Candy Thermometer
Large pot
Sterilized bottles and lids
Stiff Scrub brush
coffee filters
Strainer
Ingredients:
Bark from Shagbark tree (make sure bark is loose, and removing does not expose the tree as it leaves it vulnerable to damage)
Turbinado Sugar (we usually need about 8 to 10 cups)
Filtered Water
We love hickory syrup, and find ourselves using it on a little bit of everything. I especially love using it to make bbq sauce, as it adds an earthy, smokey, sweetness. We have tested and tweaked a few different recipes, until we found one that works for us. We hope you love this recipe as much as we do!
When gathering shagbark, we try to use fallen pieces, but if there is none available, we grab pieces that already have another layer of bark beneath it to help protect the tree for years and years of syrup!
it doesn’t take much bark to make a good batch of syrup, usually a few decent sized pieces are plenty. Once you have gathered the bark, you will need to clean the bark with water and a stiff scrub brush. Make sure and scrub both sides well, and rinse thoroughly. I usually run the bark through a couple of scrub sessions before baking. After cleaning, break the bark into smaller manageable pieces, pieces small enough to fit into your pot
Once you’ve scrubbed the bark, you will want to place it in a shallow baking dish in a single layer, and bake it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. This helps to develop the smoky, earthy flavor of the bark prior to boiling.
After baking, transfer the bark to the pot, and fill it with enough filtered water to cover. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat to allow it to simmer, We are essentially working to brew a shagbark tea, so we want to simmer low and slow for about 30 minutes.
Your tea should be a nice amber color, remove the bark, and strain the tea. We line a strainer with a coffee filter and run the tea through it to remove any unwanted bark bits. I would suggest straining a few times using a new filter each time to make sure the tea is clean before moving to the next step.
Return the strained tea to the pot, and bring the temp up to low medium. You will need to measure your tea to ensure you have equal amounts of sugar and tea. We add the turbinado a cup at a time allowing the sugar to dissolve (we also sift the sugar to help the dissolving process). Sugar crystals that don’t dissolve are the enemy in a syrup, as it will cause the syrup to crystallize, but it does make a really yummy rock candy when it happens.
When all the sugar has dissolved, you will start to raise the temperature slowly bringing the mixture up to a boil. We gradually raise the heat allowing the syrup to reduce while coming up to temperature. We find we like the syrup consistency we receive around the 225 degree mark. Once you hit 225, pull the syrup from the heat, and prepare to carefully ladle into your sterilized bottles. We use a funnel to help reduce spills, and we wipe the bottom of the cup/ladle we use for pouring, as the syrup will thicken quickly, and cause the pour to go a little haywire.
Make sure your jars are still hot from sterilizing and that you leave space from the top of the jar to allow the jar to seal properly. The heat from the jars, and the syrup should cause the canning jars to seal. Once sealed the syrup can be stored at room temperature, but does require refrigeration after opening.
One last tip, keep a small pot of boiling water, and a basting brush or similar item handy when being the syrup up to temperature. If you see sugar crystals on the side of the pan, you can use the brush to run a small amount of boiling water along the crystallized areas to loosen the sugar, and prevent issues with the syrup.
Questions? Feel free to leave a comment. Also, we would love to hear how you use your syrup!
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Make sure to review steps 1 and 2 of the tutorial if you haven't already!
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We are coming up on the holidays, and we all have that friend or relative that we simply have no clue what to give them. We wrack our brains, we drop hints, but at the end of the day we end up strolling aisles, and online pages, only to gift them something that we hope they will like. This year, let's try something new, and make them a quick and easy gift that is customized just for them.
While not all of us are lucky enough to have cabinet doors just lying about, most of us can easily access them through a local Restore, thrift store, or building supply surplus for just a few dollars, making this project super affordable. A few small touches takes this cabinet door from bland to beautifully perfect for that someone special (or difficult someone, as it may be). So sit back, grab your favorite beverage, and let's get started!
First things first, regardless of where we managed to procure our cabinet door from, there is simply no way of knowing what has graced its surface. With this is mind we want to do our prep work! This includes a thorough cleaning, scuff sanding (if the surface is painted or sealed), and priming. You can head over to read about the proper prep steps, so I will just touch on it here, but I cannot stress enough that these are necessary steps to ensure a strong finish! A little suggestion, prep a few pieces at a time if you have the space, so you can knock out a few projects at once.
While we are allowing our Wise Owl Primer to completely dry (6 hours for proper tannin and stain blocking) we can begin working through our design. A little tip, Wise Owl Primer comes in 3 different colors, so we want to ensure we are picking the best primer for our paint color. Clear is optimal for a piece that you will want to distress allowing the wood below to show through, White is best used for lighter shades, gray is designed for use under your darker shades, and most importantly for your reds (choose white however when working with yellows and greens as gray can change the look of the color).
Now there are a number of ways we can go from here, but for the sake of your eyes, and my time, I have outlined just the process I followed below. Just know you have a creative license, and every great project starts with a little trial and error! Before applying paint, I chose to go ahead and attach my Iron Orchid Design Trimmings 2 Moulds to the top and bottom edges of my cabinet door, as I was going with a solid color for the entire piece, and would add some flair at the end. We carry most of the products used, and occasionally include Amazon Associate links, while you don't have to purchase from us, or Amazon, doing so does help us keep our blog, and our website up and running, so we thank you for even looking!
