Pinterest Challenge…Fail or Fantastic?

So much so, that Young House Love sponsors Pinterest Challenges seasonally.  I decided to join the Winter challenge to encourage myself to get out of my little cold weather blues.

I always have more than one project rolling around in my head, but recently I’ve lacked the motivation to get them done.  It’s winter.  It’s cold and it’s a lot easier to just snuggle up on the sofa and be warm.  Those recent snow storms didn’t help fuel that motivation either. So this challenge was just the thing I needed.

Here’s the Pin for my challenge.  The inspiration, if you will, to get me back on track.

My Pinterest comment says, “That chair!”

Here’s the back story. This summer I recovered another one of my Copley Hotel chairs.  It had an amazing transformation. Here it is after a coat of Annie Sloan Chalk paint in Aubusson Blue to cover the hideous shade of dark green glossy paint.

Then, I dry brushed Old White on top of the blue, hit it with a little bit of sandpaper and waxed it with both clear and tiny bit of dark wax to age it a bit.  It looked pretty good.

But when I got to the upholstery part, I was stumped. I couldn’t find a fabric I loved and I ended up using a fabric a friend of mine gave me.  It was safe. It was free. It was neutral and how could I go wrong with that? I could check another chair off my list.  I still have one more chair left to do. 🙂

Well, nearly the minute I brought the chair inside and stepped back, I realized it was boring.  It was dull and I regretted settling and taking the safe choice. Patience is definitely the virtue I missed here.
 
I didn’t even bother to blog about it. It was that boring.

Now that I’ve given you the history, you know when I saw and pinned that smashing chair above I decided that what just might be what could bring this chair to life. I didn’t have much to loose, except my time in recovering the chair, if it was a total fail.

But being the DIY girl I am, I wasn’t too worried. I’ve used paint and stenciled on fabric several times. I had great success on my drop cloth curtains.

Yes, the paint is a little stiff, but no one goes around feeling your curtains.  I’ve also stenciled on some linen for a pillow I made. It’s stiff and not soft at all.  It looks fine, but it’s been relegated to an obscure corner of my bedroom.

For this chair, I had a new idea to try out. I mixed some left over latex flat paint with textile medium and glaze.  I knew from experience the textile medium I had would be stiff, but I remembered reading somewhere that adding a glaze to paint will make it soft on fabric.

So, I taped that baby up and stippled on some paint.  I used a flat stipple brush because the “grain” of the fabric moved around too much with a regular brush. I kind of dragged the brush with the grain.  I also hoped that I would be using less paint and that would help it stay soft.

Well, this particular glaze did not help. The end product is still pretty stiff. A big Fail. 

I used CreamCoat glaze in a ratio of about a cup of paint to 1 tablespoon glaze and 1 tablespoon textile medium. I will test this theory again with a stronger ratio and let you know if that works.

But the look is exactly what I was hoping for, so that is Fantastic!

Thankfully, this chair is kind of just eye candy in the room.  No one really sits in this chair. The tv armoire is to the left in the photo below and as you can see the chair is under two mirrors and what will be a large painted canvas. One day. Check out my painting inspiration board for ideas I’m tossing around.

I’m still on the hunt for a proper console type table to go next to it. And the pillow to go on the chair will be here soon.  I’ve ordered the one on the right. 🙂

I think the stripes and that awesome mod pillow will make a terrific pair.  Once the pillow arrives, I’ll update the post with the final after! Can’t wait!

Thanks for checking out my Pinterest Challenge! I’d love to have you keep up with my adventures by becoming a follower. 😉

Also sharing here:
Tuesday:
Power Of Paint @ Domestically Speaking

Wednesday:
WOW Us Wednesday @Savvy Southern Style
Walkabout Wednesday @ Taingamala
Primp Your Stuff Wednesday @ {Primp}
   
Thursday:
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Creek Cottage
Under $100 Linky Party @ Beyond The Picket Fence
Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here
Creative Inspirations @ Embracing Change 

Friday:
Friday Link-up @ Redoux
Be Inspired Friday @ Common Ground
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home
Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage