The Seahorse

I was given a seahorse wall bracket and I wasn't loving the colors on it.  I had attempted to spray paint it white, but there was so much texture on the bracket, the spray paint was never going to cover it.  I had actually put this away in the closet for at least a year.

Then Rosemary over at Villabarnes joined my Home Sweet Home party a week ago and showed us about Gesso as an alternative to paint. (Click the link to view that post.)   I immediately thought of this seahorse bracket I had shelved.  So, in this picture a helper and I are applying Gesso.

The gesso is very chalky.  It goes on really easily and is very forgiving to work with.  It dries fast so I sanded the bracket, but being polyresin it just didn't give the aged look from a sanding that wood does.

So, Rosemary said you can mix colors with it.  So,  I mixed up an aqua for the plant element on the bracket.

The original aqua was too much color for the washed out chalky look I was getting with this.  Then I mixed Gesso right into the paint and got a much more subtle aqua that was just right.  I painted a few tan highlights to the sanded parts of the seahorse and then I stopped, not wanting to reapply too much color.

This is the first time I have used the Gesso.  It is easy to work with, water soluble, dries quick, can be mixed with any paint color, and can be finished with wax or polyurethane.  My next try with it will be a piece of furniture.  It is also readily available at Walmart, 16 ozs. for under $8.  Gesso is an affordable alternative to straight paint with a finish you can age and get some interesting looks out of.  (Cost: bracket: free, Gesso $ 7.89, other supplies: I had.)

Sherry

I will link this to:

Metamorphosis Monday  at Between Naps on the Porch

Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays at Coastal Charm
Wow Us Wednesday  at Savvy Southern Style

Thrifty Thursday  at Tales from Bloggeritaville 

Thrifty Things Friday at A La Carte

Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove