Shutter Pair, Funky Sunflower and Poppy

Hi Everyone!
Another weekend here already.   I said I would Tell you about my other two Shutters that I took to the Gallery a few weeks ago. They are the two you see here, (You would probably figure that one out on your own)..   I unloaded them and didn't even have the price on them or have them displayed.They were just leaning against the window, waiting to be placed when the nicest young couple came by and started admiring them.  I had my back to them because I was digging through my purse for the tags for them,(I'm sure showing my best side) I was going to go back out to the van to bring the rest of the items in, when they started asking the price and discussing where they were going to put them. I love it when people start oohing and ahhing about art! They bought both of them right on the spot, and it was so exciting to be there when they were purchased. I love meeting my customers, so that was a special treat for me.

These were some shutters I had stored in my garage for at least 5 years.  I would walk by them every time I got out of the van, and think, I'm gonna paint a BIG flower on those...and then I would go in the house and forget about them. They were an ugly brown when I started. They are wood. The first thing I did was give them a good sanding. I didn't use primer on them because I wanted to use the chalk paint recipe by the way I got off of Pinterest. There are a few recipes out there, but this is what I used.

CHALK PAINT
1 cup paint Flat Latex paint, or you can use craft paint too.

1/3 cup hot water

1/3 cup Plaster of Paris
or Baking Soda

Mix the POP or BS with the hot water to form a smooth consistency before you add the paint. The finish I find is usually rather grainy, but it sands right down and is especially easy to work with if you are going for the distressed look because it sands off so easy. I did find though that it is very tough and durable, and was pleased with the adhesion.




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This was my Funky Sunflower Shutter, and you can see some shading on the green if you look closely. I always like to shade it a little  with colors close to the base coat, but just a little darker or lighter. I probably used 3 shades of green to touch it up after I had sanded it lightly after the initial coat of paint. You can see a hint of red too. I like to barely touch green with red so that it streaks it just a little. 

And here is my Poppy. This was the first time I had done a Poppy, and it was fun to work on.

 

I like to doctor the stems up so they are not so traditional. I like striped stems! 

 

Of course, Sunflowers are always a favorite of mine. And again I like to make the stems interesting too. It was a little challenging painting on the slats but it worked. It just was harder to blend and do the shading. 

I put several coats of Polyurethane on this, but I used a spray since it would not be receiving heavy use like a lot of my funiture. I always apply it with a paint bursh when it is a piece that could see some use. It is much more durable than a spray. 

I really enjoyed working on these and should do another set. I have a set of cafe swinging doors, and one more tall shutter to work on . Any suggestions?

 If you like what you see, would you do me a favor and sign up to be a follower of my blog? That way you will receive updates in your email when I add new things. Thanks for stopping by. Ta ta for now! Carolyn