As the lip of my cabinet was wider, I combined two of the trimmings moulds as pictured above, to make what appears to be a much larger design. I absolutely love Iron Orchid Design's new Trimmings 1 and Trimmings 2 moulds, as you can easily combine a number of the designs to build a custom look. I used the Air Dry Clay from Iron Orchid Design as well, as when dry, it has a weathered, antiqued look which was perfect for this project. If you are going for a more modern or sleek look, you can opt for resin, which sets up quickly, but will not allow the flexibility of the clay, so just keep this in mind when choosing your medium. I absolutely love Alumilite Amazing Casting Resin you just have to make sure you measure and mix your resin accurately, and move quickly, as resin isn't very forgiving.
With the Air Dry Clay, you do not have to wait for it to set up to remove, just make sure you press the clay firmly into the mould, and then work from the center out pulling the clay to evenly spread it to the edges, using the lip to cut off any excess clay. Once the clay is evenly spread, I begin to bend the edges of the mould around the clay to loosen it from the mould while gently pulling. For this project once the clay was removed, I opted to attach the clay to the cabinet door immediately using wood glue. When I had all of the clay moulds attached, I used a small bit of water on the tip of my finger to help glue together and fuse any edges.
Typically I would allow the moulds a bit of time to dry before painting, but because I wanted a worn look, I went ahead and applied Wise Owl Chalk Synthesis Paint in Dried Thyme. This color, is earthy and warm, it is literally farmhouse perfection, especially when paired with Antique Villa or Kashmir. Wise Owl paint dries quickly, allowing you to move almost seamlessly to the next step. However, as I had painted over the air dry clay before it had set up, I allowed it to dry overnight.
When I returned to the project, I had perfect small cracks in the clay moulds, but there was a small amount of separation in one of the fused areas, which is nothing a small amount of air dry clay couldn't fix. Just push a small piece into the areas you wish to fill in, and you are ready to move to a second coat. I used my small project go to, the S30 by Cling-On to make sure I was able to push the Dried Thyme into all the little cracks and crevices of the clay with my second coat of paint, and then I stepped away for about an hour to allow it to dry.
Usually I would have my Cling-Ons stored in water so they are always ready to help smooth on some Wise Owl paint, but because my next step is to dry brush the tops of the moulds in Wise Owl Paint's Antique Villa, I needed to ensure I had a dry brush ready. I still reach for my S30s for this step, as they can take the beating a dry brushing can give. This step takes very little paint, and you will want to have a cloth, or paper towel handy to wipe away excess paint.
When dry brushing details, I lightly dip just the edges of my paint brush into the paint (generally a lighter color than the base color), and then wipe the majority of the paint off, hence the need for a cloth handy. From here I lightly kiss the tips of my brush across just the top of the moulds, transferring the "dry" paint onto just the surface. Try a small section first, to make sure you have wiped off enough paint before you dive in. The paint should almost look powdery as it transfers. This step is very much a "season to taste" step. Apply as much of the lighter color paint as you desire to achieve a look that suits your taste.
Once this was completed I chose to add a stamp to the center of the cabinet so it didn't look quite so naked! I pondered over a few possible words like Cheers, Family, Bon Appetit, but landed on just an image of a cow, because nothing screams farmhouse serving tray more than a cow.
Using my Iron Orchid Designs Farm Animals stamp, brayer, and a little Wise Owl Chalk Synthesis Paint in Inkwell, I had a tray center to be proud of, and it literally took seconds. Simply pour a little paint onto a paper plate, spread a thin amount onto the brayer, and then roll the brayer over the surface of the stamp. From there I grab the edges of my stamp, flip it over, and drop it where I want it, holding it in place with a finger while I press down firmly around the stamp to make sure the paint transfers. If you wanted to go with a word in the center the Typesetting stamp by Iron Orchid Design would be perfect!
Dry brushing is usually my last step prior to sealing, however I chose dark handles for the project, and needed to tie those into the piece. To help do this I used Dark Walnut wax by Wise Owl Paint, and a little bit of their Furniture Salve in Noir Moon. I opted for the scented salve as this tray will not be in direct contact with food, however, if you will be presenting this as a cheese board, or a direct food contact surface, you will want to use the clear food grade salve to seal the piece instead.
I first sealed the entire piece with a light coat of the furniture salve, making sure to buff it in well, as you do not want to leave a shine. Then I used a stencil brush with firm bristles to help work the dark wax into the edges and corners of the piece, and applied it in a few areas of the mould as well. A little dark wax goes a long way, so I usually just dab the stencil brush into the wax, and then wipe off excess before applying. From here I use the stencil brush to work the wax along the edges, corners, and into any nooks and crannies where you would naturally see a shadow.
Once I have the wax in the areas I want to work, I then switch to a clean stencil brush and load it with a little of the salve. The salve will help to thin the wax in the event you are heavier than you want, however you will want to go lightly with this as you don't want to fully pull the dark wax away. This is again a "to taste" look. I prefer a little dark wax, but many like the look a heavy wax provides, and this is a "you do you" thing, so apply the wax/salve until you love it. Once you have the piece looking the way you want, drill holes on either side, and attach the handles (measure twice, drill once) then walk away, because all that is left is to allow the wax/salve to cure before you pass this beauty on to its new owner. Cure time is generally 30 days, but if you need to gift it before then, tuck a card into the gift telling your receiver to go easy on it for x amount of days, to allow the finish to fully cure.
Questions, comments, or suggestions? Drop us a line, we would love to hear from you, and would love to see your cabinet door trays!
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This sideboard simply had to go home with me. There was no question about it. From its graceful columns, it’s hand carved faces, to its amazing tiger oak, all of it was simply begging to be mine. So much so, that I neglected to look closely at the piece. I didn’t really pull out the drawers to take a peek inside, check the back or top for damage, or open the bottom doors to see just what I was getting into. That was up until I pulled him into the building to clean him up. Needless to say, my excitement from the auction got the best of me, and now reality was really setting in HARD!
Now let me say this piece could have been in far worse shape considering it was from the mid to late 1800s. Honestly, it was lucky for me it was still in existence. However, the beautiful veneer along the top was peeling, cracked, and missing in large chunks, as was the veneer around the columns. The inside of the base was so rough, I am guessing from what appeared to be water damage of sorts. The top was warped, warn, and far past the point of a little cleaning, oh and it was missing one of the beautiful handles. Then there was the drawer…the drawer that was nothing but pure evil in its existence, the drawer that was lined in some sort of crazy indestructible velvet like material. This stuff literally ate up most of my time, and caused me to walk away on more than one occasion.
I started on this piece just as I would any other piece, with a good thorough cleaning, both inside and out. This step alone took a few good hours, especially when cleaning the inside of the cabinet. At this point I had already decided I was maintaining much of the original look, so I didn’t want to clean with anything too harsh, so cleaning vinegar, water, and a bit of elbow grease was what I went with.
From this point, I began dismantling the piece. I removed the top piece from the chest, all the hardware, and pulled the doors, making sure I placed all of the small pieces into a marked baggie, and tucked them away for later. Then onto sanding. I focused most of my sanding on the top of the chest, taking it all the way down to bare wood with my orbital sander and medium grit sandpaper, making sure to follow the grain of the wood. When using the sander, you want to make sure you are not applying too much pressure as it will quite literally eat into the wood leaving bumps and marks along the way. I let the sander do all the work, moving it back and forth along the piece. On the edges, or really tough areas, I will tilt the sander slightly to use the very edge to really get into those areas.
Once the top was sanded, I had to decide what exactly to do with the veneer. Veneer is difficult for me to work with, especially since I am still learning, and making mistakes along the way. I knew I needed to more than likely completely remove the veneer along the top edge, but I wasn’t sure exactly what to do with the pieces from the columns as most of it was still in tact.
To remove the veneer along the top I used a small scraper, as most of the veneer was already loose. In the few areas that were really attached well, I used my sander to sand them away, as they weren’t really large enough pieces to try and soak the veneer off. For the columns, I use wood filler to level out the small sections of missing veneer, allowed it to dry for 24 hours, and then hit the areas with fine grit sandpaper on a small detail/corner sander to level them out. I will say however, that I have heard many use bondo instead of wood filler with great success, so I might try that on my next project, as I wasn’t completely happy with the results of the wood filler.
Once the veneer was removed, and the missing areas filled, I primered the pieces I intended to paint with Wise Owl Paint’s White Primer, allowing a minimum of 12 hours dry time between coats, and I completed two coats. I did this to ensure there was no bleed through from the tannins in the wood, especially in the sanded areas. It is fortunate I did so, as I immediately had bleed through with the first coat of primer. Thankfully Wise Owl Primer has some serious stain blocking power! As a side note make sure if you have any cracks in the wood, you really focus here as cracks are easy to miss, and a common culprit for bleed through.
After waiting a full 12 hours for the primer to do its thing, I began to paint. I chose to use Wise Owl Chalk Synthesis Paint in Black and Bloodmoon (retired). I wanted something that complimented the red stain of the existing piece without taking away from it, and these colors blended seamlessly with the existing wood. With my Cling-On! S50, I focused the Wise Owl Chalk Synthesis Paint in Black on the top of the chest, the columns, and along the edge of the top piece. For the inside of the drawers, and inside the bottom of the cabinet I switched between my Cling-On! F40, R12, and P16. The longer handles allowed me to reach all of the nooks and crannies inside of the cabinet, without having to completely crawl inside, while the angle feature of the P16 helped me to fully cover the inside corners.
Because the inside of the drawers and the base were a little rougher than the outside, I did apply three coats of paint to make sure I had full coverage. In addition to this, when applying varnish, I mixed a small amount of the paint color into the varnish to help for an even look, especially on the rougher spots. The varnish I used on this piece was the Wise Owl Varnish in Satin, however only the top and inside of the chest were finished in varnish. The remaining painted areas, including inside of the drawers were finished with Wise Owl Furniture Salve in Tobacco Flower.
For the finishing touch, I went over all of the unpainted wood in Wise Owl Hemp Seed Oil to help feed the wood, as it was terribly dry. This product also helps to provide a water-resistant barrier, that aids in protecting the wood from the inside out, and oh does it look amazing on this beautiful tiger pattern.
