This afternoon we tackled my
son's bedside table. For a former guest room, I grabbed a paper towel and wiped white paint all over its mauve finish. Can you tell I only work the cheap and lazy way?
The whitewashed look was too blah for a little boy. What to do when it's too cold to paint it green properly? Go for a casual, watercolor approach. Time to unearth those same four tubes of 97-cent craft paint (the same paint for his room's
volcano painting and an older
birthday gift to my husband.) Reusing the four key colors ties everything together.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAuId7jTFZ2dY3DEVLmv0o6Ai2n08kA1dSuND5ehuWxHRCHOZ9b7jpuRLOS86XR7fU2eRpE4ozKyhtl__XQNSFnmogAWakQeaTj9KW6NkTk9vQlDzPP9NyNyPQ7KSeojdxl3aLAQ/s320/snake+detail.jpg)
We flipped through the pages of our animal encyclopedia. I let my son choose some easy-to-paint critters, like this wiggly snake and red beetle.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyWwH97v-n-XpWpJaFy2lSBUTPBZAKbm5FJp3tVeFBf-XzojiOhvrA3-id0duxNC0CvlDeKFdsc2esysQiNv3-Wb16wzG_9OQ46sAluauSk9Ubzo5E74u427dtK6FvnAFk8d10bw/s320/drawer+detail.jpg)
I let him paint the general shape and fun details like eyes. Then I added more shadows and swooped around the animals with thin layers of color.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDU2-5IKjsnk1BSnOW1KnONV9vDn51rG-GecJZcfiNos5JqZ_FfHvxV13hRcrs2Tmurq5PlvfEREwPbhv7iHDEWUtdzmnpR9353Fvwkir9PDt11jk5DaoDcoBzIsOJ5604lhuVqQ/s320/top+table.jpg)
The whitewashed surface was dinged and scarred. I striped the edge in green, then scribbled patches of all four colors on its top.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKE8hXGK4ZxhBkfVMNZfhjbcijw4aaoM5Qjke_YjvWThFhrPOvyLQ8BJowva0ivO6tXSlJLfPCOyRU7Yall3Apo-i3JW-x-XqOFxfTeTA1gZL4YxD3WZ0S9ei9XxQ20Wt-MUGIFA/s320/mudge+web.jpg)
While the paint was still wet, I blotted the surface with a damp rag, gently lifting and blending. This leaves a light, cloud-like finish.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEy2S1Ib7KNOxsfJfNbfHGTbkmrEbkNp7IVE34AQtY28YmKzZlbbguZLnWqBa8JFo6Y1-doeQ3Tsc1rxtQRmzLfMKmbg7e8k4341NAZ69DGmKO8Z4PO8qu-KKkeKB4dGZqPrqog/s320/finished+bedroom+table.jpg)
It only took us about half an hour to complete the project. My son is thrilled with the fun result. He's already requested ants and a red-eyed tree frog for the other table!
Painting kids' furniture, part 2
8 comments:
Are you serious? Only half an hour to come up with something so cute? I'm impressed! It looks adorable.
What a neat and cheap way of having "new" furniture! I hope to copy it in the future.
Until we meet in Heaven,
Mrs. DM Garcia
What a fantastic project! It really looks great.
What a great project! I love it. You are so artistic.
The snake I could have managed, the beetle would have been a large, red blob. I'm so impressed.
You both are so talented!
Way cool!
Meredith, all I can say is WOW! :)
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