cake and pastries, cakes and pastries, cakes and pastries.

Published on by Quandie

As I shared last week, or was it the week before?  I don’t know, time flies so quickly these days it feels like the weeks all blend together.

Anyway, as I shared, I decided to take this bench back to the drawing board.

Again.

It started out as a bed, then it became a bench, and then it sat unsold for about 9 months.

I decided it was either the color, the transfer, or the price.  But I reduced the price and it still didn’t go.  Let me take a moment to reflect on that.  In all of my years of selling furniture I have found that lowering the price on a piece that isn’t selling almost never makes a difference.  My prices tend to be on the lower side anyway, so if a piece isn’t selling it’s not usually because of the price.  That being said, I do charge more for these benches because I pay Ken for the materials and for his time to turn them from beds into benches.  So I tried lowering the price, and still, no sale.

Ken thought the problem was those posts sticking up above the seat level on the front corners though.  Those has always bugged him, and he really wanted the chance to try something different.  So he brought it back to his workshop and cut the posts off the front corners, tapered the remaining top of each post to make it look more natural, and then replaced those two outer boards on the seat.

I do prefer this look over the old one, it’s definitely a little less fussy.

Next up I sanded off the transfer.

Today’s q tip:  when removing a transfer from something, you do have to fully remove it before painting over it.  Otherwise you will see an outline through your new paint.  I have found that the quickest solution is to put an 80 grit paper on my orbital sander and go to town on it.  I have tried using mineral spirits and that didn’t work for me.  After lots of elbow grease with a 3M scrubby pad saturated in mineral spirits, it still didn’t remove the transfer fully.

So, I sanded the transfer off, wiped away any dust and gave the bench a coat of Dixie Belle’s Midnight Sky.  I had decided to just go back to basic black, which I know sells well.  And you know what?  I can’t really say why, but black just wasn’t working on this piece.  So once again, I decided to pivot (because that’s the trendy thing to do now).  I pulled out the Dixie Belle Drop Cloth and covered up that black.

The warm, almost creamy but not quite, off white shade of Drop Cloth just really does it for me.

The bench felt a little too plain without anything on that big framed rectangle on the back though, so I decided to add a fairly simple black transfer.

This is a section from a newer re.design with prima transfer called French Specialties.

The top section fit the space perfectly.  It went on super easily.  I love the ‘Paris 1889’ part in the middle.

It wasn’t until I was applying clear wax over it that I noticed a problem.

Do you see it?  Let me give you a minute.  I sort of gave it away in my blog post title.

Yeah.  It says the same thing three times over.  Top curved line, and bottom two lines.  Cakes and pastries, cakes and pastries, cakes and pastries.  What the what? Not that I don’t love cakes and pastries, and I’d be OK with the top curved line, and just one of the bottom lines.  But those two bottom lines did me in.

All I can think is that because the wording is French, I just simply didn’t take the time to ‘read’ the transfer.  I was too busy looking at the overall layout, admiring the fonts, thinking the scale of the design was perfect for my piece.  And frankly, assuming that the wording was vetted by re.design with prima.

Once you’ve seen it, you can’t un-see it, am I right?  Or maybe it’s just me.  Am I too particular?  Are any of you not bothered by the repetitive lines?

Since I’d already waxed over it, the process of removing just one of the bottom two lines becomes much more complicated.  If only I’d noticed before waxing.  I could have sanded one line off, touched up the paint, and moved on.  But with wax on it, and because those lines are fairly close together, I’m not sure I can successfully sand off that section and blend the touch up paint into the waxed areas that remain without damaging the rest of the transfer.

So tell me, what are your thoughts on this?

Would you …

a.  List it for sale as is because it’s just not that big of a deal and only neurotic perfectionists like myself are going to notice.

OR

b.  Try to remove one of those cakes and pastries lines from the bottom by sanding and hope that you can blend the repair seamlessly.

OR

c.  Shove this bench in the corner for 30 days while the wax cures and hope that you can paint over one of those lines without sanding (see q tip above before choosing this option!).

Leave me a comment and let me know what you would do!

73 thoughts on “cake and pastries, cakes and pastries, cakes and pastries.”

  1. Leave it! Who doesn’t want skads of pastries? Personally, I don’t understand the fascination with French. Do folks perceive it as romantic? Portuguese is the language of love. I never see it. I love all your pieces, French or not. And still have scented houseplant geraniums for you & Deb.

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  2. I think it’s beautiful and it wouldn’t bother me at all that it’s repeated. I honestly didn’t notice it – had to keep looking to get it!

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  4. Leave it. It is lovely. If in an entry, no one wold be near it long enough to be bothered by the words. It is much nicer with the bedpost trimmed down.

