An Enchanting Transformation Using

From boring to bold; An enchanting transformation you have to see to believe

3/1/2019

Ok friends, this Floral Nightstand has been literally blowing up our Social Media channels lately, so we wanted to get a little more personal and tell the story behind this little cutie. Before we get started, I just need to say something here...doesn’t this piece look like something out of a fairytale? I mean the bright and bold colors, the flowers, the iridescent knobs….it’s safe to say I. AM. OBSESSED. I mean really this piece has my name all over it….so if you’re ready to learn all about the magic of how this enchanting little nightstand came to be, then keep on reading….

Just a side note before we get started, this post contains affiliate links and we may get a small commission if you purchase through our links.

I really wish we could say we saw this piece, fell in love with it and drove to the ends of the Earth to find it….I mean what an amazing story that would be…..but in all honesty friends, we found this piece as a happy little accident. Gabe and I were out on the hunt for some new pieces and found a few that we absolutely loved. We were making our rounds to pick them up. After an hour and a half of travel (I mean guys we were almost in the next state) we FINALLY made it to our destination. As we were led to the furniture, Gabe spotted this beauty out of the corner of his eye, and like the talented artist he is, he immediately had a vision for it, although I didn’t know that yet. So we looked around and found the piece we had made the journey for but Gabe kept circling around to the little nightstand. In what I can only describe as either fate or a serious stroke of luck, the owner mentioned that she was looking to get rid of the little nightstand. She just didn’t know what to do with it. It no longer matched her decor, and she said she really didn't have a vision for what it could become. So before you could blink, we scooped up that little beauty as well and were on our way with our new treasures.

The car ride back was fun because ideas were flying on what we could do with all these new pieces. Now one thing, Gabe was adamant about painting the little nightstand Coral and having flowers along the front. Now I love me some Coral and was onboard with the idea, although, real talk here, it is sometimes hard for me to envision what Gabe has planned but that’s why he’s the artist here. Anyway, we returned with this little monster. I mean, it's cute but, man it is heavy. It is very possible that I lack any upper body strength whatsoever, but that’s beside the point. We were excited to get working!

This piece was previously painted with a chalk style paint and waxed, as you may know (or not) painting over wax is extremely difficult. So, we cleaned the entire piece with Mineral Spirits to remove the wax. Then we gave the piece a good clean with Fusion’s TSP, which you know from previous blogs we always recommend. Like always, we... and by we, I mean Gabe sanded down the piece to give the paint something a little extra to adhere too. Before Gabe could get painting he needed to create the stunning resin flowers you see on the front.

Now friends, to make the resin flowers, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Actually the first time we tried to make them, it was a disaster. Not because we messed up, but because the heat in our store was not working and the resin solution wouldn’t harden. It was a mess, but hey life happens, right? We also tried with a moulding clay from our local craft store and that didn’t work well for us either. Too many cracks…. So after we got the heat squared away, we went back to the resin and successfully made the flowers you see on the nightstand today.

Thanks to our handy affiliate links, if you wish to recreate the flowers, you can find the Fast Cast Kit on Amazon and ReDesign With Prima’s Leafy Blossom and In The Garden Moulds in store soon! If you just can't wait, you can visit ReDesign With Prima's Website Here.

While the resin was still semi malleable, Gabe placed them onto the nightstand and made a pattern. He wanted them to look like a bouquet of flowers spreading across the front. Once the flowers were placed exactly where he wanted them, he glued them one by one using E-6000 glue.

Then after the Resin had hardened and the glue had dried, it was time for the fun to start! That’s right friends, it’s time to paint. Gabe used Fusion Mineral Paint’s Coral over the entire piece including the flowers so it was all cohesive.

Once the paint had dried, it was time to go back and finish the flowers. Now if you are recreating a piece like this, painting the flowers is the perfect opportunity to get creative. Gabe used 6 different colors on the flowers. Really, this is the artist's choice. In this case, he used Fusion’s Azure, which is the stunning vibrant blue that really pops against the Coral. To be honest Azure and Coral is my favorite color combo ever! He also used Fusion’s Fort York Red, Prairie Sunset, Bayberry, Park Bench, and to get the beautiful shade of Magenta he mixed Fort York Red and Casement. Once the piece was painted, Gabe lightly distressed the piece with 200 grit sandpaper to give it a slightly worn look.

Sometimes it's not only about painting the piece but allowing yourself to be creative and have fun. As you can see here, by just adding these moulds, you create a whole different look.