Welcome to Little Speckled Frog week!  “Huh, what?” you say?

Let’s start at the beginning.  You may know that I belong to a Fusion blogger group.  Many moons ago Janice from Fred & Bessie’s recommended me to Fusion (thanks again Janice!).  They sent me some of their new paint to try out, and the rest is history.  Now I occasionally participate in blog hops with some of the other Fusion bloggers.  Sometimes I ask Fusion to sponsor hat box painting parties, like I did last winter.  And sometimes they send me colors from their new color collections to try out, like the Seaside from their Michael Penney collection.  So back in February when they sent me the supplies for the hat box party, they also sent me several jars of paint from their not-yet-released new color collection, Tones for Tots.  In case you are wondering, no, they do not pay me.  However, they do supply me with free samples of their products.  Obviously I need a t-shirt that says “Will work for paint.”

The seven new designer colors are inspired by favorite nursery rhymes.

I had some fun taking photos of the paint before I ever cracked one open.

While out shopping one day with friends, I found this adorable vintage baby shirt that had the perfect colors to match the paint.

And how funny is it that this is the tag inside?

I was under strict instructions not to post anything until the new colors had been officially launched.  That gave me some time to search for the perfect piece for a nursery.  Hmmmm.  That was harder than I thought it would be.  I found one particular piece on craigslist that would have been perfect for this project, but someone got there ahead of me and it slipped through my fingers.  Finally I decided that maybe I could just work with a small dresser, not necessarily a nursery piece, but something that could be used in a nursery or a young child’s bedroom and that’s when I found this dresser.

The before photo is not terribly exciting.

It’s not hideously awful, just kind of blah.

What you can’t see in the photo is that it needed some shoring up.  I’m going to share those details in another post this week, so stay tuned for that!

Once it was repaired, I knew it needed something to add just a little more interest.  I couldn’t just paint it one solid color and call it good.  I debated just adding a french stencil I have that says “reves doux mon enfant” which would have been appropriate for a nursery piece.  I also debated adding a damask stencil to the drawer fronts.  But in the ended I opted for a stripe and I’m so glad I did.

It was the perfect solution for adding a little extra something to this dresser and also keeping it playful for a nursery.

Later this week I’ll share a tutorial on painting stripes, but in the meantime I used the new pale green color from the Tones for Tots line called Little Speckled Frog (are you starting to get why I’m calling this Little Speckled Frog week?) as the base color and I added stripes in Fusion’s Picket Fence.

I replaced the original wooden knobs with pretty glass knobs.  I like to use a clear knob on pieces like this because it lets the stripes be the focus.

One of the reasons for the delay in releasing this new color line was that Fusion wanted to have it fully tested for safety around your little ones!  Their Tones for Tots collection meets both the Toy Safety Standards of North America and the EN71-3 Certification for Europe, so you can feel good about using these paints on pieces that are intended for a nursery.  Like all Fusion paints, Tones for Tots is zero VOC, requires little prep work and has a built-in topcoat.  Let’s face it, most new moms out there don’t have a lot of time to be fussing around with a painting project.

The Tones for Tots line will be available in stores beginning May 28, 2016.  Check out Fusion’s “where to buy” page to find a retailer near you.

I had fun finding props to use for the photos of my Speckled Frog dresser, but I suspect most of them would definitely not meet those safety standards!  I used some vintage wooden blocks and this rusty old toy truck that came from my friend Terri’s uncle.

If you are local and interested in purchasing this sweet striped dresser, please check my ‘available for local sale’ tab for details.

Otherwise, please check back later this week for more details on how Ken repaired this dresser and a tutorial on painting stripes!