A Gypsy's Heart Forever: What a Transformation!

You know how sometimes.... you really have to look past what's obviously wrong with a

newly found "treasure".... and focus on what

could be?

Well, that's exactly what I had to do with this piece! The price was right and I really thought,

that with a little work (turned out to be a lot!)...

we could make this gal shine again.

I turned her over to the husband for a long list of repairs! Holes to be fixed, hardware to order and install, boards to be replaced, missing decorative trim....the list was extensive!

It was a challenge, but she was finally ready to paint. Now, the six million dollar question....what color(s)???? She just wasn't speaking to me! I hate it when that happens!

So....she sat....and sat.....and sat....

until finally,

one morning, I woke up and knew what I wanted to do!

Last summer, we visited the Smith River in northern California, and I absolutely fell in love with the color of that river. I decided to do my best to replicate that color from a picture I had taken.

I experimented with a couple of van Gogh colors until I got the color that I wanted. I got her all painted and lightly distressed, but I knew that I wanted to do something a little different with the top.

Last summer, on my trip to Colorado, I had lusted after some hand-made, metal-accented furniture...

So... I decided to try something new!

I painted the top in Modern Masters, Metal Effects in Copper and...

I Loved it!

Now what?

I decided that I needed to "tone down" the brightness a little bit to match the aged/distressed bottom, so I added a stenciled design and dry-brushed the top with van Gogh "Mascara".

Now for the finish...

I wanted a very durable surface, so I used the van Gogh Table Top finish to seal and protect it.

And... voila! Here's the finished piece!