Monday, May 16, 2011

Birch Tree Planks

On date night last week I talked my hubby into running into Rescued Treasures before dinner. I just can't help it...you just never know what you're going to find. Check out this link of a super cute tree painted on planks. I discovered it on pinterest. By the way, have you discovered pinterest??? ENDLESS inspiration! I'm in trouble! I found this dragon on planks for $6.88. I instantly whipped out my pinterest app on my iphone and checked out the tree plank idea again to see if I thought I could do it on this.



One of my fellow "trash to treasure" friends asked me if I was embarrassed to buy it...yes! lol



I taped off the edges, just a little bit past the ugly dragon, so that I would be sure to cover the whole thing. I painted a couple of coats of paint that I already had. After that dried, my hubby free handed a tree while looking at my inspiration picture. I would have loved to make a stencil on my silhouette but it was just too big!



I love the texture of the board. Can you see it? I totally helps out the birch tree effect. I painted it white by HAND and it took me over an hour and a half!



After it dried overnight, I used the tip of a foam brush and a super light amount of antiquing glaze to add the black lines that are on birch trees. I dabbed it on a paper towel first to remove most of it, and then if it still went on too dark, I smudged it with my finger to make it lighter and blend.After all of that it still looked to "new" to me. I just can't handle full on paint in most situations. I was afraid of ruining it with sanding but it worked great!






I took a piece of sandpaper and lightly rubbed all over it. The best part is I did it right after the glaze so it also smeared the glaze all over it too.







I was worried about the dragon showing it's ugly face again if I sanded it, but it didn't, it came off too, so the board shows through a bit in spots. Love it! I still like the original better, but I like mine too. :)


4 comments:

  1. Fantastic!! I do like it better after the sanding!

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  2. Very cute and clever! Somuch better than the original design.

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  3. This is so pretty. love the color

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  4. Wow that looks great! Much, much better than that silly dragon. Great job!

    Emily
    Deviantly Domesticated Team
    http://stephaniehillberry.com

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