French Chair and Crackled Lamp Transformation

So I finally found some time to transform the other burgundy leather French chair I aquired in January. One was for a custom order you may remember from a previous post http://savardstudios.blogspot.com/2012/01/upcycling-old-furniture-after-pictures.html . This one I decided to give a Hollywood Regency feel. I used  a wax metallic in an antique gold finish. The process is very simple. You rub it on, let it dry then buff to a high sheen. It seals itself and doesn't require primer. I used this on all of the wood frame of the chair. This is also what I used on the leather to stencil the leopard print. So heres a before shot, in process and the finished piece.

Complete Royal French Chair! Everyone needs one!

As always, this chair is currently in booth #409 Eeeklectic Town at the Dilworth Blacklion and online in my Etsy store. www.etsy.com/shop/savardstudios  Free local delivery!

I also had another challenging little project for one of my clients. She had a lovely pair of crackled finish outdoor lamps. The finish was coming off in sheets. 

So rather than replace them, she asked me if I could redo them. Since I never say no, I took them home. You would think since so much of the finish was peeling, it would have been super easy to get the balance of the paint off. Wrong. I used a green, environmentally friendly paint stripper. I finally had to enlist the help of my husband's eternal patience and muscle. He finally prepped them down to the metal!
I used a "green" metal primer from one of my favorite online vendors. I used a dark brown because I wanted it to show through the cracks. The picture is one coat, but I did two coats.

I used a crackle size (which is what makes the cracking paste crack) from another fav online vendor. I randomly applied it so that I wouldn't have cracking all over. The shiny, darker areas in the picture have size on them.

After the size dried, I applied my tinted crackle paste. It comes white, so I added a little raw umber to tone it down.

After drying, this is how it looked! Cracked beautifully!

It still needed to be toned down and given some dimension. I mixed a glaze in a dark putty color and appilied it all over the lamp, wiping it off to soften the effect.

Once dry I applied 3 coats of exterior sealer. Lots of layers and labor, but we saved the lamps from the landfill and now they are just as beautiful as before!