Questions or comments? Drop them below! Wanna see our other projects? Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thesaltylick
This absolutely adorable hand painted jelly cabinet set in our shop for months, nearly half the time we had been in business, and it rarely got a second glance. Perched between the large, dark, antique pieces, it did it’s best to look cute, while clutching to the Mason jars that adorned it. Unfortunately, no one, and I mean not a single person was interested. Not even at a discount. I was having a hard time deciding just what to do with it, because I hated the thoughts of painting over someone’s hard work, but we really aren’t in the storage business, so something had to be done, which pretty much made my decision easy.
I packed it up, and we headed home, and for a while I mulled over just what color the cabinet should be. What beautiful Wise Owl Paint color did this cabinet deserve to be dressed in. The style screamed farmhouse, but I didn’t want to take on white, it deserved something a little more. I loved the wood top, and the hardware, so I wanted something that complimented them, and thus I grabbed the Dried Thyme from the paint display.
I saved a pint of the Dried Thyme back, because I wanted desperately to paint something with it, but none of the pieces I picked to paint really fit the look of Dried Thyme, that was until now. Generally speaking, while I love to paint, I try to stick to pieces that need some work, simply because I love the look of a good original, however, not everything still looks good, and I do not have the talent to return something to its original beauty. With this in mind, I paint because it is a skill that works for me. This piece didn’t fit the above scenario, but it still needed help, and so help I did.
As this piece already had a hand painted design on the doors, I knew I was going to have to do a little extra work in the beginning, especially since the paint was slightly raised around the edges. I began by removing the doors from the cabinet, and placing all of the hardware inside a marked baggie for storage. I then sanded the painted areas with a fine grit sandpaper to minimize the raised edges of the original paint. Once finished, I wiped the piece down with cleaning vinegar to remove any remained dust from the sanding, and to make sure my surface was clean for priming.
While I wasn’t certain of the wood, the cabinet appeared to be pine, and I wanted to make sure that I didn’t have any tannin bleed through, so I absolutely had to prime the piece. Wise Owl Paint offers two different primer options, a white, and a clear. I often use the white when painting darker pieces to help ensure I have good coverage, but because I knew I wanted to distress this piece, I opted for the clear primer to allow the wood to show through.
Working with clear primer is interesting, especially because Wise Owl Paints and primers dry relatively quickly, which means you need a well lit area, and you want to work quickly so you don’t lose your place on your piece. This is certainly not something I would step away, and come back to, because when they say clear, they mean clear. Though I can say, you can see a difference in the sheen on the piece, and this helps a little.
I allowed a full 12 hours between priming and painting because I wanted to ensure the tannin blockers had time to work their magic. Then I grabbed up my Cling On! S50 and got to work. I chose the S50, simply because I feel I have more control over the paint with the shorter handle, and I wanted to have a smooth finish. Because I store my Cling Ons in water, they are always ready to go, and they help an easy to use chalk paint, go on that much smoother.
From this point on, it was literally just working to apply the paint to the entire surface (oh I should mention that I did tape off around the bottom lip of the top, and around the inside to ensure I didn’t have to sand off any mishaps). I completed two full coats, allowing a few hours between coats for drying, and then left it to completely dry overnight.
The color was fantastic, but it was a little bit bland, it still needed something. I knew that I was going to be using the Wise Owl Furniture Salve to seal the piece, and a friend had mentioned she uses the Wax and Salve together to help blend and age her pieces, so I thought I would give that a try, but first I needed to distress the cabinet. Now I am not a huge fan of distressed pieces generally, but this piece looked the part, but I wanted it to look used, and wasn’t distressing just to be distressing. With this in mind I worked to distress areas that would naturally wear. Edges, corners, legs, the corners of the doors, and around the handles, I made sure to truly think about how the piece would be used, and where it would encounter the most wear, and that was where I used my fine grit sandpaper to strip away some of the paint. I wanted the appearance of fading through the paint to the wood, so I didn’t always remove down to the wood, but sometimes just thinned the layers of paint.
Once I had finished distressing the piece, I began applying Wise Owl Furniture Salve in tobacco flower to the doors of the cabinet, as this is where I would focus the wax. I used Wise Owl Wax in black walnut, and I applied it again to areas that would deepen in color with age and use. So I stuck again to the corners, and inside edges of the door. I would apply the dark wax a little heavy, and then use the furniture salve to help pull and spread the wax, until I was happy with the end result. A little tip, if your wax appears clear on top, cut through the center of the wax and pull from the bottom, as the pigment has settled. Also, if you find that you have too much wax in an area, just apply a little salve and keep working, as the salve helps to soften the wax making it easier to spread.
Once finished with the doors, I continued to apply Wise Owl Furniture Salve to the entire cabinet with a stiff bristled brush (I used a stencil brush as it is what I had on hand), including the inside and unpainted areas to help moisturize the dry wood, plus it was making my entire house smell amazing. After applying the salve, I went back over the entire piece to buff the salve in using a microfiber car sponge, you want to work the salve in until the shine has been buffed away, and you are left with a beautiful soft finish. That was it. Probably one of the easiest makeovers I had taken on thus far!
