Peacock Green Painted Desk ~ AKA "Isabella"

"Isabella" ~ a writing desk/vanity painted in a jeweled combination of blues, greens and flashes of gold...my favorite finish so far! 

So, here is my tale of victorious triumph! I spotted "Isabella" on a facebook feed update for one of our local buy/sell/trade pages...my heart jumped! The lines, the solid wood, the hardware...future perfection just waiting to happen! I quickly checked the time stamp...it had been three minutes since the seller posted. Now, I don't know how y'alls local buy/sell/trade facebook pages work...but around here, you have to STALK these pages to have a chance at the good stuff! Especially furniture! So, three minutes in "facebook sale page time" is an eternity. I clicked on the post as quick as I could and only two people had responded and get this...they were ASKING QUESTIONS about it! "What's wrong with it?" "Do the drawers work?" Are you serious people?! With a piece like this there are no questions...ever! I typed feverishly "I'LL TAKE IT! I can come by right now!" There! I was the first to say I would take it, and that counts for something! Another lady tried to buy it out from under me up to the moment I turned into the seller's neighborhood...but obviously, I won! She came home with me and patiently waited a couple of weeks for her makeover.

Before her fabulous makeover!

 Now, I've been eyeing different pieces for ages, trying to decide which one was suited for such a flamboyant jeweled tone that is Peacock Green. I don't think that it would work for an overly large piece of furniture, and maybe for a small one...but this desk was perfect. So, I used two colors that I have had in my inventory for a long time now. The first, or base color, is Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Aubusson Blue (a longtime favorite of mine).

The second color is CeCe Caldwell's Emerald Isle-a brilliant green. It's a gorgeous color! All I did was dry brush it all over...unfortunately, I lost my mind and don't have any pictures of that process. But if you look at the final pics, you can definitely see the Emerald tones all over. They really just set it off, I think! As far as how much was used, I actually used this a sample pot that the lovely Mandie from Altar'd sent me several months ago....this 4 oz sample pot has gone a long way so far, there's still over half left! I have a full quart still, so there are many more future projects to come in this bejeweled tone! I have always loved ASCPs colors, and will always keep several of her colors in stock...but Cece Caldwells beautiful paints are a growing part of my collection!

Anyhow, I used some Martha Stewart "Vintage Gold" Metallic Paint Specialty Finish for the desktop trim and door fronts....that woman is just a genius, don't you think? I just took a small craft paintbrush and got to painting. I didn't tape anything off or get too crazy with being careful. That's the beauty of the "shabby" distressed look. If you get out of line all you have to do is distress that "oops" out of there! You can pick these fabulous paints up in 10oz sizes at Home Depot for about 6 bucks...well worth it, because they too go a very long way.

After all this was said and done, I broke out my new 3M Sanding System! The hubs and I were given one by a wonderful gentleman who was representing 3M at this year's Haven Conference...I almost cried because he gave it to us as a thanks for our service after asking about "Ft Campbell" as the location on my business card. We had walked away and were looking at the next booth when he tapped us on the shoulder. I feel like a terrible human being, but if 3M ever reads this post and you recognize the man...he is awesome.

 We also went to the product demo the next day and saw first hand how awesome this baby works! I don't have a nifty little vacuum system like theirs, but I do have my trusty old Dyson...worked like a charm! It sucks in every single particle as it goes!!! (Hah, how do y'all like that photobomb by Beckham back there? I just noticed that, guess I am just so used to him being there I don't even see him in pics anymore...that guy!)


Seriously, folks...if you use any chalk based paints-and like to sand for distressing- this system is your best friend. Not a spec of paint dust came off my desk! These are pictures of the floor after sanding WITHOUT and then WITH the sanding system.

Distressing without 3M Sanding System

Distressing with 3M Sanding System...No Dust!

Major difference, eh? Oh and before I go on, I haven't been compensated in any way whatsoever for this-I just used their product and loved it. Paint dust is my nemesis and if y'all love to paint and distress you all know how much you can't stand the mess it can make. So, yeah, your'e welcome. ;)


Then came my favorite part...waxing....NOT! Sigh, necessary evil. I really wish I didn't love the look and feel of a wax finish because then I wouldn't have to do it. But, nope, I love it, so out came the waxes and brushes! I started with a coat of CeCe Caldwell's Clear Wax, which I love because it gives a great finish and it's not as hard to apply as other clear waxes. I know some folks say you should wax and buff in small sections, but if it's not a very large piece I prefer to start laying wax at one point and by the time I cover the entire thing, I am ready to start buffing from the beginning. With CeCe's Clear Wax there isn't a need to let it sit for a long time at all-another reason I love it! Then I turned to ASCP Dark Wax, for the patina and aging effect. Now, let me be clear on this next part! I DID lay the dark wax in sections because it dries quite quickly and gets harder and harder to wipe off. Totally dried dark wax is a BEAST to work off, but applying some light wax can help. I have a word of caution on that too, though! Be EASY with the light wax over the dark waxed areas you are trying to tone down...or else you will have a super bright spot in the middle of the rest of your dark waxed area (No bueno!). Trust me, I speak from my own mistakes...experience!

 Next, I pulled out one of my favorite new finishing accessories~a buffing brush. I ordered one from an etsy store online and I am super happy with it. It's what helped me get that pretty sheen on top! Let me tell you, I have quite a bit of experience buffing floors as a Private living in the barracks...I learned some tricks of the trade! First, you want to make sure you keep a steady hand and not let your hand tilt left or right. This is pretty strong and fast on a drill and you don't want to strip the wax where you leaned your hand over too far...it's pretty easy to do, so be careful! Then as you go, try to keep in generally straight lines to track where you have and have'nt buffed yet. After I buffed with the brush, I took a microfiber cloth and used it as a soft cloth buffer over the brush bristles. Try to keep it centered and not to lean again, or else the cloth will go nuts and fly off! This helped smooth out the buffing lines and added a nice glow to the sheen! Finally, I pulled out my trusty bottle of brasso and buffed and shined the pretty hardware right quick! I am still going to go over it just a bit more to bring out more of the gold because I really wanted to hardware and the painted gold accents to compliment each other. So what do y'all think?? (PS, don't mind my messy porch...or house....or everything. ahem...)

  So, there you have it folks. The story of how "Isabella" came to be. She has most definitely made quite a splash on arrival! I had THE CeCe Caldwell comment on my facebook post pic...eek! Then the fabulous Shelly Andrade from Shizzle Design featured my link on her facebook page! I've gotten almost 100 likes since uploading "Isabella's" pictures and it is so amazing and unexpected to get so much love for her so quickly! I am totally dazed and happy about it. So THANK YOU everyone, for taking such notice and appreciating the hard work that went into this desk. I promise to work even harder to create more pieces for folks to "ReLove" in the future. Please contact me or facebook me if you have any questions, I am always around! Love to all, Claudia

I linked up to: I've been FEATURED!!!