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Incorporating Iron Orchid Designs Decor Moulds onto a piece painted with Fusion Mineral Paint is a great way to totally transform a thrift store find into a work of art! The best part is that it’s fun and EASY!
A complete list of what I used will be at the bottom of the tutorial. The Transformation Subjects. I found two small similarly sized tables with a lot of detail at one of my favorite thrift stores. They had a very dark finish on them. I apologize, I forget to take a before photo. (I’m working on this; I get in the mood to start a project and dive in!) The Prep. There's that word again - PREP! Bleh... but, you have to always thoroughly clean your piece and let it completely dry before any priming and or painting. In most cases it is not necessary to prime a piece before using Fusion Mineral Paint, but often a little prep can go a long way! Read more about prepping but checkout out these articles - How to Prep Like a Pro! and PREP - Not a BAD 4 Letter Word). However, in this case these two tables had very old finishes on them and it looked like a finish that would bleed through if I didn’t prime it first. If you have a piece like this, it is very important to use the Zinsser Shellac Based Primer to seal the piece to prevent the old finish from coming through and ruining your finish. Both pieces required 2 coats of Zinsser Shellac Primer, on the first coat the old finish bled through immediately. I use a chip brush or throw away roller to prime. This primer is very thin and drippy and your piece will look awful after you are done but it will be fine and will not show on your finished piece. It’s best to use this in a well-ventilated area or outside if possible! This primer dries to the touch in 15 minutes and a second coat can be applied if needed after 45 minutes. I only use a second coat if the old finish bleeds through immediately as it did on these pieces. Now, the Fun! IOD Decor Moulds. I wanted a "beachy vibe," and I’ve been dying to use the new Iron Orchid Designs Sea Sisters Mould on a piece of furniture! I also used the Iron Orchid Designs Classic Elements Mould.
IOD Air Dry Clay. The newly formulated Iron Orchid Designs Air Dry Clay is amazing to work with and is my absolute favorite - truly! However, the IOD Air Dry Clay is so popular, that people often order 2 or more at a time, and as a result, it is often back ordered from IOD. So, instead of using up my stock, in order to save it for my customers, I chose to use Creative Paper Clay for this project. I do like Creative Paper Clay, but it tends to be a little dryer and cracks more in my experience than the IOD Air Dry Clay. I think because IOD Air Dry Clay is moister, it gives a little more definition as well, which is probably why it cracks less than the Creative brand. If you do use the IOD Air Dry Clay, you may want to lightly brush the mould with corn starch prior to pressing in the clay - this will make it easier to pull the newly created embellishment from the mould. Any cracking when the piece dries can be easily patched. More about that in a bit.
(...from the IOD Sisters Ikea Tarva Maximalist Makeover Part 1 of 2 YouTube video)
After I got all my moulds glued on to the pieces, I let them dry over night before painting. I prefer this over painting it wet because you will lose some of the definition AND as it dries it will develop some cracks. You can embrace the cracking and let it add to the charm of the piece or go back in a fill the areas if you prefer.
Painting. Now we are ready for paint. I used Azure Fusion Mineral Paint toned down a bit by adding Raw Silk Fusion Mineral Paint to get a pale aqua. I covered every square inch with this base color. Fusion Mineral Paint should dry at least 4 hours between coats.
I am a huge fan of The Turquoise Iris, and have watched her videos on blending and getting the purposeful drippy look. I LOVE this look and she makes it look so easy and fun! I’ve been wanting to try it forever. This is my first try and I love how it turned out!
I used a plastic paint scrapper to apply Renfrew Blue, Inglenook, Raw Silk and Azure Fusion Mineral Paint, randomly running the scrapper one way and then the other way to somewhat blend the paint. Then spray water on it to blend it further. The paint will blend and pool a bit and drip but when it dries it looks so good! I let this dry for 24 hours before waxing.
The Final, FINAL Touch - More Waxing! I wanted those gorgeous IOD Mermaids to shine! So, I added Art Alchemy Waxes by Finnabair to the Moulds using a small flat paint brush. I used Firebird Art Alchemy Metallique Wax for the hair and details of shells. I used Peacock Metallique Wax for the body with Electric Violet Metallique Wax for shading under the body. The “waves” were done with Old Denim Metallique Wax and Silver Gilder’s Paste Wax to highlight. I added Turquoise Satin Opal Magic Wax for iridescence. These waxes are my favorite way of “coloring” the mould pieces and really make them pop!
That's it! One of the pieces sold within 30 minutes of me placing in the store! If you have any questions or comments, please leave in the comments section below, or on my The Painted Heirloom Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/ThePaintedHeirloom/
Products used in this project:
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Transform Furniture with Finnabair Waxes, Iron Orchid Designs Moulds, and Fusion Mineral Paint!