Questions or comments? Drop them below! Ready to create your own? Grab your discounted Farmhouse Bundle Today!
Occasionally, you will luck into a piece that before you even start, you know exactly what you want to create with it. Granted, most of the time these makeover pieces have a mind of their own, but every so often, a piece plays nice, and it turns out exactly as you had in mind. This was that piece for me!
Sorry for the really bad before images, but without fail I get so excited about the project that I forget to grab a before image, until it is too late, and I am already a few steps in…like below!
One of these days I will remember to grab a good before, but you should have a general idea of what the mirror looked like before I started. I honestly envision its previous life was somewhere in a hotel room, I imagine this guy has seen a lot in its time, but I intend to give it a new lease on life.
I started with a base of Charleston Green, which is this amazing deep dark green that starts out looking almost black, it has a very classic look to it, and it is an amazing color for blending. Keep in mind however, I did not paint the entire frame in the Charleston Green, I literally haphazardly painted areas of the frame, knowing that I wanted to leave some areas exposed to allow different layers of color to shine through. From that point I literally began building my colors, letting the brush do all the work. For this project I used my Cling On! extra small round brush or R12, because it allowed me to get into all of the grooves, and really highlight the details on this mirror.
I honestly can’t say enough good things about the Cling On! brushes, as they have made my painting life easier. They hold so much paint, and just really help the chalk style paints glide over your surfaces with ease. My favorite by far is the S50 or shorty, but it was a little larger than what I needed for this project, such a shame the S30 had not been released at that point, as it would have been my go to for sure.
After the Wise Owl Charleston Green was on, I moved on to the Wise Owl Northern Lights, and began working to hit certain areas of the frame. I wanted it to look organic, as if the gold/copper tones of the mirror had been exposed to the elements for years, and the patina was just taking over. With this in mind I left the top corner of the mirror as is, without any paint, and then I began to build and layer more and more color as I moved further down the piece.
When applying the Wise Owl Northern Lights, I really just wanted to again blend and highlight only portions of the frame. Then with a small cloth misted in purified water, I went back in and wiped back some of the paint, to expose the original frame. I wanted to save myself a little time in the distressing department because I knew I would be adding a number of layers of paint, plus it worked as a guide to help me see where I might need a lowlight or highlight.
After blending Wise Owl Northern Lights into portions of the Charleston Green, and a few unpainted areas, I went back in and added Wise Owl Greenery. Greenery has since been retired, but it was this amazing bright spring green that really captured the patina colors I was looking for. I do not yet have a replacement color for the greenery, however I am open to suggestions, and will definitely update when I find one.
The last color in the Wise Owl Chalk Synthesis line to be added to the frame is Prussian Blue, and it is easily one of my favorite colors. It is rich, and highly pigmented, and without fail, I can never fully capture just how amazing this color is, but hopefully this small video will give you an idea!
If you are looking to create a gorgeous accent piece, or to give anything a pop of color, Wise Owl Prussian Blue is the pop of color you need in your life! Just as before, I hit only small sections of the mirror, literally a touch here, or a dab there as Wise Owl Prussian is a really strong color, and I didn’t want it to take over the entire project. Then I worked to blend and soften it into the other colors.
After adding the Wise Owl Prussian Blue, I allowed the project to dry over night before applying Wise Owl Varnish in Satin. The Varnish dries very quickly, but I wanted to allow additional time to dry on this piece due to all of the detailed areas, since I would be applying glaze, and didn’t want a hidden piece of semi-dry varnish impacting the glaze or vice versa.
The final step of the process was to go back in and highlight with Wise Owl Glaze in Patina. I focused most of the highlights towards the top of the frame. When applying glaze you will want to make sure you do so after sealing your project. I have made the mistake in the past of applying right after the chalk style paints, and unfortunately the glaze just grabs, and doesn’t glide across the piece. By sealing first you give the glaze a slicker surface to move across, so that it wiggles itself into the places where you want it, and still gives you time to wipe back and move the glaze around.
After the glaze is applied, you are finished, simply set back and enjoy the fruits of your labor! Questions or comments? Hit me up below!
Seriously though, this stuff is much like all other Wise Owl Products, magical! The above pictured spinet desk is just one example of the power of Wise Owl Furniture Salve to beautify and revive wood that has been left untouched for far too long. In this picture, the desk was cleaned with vinegar and water (which took hours I might add) to remove the built up residue from what appeared to be years of nicotine exposure. Once the wood finally started to rinse clean, I allowed the wood to dry for roughly 24 hours. Then the real work began, and by real work I mean I simply used a stiff bristled synthetic brush to apply the salve, and then buffed it in using a round microfiber car sponge from the local discount store. THAT WAS IT! Not convinced yet? How about another example…
I was in the middle of sealing another project when I noticed just how dry the wood on this bench looked, and like any good easily distracted individual, I started a new project mid-project. Fortunately, this one only took about 15 minutes from start to finish. Look how amazingly rich and renewed that wood looks now!
By now you have a pretty good idea of the magic that salve has on restoring wood, but what else is it capable of? I’m glad you asked! Take a look at the before and after of these leather boots. Not only does it work to soften and protect your leather items, but it helps to provide a much needed water resistance as well!
The difference in the leather is absolutely remarkable! Not to mention the salve has helped to keep them protected from the harsh Kentucky weather, because I am beginning to think we live in Marsh lands these days.
Did I mention there is even a clear version, which is food grade, and can be used to protect butcher blocks, or in my case a hand crafted cheese board from a bourbon barrel head? Seriously there is no end to the uses for this amazing product. People are even using it to polish their stainless steel appliances!
Last, but certainly not least, you can even use it to seal your chalk style painted projects to help protect them, while providing a softer finish, reminiscent of the chalk style paint unsealed. So if you like the way your project looks right after you have finished that last coat of paint, this is the way to go. Though if it is a heavy use item, such as a table top, I would recommend using other sealers.
So let’s review shall we! Wise Owl Furniture Salve can be used for:
Neutralizing Odors as it has ANTISEPTIC, ANTI-FUNGAL, ANTI-PARASITIC AND BACTERICIDAL PROPERTIES
Aromatherapy
Hand and Nail treatment
Water resistant protection
Removing oxidation
Natural Sealant
Replacing furniture polish
Personal scent (just dab a little on, and smell like happiness!)
Hair taming (yes I use it in my hair as well!)
Questions or comments? Feel free to drop a line below. More uses for salve that I haven’t even considered…please let me know, because I am always eager for another use!
Ready to get your own salve? Click here!
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Yes, you read that correctly! One single day from start to finish to complete a bathroom cabinet makeover! Not, 24 hours either, literally waking hours, day. Granted, my bathroom vanity isn’t large, but it is because of science that I was able to not only prep my cabinets, but to paint, and put everything back into place. This is all thanks to Wise Owl Paint’s new revolutionary product One Hour Enamel. They like to say this paint is “Tougher than Trigonometry,” and boy they do not joke.
So a little bit about the paint, and then on to the makeover steps that literally anyone can do! This paint was designed for use on surfaces that need a quick return to service, because let’s not kid, no one wants to try to spend weeks on end waiting for paint to cure just to be able to use their kitchen or front door again. It is made for indoor and outdoor use, has an abrasion resistant finish, is water thinned acrylic enamel so it poses no fire hazard, it is low VOC, oh and did I mention the built in top coat? Seriously this stuff seems more wizardry than science, but it is all science none-the-less. We are talking serious industrial strength with this paint. I have used nothing like it, and I have tried a lot of paints, on a lot of things.
There are a few steps of prep that typically with chalk paint you could could half…well you could do them haphazardly and still be okay. With this paint, you really want to focus on the prep work, because we are working with cabinets and doors, which means lots of skin oils, hair/cooking products (oils in my case), dirt, grit, grime. Seriously, just consider what you and your little ones (pets and kids alike) put these items through on the daily…Gross isn’t it?
First off you want to remove drawers, doors, hardware, and then you want to clean, and I mean clean thoroughly, and you want to use something that will cut through the oils from years of abuse. In my case I used a combination of cleaning vinegar, and straight alcohol, but I sanded my pieces pretty thoroughly with a rotary sander. If you are opting to just scuff sand the surface, you may want to use something a little tougher like TSP or LA’s Totally Awesome. With both of these products you will want to make sure you rinse the products off afterwards, because residue can have a negative impact on any paint. Don’t forget to put the hardware in a baggie or something similar and label it, so you don’t lose it. Another little tip is the number the drawers as you remove them, you can do so on the bottom of the drawer with a pencil, this will help to ensure a good fit later.
Once you have cleaned, you can take a few roads here, you can opt to fully sand, which is what I chose, because I had no clue what all had been on these cabinets since purchasing the house a few years back. You can scuff sand just to give a rough surface for the paint to adhere to, or you can opt to prime your piece. Many actually choose to scuff sand and prime for added insurance. Our Wise Owl primer is designed for use under our enamel, and can be painted over in about 4 hours. You can find the primer here.
Done sanding? Great! Now clean your piece one more time, because you don’t want left over sawdust on your piece. I also took a cloth with just rubbing alcohol after the cleaning, and wiped over the surface as a precautionary measure. Now it is time to paint!
You can choose to use a paint sprayer, roller, or paint brush. I opted for my Cling-On Brush of course, but for this paint you want a dry brush, so if you have been storing your Cling-Ons in water as they are designed, lay them out for some dry time while you prep. If you decide to roll your cabinets, you will want to choose a roller that holds a good amount of paint, and that doesn’t leave behind fuzzies (technical term) like a good microfiber roller. The key to this paint is to load the brush or the roller and lay the paint on a little heavier than what you are used to, because it is designed to self level. Also try not to over work the paint. Essentially lay it on, check for drips, or pooling, and then walk away for roughly 30 to 40 minutes.
This paint is designed to be cured enough for use in about an hour, so it is typically ready for a second coat within about 30 minutes depending on humidity, temperature, etc. which can effect dry times for any paint. Once it is dry to the touch in all areas, go ahead and put on a second coat. In many cases one coat is sufficient for coverage, but the second coat really allows the self leveling to work its magic. As before, check for drips and pooling, then walk away, and have a bite to eat. Give the paint a little over an hour to dry and begin the curing process. You will literally see the changes as the top coat rises to the surface of the paint. Once this has happened, you can rehang the doors, put the numbered drawers back into place, and reattach your hardware, and get back to your life! Or in my case, onto the next bathroom project like mirrors and tile!
