the stool a second coat if needed, or touch up any streaky bits. You want a nice, matt finish. Wash out your paintbrush and leave it to dry, you'll need it again later. Make another brew.
 
Step five:
 
Cut pieces of old wallpaper up into small patchwork pieces. I used the lid of a tea caddy to make sure I had some even-sized patchy squares, as well as offcuts and straight edges. I ordered a pack of vintage wallpaper scraps from the ever-so-lovely Jane over at the Little Teawagon... so for a bargain price of about £3.50 I am ready to decorate the stool's top!
 
Step six:
 
 
Using your clean paintbrush, paint PVA or mod podge onto your dry, painted surface. Carefully position your patchwork paper pieces in a pleasing-to-the-eye arrangement of sweet granny goodness. Make sure you use a decent amount of adhesive, your don't want the edges of the paper curling up. PVA dries clear so you can go mad, though wipe any splodgy bits away with a damp cloth.
 
Step seven:
 
Leave the glue to dry overnight, then seal with a layer of clear, matt varnish. Once again, leave to dry before using. Then you should have a lovely, solid stool that won't peel or chip.
 
Step eight:
 
Make more tea and stand and admire your handiwork. You just made a thrifty and frankly PEACHY stool!
 
 
 
happy painting, patching and piecing!
 
xxx
 
 

9 comments:

  1. i love this! i have a stall similar, im going to do it! thanks crafty kath :-)

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  2. well this couldn't have come at a better time! I am about to do this technique with wallpaper testers;to a pine tall boy! I was wondering wether or not to varnish over the wallpaper.
    thanks
    mary-jane

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  3. This is great!...now i let my Bekvam stool outside in de rain :-(
    I have to get my a new one and do this...
    I'm a vintage-wallpaper-from-Jane-Littleteawagon-lover and i
    have pimped up several items with her paper!
    I have enough stock left to use for a stool ;-)

    thank you xx

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  4. Wow, that looks amazing and I have just the stool to decorate. Must get over to Jane's blog to order me some wallpaper. Maybe this little project will spur me on to actually finish the renovations in the kitchen. Here's hoping. xx

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  5. Amy and I were talking about doing something very similar with an old cheap and nasty chest of drawers we have. Your recipie is going to come in very handy! Thanks!

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  6. That looks great! I have one of those stools lurking around too! Now, where did I put the mod-podge.......?

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  7. what a fab project. I've had one pf those stools for years but somehow it's ended up with some doodling on by one of my boys. I know which one it was because he always doodles his name!!! Time it had a makeover me thinks.

    Great pictures and 'tutorial' - thank you.

    Paula x x x

    ReplyDelete

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