The British Invasion!

Hello everyone, happy February! Alright, so this weeks blog is going out to all those DIY’ers who love to dabble and learn new things. I am always up for trying out new techniques and finding new ways to make a piece come alive.

Staining is going to be our focus this week. Lets be honest and just say that we all love Pinterest! My first staining project began with the idea of using stain to create artwork. Now there are several different techniques that can be used to create the desired effect. Some techniques use more shading, while others use a brush. It all depends what kind of design is being created. 

This coffee table we were able to find in very good condition. We started out by sanding
down the top to get all of the previous stain off. With all of the stain gone the table presented with a very unique pattern on top. I have always been fascinated with the British flag, the Union Jack. This table was calling for a British invasion of a make over.

To begin, we used blue painters tape to create the different sections for the flag.
The next step was to start applying the stain. We selected a dark walnut stain to represent the blue and a cherry to represent the red. In order to represent the white we didn’t apply any stain, leaving the original wood. We applied two coats to every section. When using tape, sometimes the stain leaks underneath the tape. The best way I found to combat this is to really m
ake sure to firmly press the tape onto the surface. It is also best not to fully soak the rag with stain and apply directly to that area. I tend to wait until my rag is almost empty and then stain the edges, pressing hard into the table to get the desired effect.

Once the stain is dry, remove the tape. This is always the most exciting part, when the pattern is fully revealed! After the tape is removed, apply two coats of polyurethane to the top. We finished off our piece by painting the bottom section black and applying a polyurethane coat to that as well.
I feel like this type of staining technique is one of the more easier techniques to master. Next week I will be sharing more about shading with stain! 

Happy Staining and Cinderella On!