Aging an Old World Dining Table Base

I have several white plaster column bases and it's really easy to age them using simple paints and a little time. The results are amazing. 

You will need:

 Column Base

Yellow base paint

Brown and gold/copper glaze

Stipple brush

Paper towels

 Old English Polish

 Stencil

Painters Tape

 Thick Cutting board (optional)

Start with Plain white plaster column base.

You will need to paint entire column with yellow base paint.




I then took a stipple brush to dab brown glaze into the crevices, and any pits in the plaster. This will look like old dirt and shadows. That's what you want.

Take a paper towel and just dip it in the brown glaze and wipe it all over the column, as if you were dusting. It will take several paper towels to do this.

Once you have dusted it with the brown glaze, wipe it all off. Some will stay behind. Keep repeating this step until you get the level of brown shadowing you like.

 Now take Old English scratch remover, pour onto paper towel and rub all over the base, including the top. This will give an aged look right away. Then wipe it off really well, as it's greasy.

Once dry, about an hour take a scroll stencil and dab gold and copper paint with a light touch using a sponge. Let dry and remove the stencil.  Now if you want it taller for a side table, add a thick cutting board to the base with hot glue.

Now you have a pretty end table or turn it back upside down for a planter!

Easy DIY HeadBoard (using an old comforter)

This was too, too easy!

I used and old denim comforter to make my son a headboard for his college apartment. This took about 2 hours to make, and a great husband to help! You will need a partner, as this requires 4 hands to help hold fabric in place and pull tight. So lets get started with supplies!

 I purchased a foam mattress pad that would fit the size headboard I was making. I was making a double headboard and it is approx. 54-56 inches wide. You can make it whatever height you like. I did about 36 inches.

 Next off to Home Depot for a sheet of plywood/particle board.  This costs about $8. Nothing fancy. They will cut to size for you for free! We like FREE!

 I took an old denim twin size comforter to cover the headboard. The best part of using a comforter or a quilt, is it's usually already quilted or stitched with a nice pattern, so the headboard will have some style to it, and will already have all the additional padding to make it extra soft. 

 I also purchased a Porter Cable Electric Staple gun. This runs with a compressor. I thought this would make attaching the fabric and padding easier. ...Well...

After hearing the loud compressor, and realizing the staple gun was very powerful and too touch sensitive for me, I went back to Home Depot and bought a PowerShot Pro!  Costs about $20. This was a hit! It's also very touch sensitive, but does not require a compressor, so it's more portable. This is a great little DIY tool to have.

Now it's time to layout your foam mattress pad.

Cut the foam to fit the plywood. Leave 2-3 inches for the edges to be wrapped and stapled.  No need for glue gun, the staples do all the work.

Start stapling one side down. Then pull the other
side tight and staple that side. This is where the extra pair of hands comes in handy. Now let's do the corners.

The corners are EASY! Cut a square, or a notch out. Then staple one edge down then wrap the other right over it.

Next layout the comforter over the board to see where you want the fabric to lay on the front and where you will cut the comforter basically in half. Mine has a nice center seam, so I'll keep that centered on the front.

Now you can cut the comforter, and start wrapping it like a present then staple in place. Remember to leave 2-3 inches extra to wrap the edges around.

I took the cut edges and rolled them under to smooth out the raw edge and hide the comforters batting, then just stapled it down.

CORNERS: Repeat the same technique you did for the foam pad. Cut out a square and fold over, then staple.

Ok STOP! Here's where those extra hands made all the difference! My husband used his drill to screw down the corners instead of my staples, as you can see, it not only looks better, but is more secure.

Here is the finished back of the headboard. Because I used a thick comforter it has a nice rolled edge and is very thick and padded.
 ****To attach to the wall I wanted to use D rings to hang right to the wall like a picture, then on move in day we saw my son has a giant window right where his bed goes, so we attached a single 2x4 cut in half, and drilled one on each side to make legs so it could stand on its own.

Here is the finished HeadBoard. Notice the stitching. Using a comforter gave me the stitching, and pattern I wanted without a lot of extra work from me. (Not to mention the padding is amazing)  Now my son can lean his head against the bed and not hit the wall or window! It was so nice and padded, and soft. This was a very inexpensive way to finish off a college apartment or dorm room.
Sweet Dreams!