What a Basket Case!

I think it's been pretty well established that I am the Contessa di Terrible Painters, right?

And, yes, we have discussed the concept of rubber gloves. It's hopeless.

With such demonstrable  ineptitude, it's rather ironic that several of my recent tutorials have included painting techniques. After thinking this over, it seems to me that distressed finishes suit the fact that I'm a perfectionist who has absolutely no hope of ever achieving a perfect paint job. On the other hand, with my background in marketing, I'm perfectly (hee) able to rationalize anything - and with shabby and distressed finishes being so au courant, that makes it a piece of cake to find excuses for my lousy finish work.

Uneven coverage? Yeah, I planned that so it would look old. Missed spot? Uh-huh, you're seeing the distressed finish. Streaks and drips? Why, thank you, that's a shabby chic white wash.  (This talent for rationalization is why many people like to shop with me -- I can find a variety of exceptional reasons to buy or not buy -- just let  me know which side you want me to argue.).

And so, I offer the following tutorial in transforming an inexpensive unfinished basket into a fine, handcrafted antique (sorta). I bought a typically light-colored basket for a dollar at the St. Joan of Arc Thrift Shop in Orleans. I'll going to bet it originally came from the Christmas Tree Shops, and it's modeled along the style of the famous Nantucket Baskets like the ones in this photo.

Of course, the knockoff I found doesn't come close to the real deal, and the light color doesn't help. There's no character, no experience. And that starfish glued on the side. Ya-ick.  Now, I certainly can't recreate an actual  lighthouse basket (and, gosh, you'd rightfully pay handsome prices for either true antique baskets or  handcrafted contemporary baskets). I can, however, show you how to faux-age your new purchase to show a bit more personality and distinction.

New basket

New basket after antiquing

Here's my tutorial on how I did it. We won't cover how I got the starfish off. I didn't need that fingernail anyway.

Antiquing a cheap new basket
by Jude at www.dolcecapecod.blogspot.com
Gather your tools and materials
Inexpensive unfinished basket
Wood stain in a desired finish 
(I used several and mixed them)
Black paint
Water
Lemon oil or beeswax
Sponge paint brushes
Paint stirrer
Several small containers for paint
Several rags
Paper towels

Step One
Mix the stain with a small amount of water until it's the consistency of paint.

 

With the sponge brush, cover the entire basket, inside and out with the stain mixture, trying your best to get into all the crevices. You want to cover as much of the basket's woven strips and get as much into the woven areas as possible. 

Step Two
Let the basket dry several hours, then repeat the staining process. 



 You can use a different shade of stain if you like. 

 












Step Three
Pour a small amount of black paint in a container, and add a bit of water. Stir well.

Soak one rag in water, and wring it out so it's just damp.
Bunch rag up in your hand, and dip it in the black paint mixture. Dab it on a dry rag or paper towel to remove the excess, and wipe it across the surface and edges of the basket. Use the dry rag to blend and burnish the paint into the surface.

Do you think the handles of an old basket would get darkened over the years? I think you're right! That's why I made sure to concentrate on those areas, going back over it several times with the blackening paint. I also made all the edges as dark as I could.

Now, listen! The lathing strips for these cheap imported baskets are not made from a high quality wood. Even if you were trying to create a perfect finish, it wouldn't be possible. You'll see that some areas seem to soak up lots of color, and others seem to say, "Uh, no thanks." But that's what happens with aged wood, anyway, and that's what makes this so easy, so fun and so darn infallible. The imperfection is the perfect finish!

Okay, enough about imperfection and back to the tutorial.

Step Four
Let the basket dry thoroughly. Apply a liberal coating of beeswax or lemon oil, and buff it in well according to the instructions on the container.

 I used an old shoe polisher to buff.

 And since the "Nantucket Basket" was still drying, in this photo, I'm giving a fresh coat of bees wax to a basket I antiqued last fall.

This final step gives a warm patina, and oh, boy, it smells divine. Your friends will catch the scent of citrus and beeswax, and exclaim, "Oooh, that's so old." (Well, I'm thinking they'll exclaim something like that...)

Here's the finished Faux Nan-basket. Hope you like it!

Oh, gee, were you worried about the poor innocent starfish I tore off the side? It's fine!
















Did you buzz over from a great party like the one below?
Glad to have you - and it's so sweet to read your message!

Reinvented

Bronze-aged sea stars

I found these pretty white china bisque votive holders shaped like starfish, or sea stars, as we're supposed to call them, at Christmas Tree Shops. With typical Christmas Tree value, they were just $1.69 each. All together, now: "Don't you just l-o-v-e a bargain?"

By the way, did you know the Christmas Tree Shops started in the 1970s, right here on Cape Cod? It was a small grouping of a house, a barn and outbuildings (hence shops) on meandering little Route 6A in Yarmouthport. The owners used to come down to the Cape with their small children to run the store, which was open on weekends only. In time, they opened stores all over the Cape, then in a few other Massachusetts locations before selling the business to Bed & Bath about five years ago. The distribution warehouse has moved, and the little complex on Route 6A closed down recently, and it's a sad end to an era. The family is lovely, and Mrs. Christmas Tree and her husband are still very active in giving to the Cape Cod community.

Anyway, back to the stars. I thought they were lovely, just as is, and they had a rough, unglazed texture that would add nicely to a tone on tone white and light beige look. The thing is, I'd watched an episode of Martha Stewart in which her guest showed her how to Antique an old Norwegian clock, and I was itching to, err,  blacken an object. I got home from work, and saw the stars, and though, "Maybe I'll add a little something." As it turned out, I added a little something, then, a little something more, and, well, here's the result.

What do you think?

