Sunday, June 26, 2011

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

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Sherry! Oh, how smart! The seahorse looks wonderful!
Be a sweetie,
Shelia :)

Katie @ Wildwood Creek said...

This turned out beautiful! I have to find a project to try out the gesso.

Unknown said...

You are so clever, Sherry. It is awesome.
Have a wonderful week ~
TTFN ~
Marydon

Pam - @diy Design Fanatic said...

Pretty! I love the touch of aqua!

Coastal Health and Home said...

Dear Sherry,

How beautiful.

Best,

Coastal Blue Ocean

La said...

Hi Sherry!

I never heard of gesso, but your project turned out great. I like the addition of the muted aqua.

Be sure to stop by my blog Tuesday to enter my giveaway.

Have a great week! La

Anonymous said...

I love your seahorse! What a great idea to use Gesso. Your seahorse turned out awesome!

Wanda Lee said...

Hello Sherry,

This is fabulous!.., I will have to look for a project to paint with Gesso!

Thanks for joining me for last week's TTTT and also for my 88th,'Tuesday Tea For Two'~(I was so late this week that tomorrow's tea is just around the corner)!..,

Oh my..,Things are sooo busy!

Your iced tea at the beach theme was 'picture perfect' and oh-so-pretty and refreshing!

Cheers and hugs from Wanda Lee

Sissie's Shabby Cottage said...

I love the technique you used on the Seahorse.
It looks great and very beachy witht he touch of aqua.

hugs

Sissie

The French Hutch said...

Sherry, This project is a great tutorial for working with poly resin, and I think we all probably have run into the problem of changing colors to work in our spaces. Your sea hoarse looks fab with the new color. It looks great with the shell and candle. Thanks, great info here......

~Emily
The French Hutch

Rosemary@villabarnes said...

Nice job on the seahorse Sherry. Thanks for the link back. I'm so glad everyone is having fun with gesso. Can't wait to see how the dining room turns out.
xoxoRosemary

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Great Job! I love the bit of aqua. I use to use gesso quite a bit. I had a shop and taught tole painting. Haven't used it for years. Guess I kindof forgot about it. It is a great product. I'll have to give it a whirl again sometime.

Olga Poltava said...

It turned out great. Wonderful work!

Betty said...

You are so lucky. It is beautiful and you made it even more with your arrangement and painting it.

Melissa said...

Love, love, love the seahorse!

Jacqueline~Cabin and Cottage said...

Beautiful result! Love it! I've never seen anything like that bracket. A seahorse is just a great summer object to decorate with.

Handy Man, Crafty Woman said...

very pretty!!

Lauren @ My Wonderfully Made said...

I love this and how you transformed it! I just saw about 10 of these types of brackets (no seahorse, just a design) at my local thrift store for 1.00 each and passed them by . . . thinking maybe I need to go back and grab a few to try this with them!

Diann said...

Oh Sherry, this turned out great. I remember reading that post and can't wait to try the gesso on several projects. And now after seeing your seahorse, I REALLY can't wait to play! Thank you for joining TTF and I hope you and your family have a fun and safe holiday weekend!

Ms. Bake-it said...

Love the seahorse bracket and vignette you created on it! What a great transformation! I love the touch of aqua. I have never heard of gesso, but I think I will try it out on a few of my small projects.

~ Tracy

Gail said...

Giddy up gesso - you rock. Theseahorse shelf is prett now.