]]>But let’s get to it shall we! Let’s talk about what steps I used to create my first blended masterpiece. Okay masterpiece might be a stretch, but it is a piece I am super proud of, because it actually turned out far better than I had planned. Oh, and it did so on it’s own, because I had a completely different vision for the piece in mind. It was, by all accounts, completely accidental, and it all started with the prep.
I have discussed before just how important prepping your piece is, and you can read all about that here so I will just touch on it in this post. After following my prep, and thoroughly cleaning the piece because it was nightmarishly dirty, I mean just look at this grime! I made sure to prime my piece with Wise Owl Stain Eliminating Primer in white. I chose white because I wasn’t going to be distressing the piece, and I was, at this point, still intending to use a light teal shade with the dark blue (this is where the happy accident begins).
In some cases a single coat of primer is enough to get the necessary adhesion, but I went with two coats of primer to help with the tannin blocking for the top, and to give me a little extra insurance, as the original paint was quite slick and shiny.
It is very easy to want to skip the priming step when dealing with chalk style paint which is known for its ability to adhere to a number of surfaces, but the reasons to prime far outweigh the reasons to not (which is really only to save time, and get to the painting faster). Priming allows for better adhesion for your paint, which also makes painting easier, but it also helps to block stains, which can sometimes bleed through a painted piece, ruining all of your hard work. By priming you are actually saving yourself time and headache in the long run. Now let’s open some paint!
Every time I open a new can of Wise Owl Chalk Synthesis Paint, I end up with a new favorite color, and Inkwell was no exception. It is a stunning deep rich blue, and it only took a few brush strokes to know it was going to be perfect on this project. It was also at about this point I realized this project was no longer going to be a few shades of blue, but instead was going to be blending of Inkwell and Snow Owl, all because of the primer. Just look at the contrast of the stark white primer against the dark blue of the Inkwell. this was exactly what this table was meant to be. Bob Ross had it right when he referred to them as “Happy Accidents.”
I made sure I had a good first coat on the top of the table, and down the legs, only about half way down in Inkwell, before switching over to Snow Owl. Fortunately I had two of my trusty Cling-On R12 brushes handy, so I didn’t have to immediately stop what I was doing to try and get all that blue cleaned out before switching to the brightest white I have ever seen. Sidebar, if you have never tried a Cling-On brush, you are missing out! I promise they are life changing in the furniture painting world, and there is a reason you will see them mentioned over and over again on the furniture painting boards, because there simply is no comparison. I could go on for days about the benefits of using a good brush, but I will leave that to another post. Using my clean R12 I then painted a quarter of the way up each leg from the bottom, leaving about a quart of space between where my blue ends, and my white begins, and this is where the magic happens, well at least it happens after my paint has had time to dry some.
Using a beauty supply mister (you can find one on Amazon or Sally’s if you have one near you), I sprayed a fine mist of distilled water over the end of the blue, and with a clean Cling-On began to pull the slightly reactivated inkwell down the leg, and I did the same process with another clean brush and began pulling the Snow Owl up to meet the Inkwell. I use distilled water, as I do not want the possibility of mineral deposits from tap water showing up on the surface of my paint. I slowly and lightly blend the two together, adding small amounts of the Snow Owl or Inkwell to just the tips of my brush as needed to pull more paint. When doing this you really need a light touch, and very little paint, in some cases I will even wipe most of paint off before brushing the surface of the legs to blend.
If you find the paint is drying too quickly, you can always add more water, but do so lightly as you do not want drips (that is another post), you just want a damp surface to allow the paint to glide on. Oh, and keep a clean dry brush close by, because you will want to use this to actually brush over where your two colors meet to help even and soften the lines of the paint for an ombre effect.
Don’t worry if you pull too much of one color, as you can literally move to another section, allow the paint to dry, and layer on the other color, and begin blending again. Just know it is easier to hide the lighter color than it is the dark, so in this case I would suggest pulling up with the lighter piece more than down with the darker.
Once I had the blending at the base completed, it was time to work on the details at the top of the table. In many cases a dark wax is used to help really set off the details of a piece, but I wanted a more cohesive look, so I instead dry brushed the snow owl along the tips of the details. In order to do this, you will want to use a much smaller, soft bristled, detail brush which you can find in just about any craft store or craft section. For this project I used a short bristled, angled brush. You will want to just get the tips of the brush in the paint, and then you will literally want to wipe off a good portion of the paint, until the brush feels almost dry. Then take the brush and sort of flip the tip of the brush back and forth over the detail, allowing the paint to grab the edges of the raised pieces. This allows you to control the amount of highlight you are adding, and build onto it as needed. Don’t worry if you get a little heavy handed with the highlight, you can always add more inkwell and start again!