Here's my tutorial for starfish that look like they were just raised from the deep, deep sea:

Bronzed 
Sea Stars

Tutorial 

from Jude at

www.dolcecapecod.blogspot.com

Supplies you need:

2-3 shades of

brown and black craft paint

Wood stain

(I used Homer Formby's wiping stain in walnut)

Rub 'n Buff wax metallic finish in

Autumn gold

Equipment you need:

Rubber gloves (you'll see why)

Paint brush (sponge is fine)

Rags

Paper towels

Here are the products I used in the  "studio" aka the side of the old gas grill.

Yup, I'm a real neat worker, as you can see...

Step One:

Paint star roughly with a light coat of brown (I started with sienna).Do not cover completely, or worry about getting into every crack. While still wet, dip wet rag in a different shade of paint. This time, aim to cover the crevices and indentations.

.

  

Step Two:

Let paint dry a bit, and, using dry rag and Rub 'n Buff, 

dab and highlight the parts that stick up and along the edges,
then wipe off or add on to your taste. 

Are you thinking it would be a good idea to wear rubber gloves for this part of the process?
You are so right.
No, really, I mean that, from the very bottom of my copper-stained fingertips.

The Autumn gold surprised me by how coppery it was, but I liked it. I seem to have the same problem with Rub 'n Buff that I have with nail polish, in that I always buy the same color. I had THREE tubes of Antique gold (and I have three dozen bottles of pale pink nail polish, but that's another post.).

Step Three:

Let dry again, thoroughly this time. Dip new rag in wood stain, and scour piece again, covering much of metallic, again to your liking. For a nice effect, make sure you wipe the bottom edges of the star arms, and the upper edge of the votive indentation. I ran a cotton swab along the edges.

I'm really happy with them!

Here they are on a chest in my living room.

The original white starfish were charming, but this process gave them an ancient look, like something that's glowing at the bottom of the sea. When it's dark, the metallic highlights reflect the candlelight with a gorgeous glow. The new stars also pick up the copper of my lamp, so I'm delighted with how they look on the chest next to the big Florida shell my Nonna always kept on her coffee table -- which also has a nice alabaster shine.

You know what?  I think I like blackening!
Are you visiting me from one of these fabulous places? Well, gee, thanks -- and how sweet of you to come!




 
Whatever goes Wednesday #16


 

Mirrored garden streamers tutorial

Mirrored 

Garden Streamers 

by Jude at 

Dolce Cape Cod

Years ago, I received a present of small mirrored streamers to hang in my garden. They were simple sets of mirrors on either end of a string a few yards long.

They were made to be draped over branches to catch the sun, with the mirrors working as counterweights to hold the streamer in place, The streamers are quite magical when the light  reflects off the mirrors, and they're especially enchanting when a gentle breeze catches them; sparkling fairy circles of light dance across the ground.

It's like jewelry for your garden!

 

 I thought these would be easy to make -- and they are, now that I've worked out the kinks. Most of my effort came from finding the one and one-half inch mirrors and figuring out which kind of line to use. I found many suppliers of one-inch mirrors, but the smaller size just didn't produce the proper effect.  Fortunately, I finally found an inexpensive supplier of the correct size mirrors here. The mirrors come packaged as a cute little rolled paper cylinder.Each one-and-one-half inch mirror is 14 cents, or $10.08 plus shipping for 72 mirrors. Pretty darn inexpensive, don't you think? You'll need four mirrors for each streamer.

I also went through several prototypes using various materials to use as the streamer string that connects the sets of mirrors. Fishing line was a nightmare -- can you say "big, fat, tangled, snarly mess?" 

After that,  I decided to go the natural route, and used hemp twine. I hung the dangles outside one afternoon, and spent the next morning picking up sliced twine  from the ground where the pieces of streamers had fallen after the rough edges of the branches halved them. Next, ribbons. Very pretty, but also not  transparent, so the streamers lost the magical hey-where-did-that-light-come-from effect.

.

Finally, in Home Depot, I found just what I needed: twisted mason line. The price for the mason line was just a couple of dollars, and it was made of nylon, polyester and polypylene. There are times when a good, strong, man-made fiber is just what you need to survive outdoor conditions. This is one of them.

Okay, are you ready to make these for your own garden or porch? Here's my tutorial. It's only the second one I've created, so I'm very eager to hear your comments, and I'm really, really hoping everyone likes it; please come visit me here on Cape Cod at www.dolcecapecod.blogspot, and tell me what you think, okay?

Mirrored Garden Streamers
from www.dolcecapecod.blogspot.com

Supplies you'll need:

One and one-half inch mirrors 
(Each streamer uses 4 mirrors)

Waterproof glue (I used E-6000 and Gorilla Glue, and both worked very well)

Mason line

Equipment you'll need:

Scissors

Plastic clips or clamps


Here's everything I used, lined up on my 
"work" table on the patio:

Step One:

Get your supplies ready.

For each streamer, lay out four mirrors, reflective side down.

Measure out and cut a piece of mason line several  yards long. I  used the fabric tip rough measure way: Just hold the line from your  nose to your outstretched arm. Twice.

Step Two:

Form the end of one line into a small coil, looping the end of the line through the coil several times to fasten loosely. Repeat at other end. (If you don't coil the line into loops, the weight of the mirrors will pull the string out from between the mirror sandwich, and you'll be left with string hanging down with mirrors on the lawn. There's a reason I know this.)

Step Three:

Place looped ends on mirrors and cover liberally with glue to secure.

Sandwich with other disk, and clamp securely with the plastic clips.

Step Four:

Let dry thoroughly, according to glue instructions.
I left mine to dry for 24 hours. Longer is even better. In the meantime, start making more for your friends and family; they make great gifts!

Step Five:
Drape your streamers from branches. Watch mirrors waft, spin, dangle and catch the light.

  

Smile.