DIY: Distressed Coffee Table

The story begins with a $2 Coffee Table frame...

I knew I wanted to paint and distress the frame, so I asked for feedback on Facebook.  My first choice of pink was quickly turned down...and so yellow was going to be the go-to. 

Until I got to Lowes and saw all the paint choices of turquoise....so I went with that :)

Since the glass was missing, I needed to replace it.  I was going to opt for glass until the associate said it wasn't the most sustainable glass and more expensive than wood.  So I had the wood panels cut to the dimensions. (I had my fingers crossed all the way home ....and luckily, they fit perfect.)

I went with a yellow color for the inserts.

so, Rapids blue & Field of Daisies it was. 

To avoid sanding down the entire unit, I used KILZ to prime the surface.  IT WORKS GREAT!!

KILZ also left a nice gift for the landscapers to mow over :)

(YES, as I said before, I spray paint on the grass behind my house)

I sanded the edges of the wood and painted 2-3 coats of yellow to get an even finish.

I then used Satin-Soft Silk to coat the table.

(This will be the color to show through when I distress the table.)

Since it was getting dark and colder outside, I moved the table inside, used a candle to coat the worn out ares, and painted the top 2 coats.

(Note to Self: Check feet before walking to avoid random paint spots on floor.)

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Once dried, I took a sanding sponge thing and went around various edges.  The website I used stated you can take steel wool and rub the areas of the candle wax to bring out the base layer.  I didn't think that worked well...and was pricking my hands.  The sandpaper did the job just fine. 

It is hard to see in the pictures, but a lot of white and brown is popping through.  I may eventually use a brown or white glaze to make it more muted, but for now, it works.

Inserted the wooden panes with strong glue to hold.(placing heavy books on top to flatten as the wood was curved in some places.)  I was going to use tack nails, but opted for glue for a cleaner line plus the inner ledge was not very wide

The last element I wanted to add was a slogan with a huge heart shape on the other side using MY PINK chalkboard color I wanted from the beginning...plus it would tie into some of my home decor. So I opted for a verse from the Lumineers' song "HO HEY".  I used my silhouette to cut out large pieces of stencils...and taped them together to cover the surface.  So much easier than doing it by hand.

I applied a few coats over the stencil.  (not the best option of using paper for a project that will take a few minutes to coat....paper gets stuck on project.)  But you can see the stencil wasn't perfect, hence I will have to go in and touch up the words and area around the heart.

And this was the end result.  I LOVE IT.