A Trash to Treasure Beauty!

Every once in a while there is a brilliant idea that resonates with so many people. This little trash to treasure transformation is a great example.

A few weeks ago I was talking over Fusion Mineral Paint Workshops with some of the team here at Fusion Towers, (sounds so glam – it is actually a pretty cool warehouse, but still!). One of our wonderful Fusion Merchants, Laura of Grayne & Co came up with a brilliant plan.

Turn scrap bits of old trim into a great big heart. Paint and decorate it using Fusion.

And just like that, a great idea was born.

With a little know how Laura transformed the scrappy wood into these. Amazing!

Laura was kind enough to ship me a big heart just so I could share it with you!

The first step

Wipe it down and take a little of the sheen off the previously painted trim. Basically a very light sand and a wipe with a slightly damp cloth to take off any dust.

Next, I took my Homestead House Milk Paint Stain, (did you know Fusion is made by Homestead House? It’s been my family business for almost 30 years!).

Following the instructions on the pack, I gave the sections I wanted to stain a light covering. With Milk Paint Stain, there is no sanding required. No preparation work is necessary. Just mix, apply and seal!

To create a washed look or stain out of milk paint, simply add more water to your mixture!

Then I took my Fusion Mineral Paint, you could choose any colours you like, for this project I used Homestead Blue, Little Lamb & Champness.

Just look at the colours – the hardest part is deciding which to use!

The next step

Once my paint was dry, (it took only about 20 minutes), was to decoupage.

It sounds fancy – but is as simple as using a special glue to stick the paper to the wood. In this case, I used a napkin.

You can decoupage just about anything, and I used our lovely Fusion Decoupage & Transfer Gel.

First I separated the layers of tissue, most napkins are two or three layers of paper stuck together. You use the top layer – the one with the print on it.

I think Decoupage deserves a ‘How To’ all of its own, but very simply, added the gel to the wood, where I wanted the paper to stick.

I then dropped the paper on top and burnished the bubbles out. In a bit of a hurry and not being very careful, the paper tore. But in a wonderful way of these things, I think it enhanced the look.

The final step was adding some black wax. I could have stopped after the decoupage, but I wanted to add depth and really highlight that lovely carving.