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  6. I agree with Netti! Never too many cakes and pastries here, either. The different fonts make it look planned, too. Too bad there wasn’t a tiny cherub clapping her hands in excitement 😉
    It’s lovely and I bet it will sell fast!

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  7. Leave it. I didn’t notice it until you pointed it out. Obviously Prima didn’t have a problem with it either, since they designed it that way. I doubt very many people will be bothered by it.

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  9. Frankly, I would leave it. I probably honestly would not have noticed until you said something as they are different fonts. I tend to look at the overall design, more so than reading the words!

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    1. I think that’s exactly what happened with me and why I didn’t notice it before waxing, I tend to look at the overall design rather than paying attention to what the words say.

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  11. I would leave it! I really think it looks great with the different fonts. Plus I think more cakes is a win win!
    Smiles, alice

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  12. I would leave as is. It’s a subliminal message. A bakery needs to buy this bench!!
    Seriously, is so pretty and I think most customers will love the typography and not notice or care that it is repetitive.

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  16. I go with the majority here. And say “Just leave it”. If it was Canada, where everybody takes french it might matter, but actually reading it is probably not going to even happen.. and who knows maybe a bakery will want it to put out on their porch in the summer..,

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  17. Option A. I wouldn’t have noticed if you hadn’t said something. My eye is drawn to the big picture and the transfer really does look perfect there. I would leave it. It’s very pretty.

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  18. Sorry but option A. It’s beautiful just the way it is. No one (well, maybe a few people) is going to notice or care that it repeats itself three times. I love it!

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  20. It makes perfect advertising sense. Repeat the message, as often as possible. Ask any French person what the sign said, and they would definitely say “something about pastries…”

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  21. Well, Miss Quandie, your pivot was perfecto (-: For me, the thing about florals is that they are so THERE. On furniture or, say, slipcovers, it’s like your house is wearing the same dress EVERY DAY for years! Hahahahaha…….. About the repetitive French text……nay, not important. It’s all about the symmetry and the design. Unless you’re making a sign, no one even tries to figure out what it’s saying after the first look! (In my opinion). On that note I have loved all of the German stencils you’ve used! A nice break from all the “frenchified”!

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    1. Well, I have to admit, I’m surprised that not one single person commented and said ‘yeah, that would bug me too!’ But that’s good, now I don’t have to change it. The next thing is to see whether or not it sells 🙂

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  24. I would leave it as is and try to sell it. Chances are no one will even notice unless they are French because it is very pretty.

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  25. I like it a is,but I would take that round thing in front off,. It grabs your attention. I think your third Choice might b e the best. I thought it was pretty in the original .

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  28. I would leave it…at least for 30 days 😉. Because of the different fonts it really isn’t noticeable. It’s perfect for that spot! And I’m pretty picky!

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  29. I thought I heard that you can use mineral spirits over the wax and then repaint immediately? See if anyone else knows about this and give it a go. Love your piece!!

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    1. Yes, I have heard that too. But I’ve also heard that mineral spirits can remove a transfer, so I would have to be very careful if I was going to try that.

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  30. It looks lovely, and I’m going to pile on with the “leave it”. I do think it’s odd that Prima made that choice, though!

    Something you said does give me a question. After wax thoroughly cures you can paint over it? Asking because my kitchen cupboards, painted in Annie Sloan with Annie Sloan clear wax gosh – 7 years or so ago – need touching up.

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    1. Well, it may depend somewhat on the brand of wax. I’m not sure about the Annie Sloan version. Dixie Belle’s wax is water based and they say you can paint over it after 30 days. Miss Mustard Seed says the same about her wax, that you can paint over it once it is cured. I have painted over waxed items, not as soon as 30 days, but certainly after six months or so, and have not had issues.

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  31. Love it as is! Never even noticed the repetition. If the transfer isn’t in English, I rarely try to decipher the words so…on to many cakes & pastries! I like the posts cut off on this piece. If there are posts in the front, then I think there needs to be arms…of some sort.

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  35. Leave it. It looks great. I’m not sure any guest in any home would notice the repetition. It would be a beautiful entryway piece.

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  38. Who knew there were so many beautiful black finishes? Midnight Sky is such a lovely soft color, more subtle than Caviar, (that is a great black). Thanks for sharing the differences.

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  39. I have always been cautious with transfers with the concern of removing in the future so thanks for sharing how this works best. I also agree with the wording.. why would they put it 3 times in a graphic unless they wanted folks to choose 1 style of font only but should specifically have that written. I also worry what some languages say, I put a chinese/japanese transfer on a piece after trying to find out what it said with no luck 🙂 I hope it is something nice LOL

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