the shoemaker’s children go barefoot.

Published on by Quandie

The shoemaker’s children go barefoot.  You’ve heard that expression, right?  In this case it’s more like the shoemaker herself who is barefoot.  I am always painting things to sell and often don’t get around to projects for myself.

But it has been a slow couple of months in the world of furniture sales, or at least for me it has been.  So this past weekend I decided to tackle something of my own that I’ve been meaning to paint for quite some time.

It’s another small chair that I use while painting furniture.

painting-chair-before

This chair is nice and low and allows me to paint the bottom half of furniture in comfort.  Normally it’s out in my carriage house workshop and it really doesn’t matter what it looks like, but in the winter I bring it in the house.  When I’m not using it, it sits in the corner somewhere, so it would be nice if it weren’t quite so ugly.

Initially I was going to paint it in Fusion’s Laurentien, which is a pretty turquoise, but after finishing the cutting board makeover I did last week I decided to go with those colors instead.

So I started by painting the entire chair in Fusion’s Putty.

painting-chair-with-putty

Hmmmm, pretty blah, right?  I almost switched gears again at this point and just painted it turquoise.  But then I reminded myself that I still had to add a few details.

So I added some grain sack stripes in a creamy white, and then a fun stencil.

painters-chair-close-up

I ordered this stencil from Etsy a while back, but hadn’t had a chance to use it yet.  It fit perfectly on my chair seat.

painters-chair-stencil

painters-chair

Now I have a charming little chair to sit on while I paint furniture smack in the middle of my piano room (which is where I paint in the winter).

And I won’t have to hide it in a closet when people drop by for a visit.

What do you think?

25 thoughts on “the shoemaker’s children go barefoot.”

    1. First of all, I should note that I sanded very lightly with fine 220 grit sandpaper after painting the stripes just to smooth out the ridges in the paint from the tape I used to make them. Then I painted the stencil with an acrylic craft paint. Next I sanded the edges of the chair with a heavier grit sandpaper to distress them. Finally, although you do not have to use a topcoat of any kind over Fusion paint (or over acrylic craft paint for that matter), if you distress down to bare wood (as I did on the edges) you should put a little wax on them for protection. I put just a dab of Fusion’s 100% beewax on a flannel cloth and then rub it around those edges. That’s it.

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  4. Whoa what a difference a little paint and a fabulous stencil can make. Love the grain sack stripes too. That should bring a smile to your face each time you see it.

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  6. The grain sack stripes totoally make this chair…and then the stencil on top is the extra “oompf” (or however that’s spelled!). This chair would fit just a bout anywhere now…good job!

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    1. We are! And if my chair were always tucked away in a workshop somewhere, I’m sure I would never have gotten around to painting it. But after having to hide it in the house all winter long, I decided it was high time to make it pretty.

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  13. Did you paint the legs of the chair with the fusion paint also? Did you prime first? I have 3 little chairs that I collected for my granddaughter. She wants to be a school teacher some day(she is 10yo.) and her mom set up the play room as a classroom. I would love to surprise her with these chairs for Easter. Thanks again for all that you do. I enjoy your talents so much.

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    1. Yes, I did paint the legs with Fusion paint. And I did not prime. I’m not too worried about how much wear and tear I see on this chair though, after all it’s just my painting chair. It’s also my ‘photo taking chair’. I find that sitting at this height usually puts me at just the right angle for taking furniture photos. So, in other words, I drag this chair around all over the place and I use it quite a bit and so far it is holding up great. However, if you are concerned about how well the paint will adhere to the metal legs, you could use the Fusion Ultra Grip. Fusion does recommend using the Ultra Grip first when painting metal.

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