Once you have your piece the way you want it, you will want to allow it to dry. Chalk style paints dry very quickly, but that doesn’t mean you want to immediately seal the piece, because while it feels dry to the touch, it may not be completely dry. I generally allow my pieces to sit over night before sealing. There are a number of different ways to seal a piece, from wax, to salve, to varnish, and they all have different benefits. As this was something that would get a lot of use, I opted to seal this with Wise Owl Matte Varnish for its durability, plus I wanted to keep the powdery look of the chalk style paint, and the matte varnish helped to do just that. To aid in avoiding brushstrokes, I opt for using a sponge to apply the varnish instead of a brush, as our varnish is resin based, and dries quickly. You can find the sponges I use on this project here. I actually use these sponges to apply my wax as well, but that is instructions for another day!
Now it is time to create your own blended masterpiece! I have included a discount bundle which includes some of the tools I used to create my piece.
If you have questions, need clarification, or just want to chat, drop a line below, as all comments are appreciated!
So get out there and get creative, or make your own happy accidents!
Also, this post may contain Amazon Associate links that I earn a small percentage from, which helps to keep my website running! Thanks in advance for your support.
]]>I am still on a learning curve when it comes to using furniture as my creative medium, but I learned very early on, if you do not do your prep, you will not get the results you want, NOT EVER. As a matter of fact, you may end up with extra prep work in the end.
A good furniture artist friend of mine once said, “if you don’t have time to do it right the first time, when will you have time to do it right a second time.” Words to live by, and words I am still learning to live by. It is so easy to want to skip over just one step to get to the fun part, but I promise you, it will only take one time of having to strip away, and sand away all of your hard work to learn this valuable lesson.
So let’s talk prep, because you are going to prep, correct? First and foremost is repairs. Wobbly legs, creaky drawers, door that doesn’t open, fix these first so you have a stable piece to work with. I promise, if you do not fix the issues first, you will redeposit oils from your hands, scratch primed areas, or simply end up with a beautifully painted warbly piece (don’t pretend you don’t know what warbly means). So tighten your screws, nail down the base of the drawer, and enter the back of the piece to see why that door won’t budge (use a dehumidifier first, because it could just be swelling from moisture).
Once we have everything repaired, remove your hardware, take out every drawer, pull off the doors, and essentially fully dismantle the piece, because unless you want to hide the hardware with paint, and risk it chipping, it needs to be removed. A little tip, put all of your hardware in a baggy, label it (correctly, please see image), and put it somewhere safe (somewhere the cats or kids can’t find it, but you will remember). Then we clean!
I wish I loved cleaning, but I can’t love it, I love the results, and the feeling of a job well done, but I HATE the process. It is however extremely important, because any residual oils, or waxes on your piece can spell disaster for paint. So make sure you clean every single piece thoroughly, inside and out. There are a number of products out there you can use to fully clean your piece, but really it depends on the piece, and on you. I will discuss a few here:
TSP is a cleaner you can get from your local hardware store, that is designed to prepare your piece for painting as it removes dirt, grease, and grime, but it is really, really strong, and it has to be fully rinsed to ensure it doesn’t impact your paint. I have TSP on hand, but I have not personally used it, because I haven’t quite had the need for it yet.
LA’s Totally Awesome, is a cleaner that you can get at your local Dollar Tree or Dollar General store, and it is absolutely amazing at cutting through grease and oil. However, it is a soapy cleaner, so again you will need to fully rinse your piece after using it.
Cleaning Vinegar is my go to. I find that the cleaning vinegar, cut with a little water is strong enough to remove the oils, and dirt, without having to worry about the extra rinsing work.
Lastly, I will use Alcohol, after cleaning, if I am going to paint. I will hit the areas I am intending to paint with a quick wipe of alcohol, just to ensure I have removed any residual oils.
Now, this could be where your prep work stops, if your piece isn’t covered in a slick finish, but in the event it does have a high gloss, or slick finish, you probably want to scuff sand, prime, or both. For scuff sanding I use my rotary sander and a fine grit sand paper to start (usually around 120) because the idea is just to rough up the surface a little to give the paint something to adhere to, but not to complete remove the finish (unless that is the look you are going for). For priming I use our Wise Owl Stain Eliminating Primer in either clear or white.
Why Prime? Priming has a number of benefits that sanding alone cannot provide, especially when working with deep rich woods. Have you ever finished a piece, and immediately started seeing this odd discoloration seeping through your paint? More than likely you are experiencing tannin bleed through, which priming with the right product can help eliminate. This is where I get to boast about our primers, because they do an amazing job of not only helping the paint to really adhere to your project, but also of preventing stains from rising to the surface of your amazing paint job. There are two different options available, white and clear. White is if you do not want any of the wood showing through, clear is made for those individuals that would like to distress the piece to allow some of the beautiful wood to show through the paint. You can get your primer here.
Once you have scuff sanded your piece, guess what time it is? It is cleaning time once again! Take your cleaning vinegar and wipe the piece thoroughly as you do not want any lingering saw dust hanging around, (unless you are looking for a textured finish, and then you might want to save your saw dust for later). You might want to also hit the piece with alcohol once more, just in case, especially if you happen to have oily skin like I do (it might mess with your paint, but at least it slows the aging process some).
Now it is finally time to paint!
That being said, this is where I leave you for another day! Questions or Comments about how to prep, or how you prep that has worked amazingly, please leave them below as we would love to hear from you!
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