6 French Country Thrift Flips | Trash to Treasure Home Decor | IOD & Redesign

Hi everyone, it's Erin from the Provincial Farmhouse. Today I've put together a collection of six French country thrift flips. I'm gonna be working on this lovely little lamp that I thrifted. Now, I loved the shape of it, I loved the height. There's a spot in my house that this is going to go, but it definitely needed a refresh. So I'm going to take the lampshade off first, put that somewhere safe, and then I'm going to be taping off the cord and the top section of the lamp base, and then I'm going to be using Paint Couture's two-in-one primer in grey to prime this surface. Now, obviously this is going to help my paint stick, but that grey tone is also going to stop those colours coming through the paint. I want this to be a much more neutral piece. Those little flowers were lovely, but there were definitely petals and bits of it that had broken off over the years. So by going over the top of this with paint, we're going to be able to hide that while still showing and appreciating the beauty of that lovely design. So I'm going to continue adding the primer. I did end up doing two coats on this piece, and then I took out Cozy Beige again. This is definitely the colour of the day, and I'm going to be applying that over the top of the entire lamp base. Now, I am using a pointed tip brush, Eco Brush. I believe this is the size 10, and I'm just really working that paint into all of those details, and I'm applying that paint in a dabbing and stippling motion. So this means that we won't get brush strokes. It will just look like texture, and I did end up doing two coats of this lovely creamy tone over the top. I knew that the lampshade was going to end up being quite busy with what I had planned, so I definitely wanted to keep the base simple. I sealed this with Rust-Oleum's Clear Matte Sealer when I was finished. Next, I'm going to be working on the lampshade. I discovered that I was able to peel off the fabric that was already attached on there. The inside plastic frame of the shade itself was actually in really good condition, so I decided that rather trying to paint over the fabric, I would see how I went peeling it off, and as I said, I was very happy to find that I was able to do this. Definitely saved me a lot of hassle, so I'm just going to continue to peel that fabric off. I think it had just been adhered down with some sort of fabric glue. I then took out the 12 decoupage paper by Redesign, and I'm just going to work out what part of the decoupage paper I'm going to be using. I already know that I am going to have to cut these into almost triangular-shaped panels because I want the seams to be straight and the right way up. If I just try and apply it as is, I'm going to have some images on an angle, and it just will not end up looking very good at all, so I'm just working out here what I'm going to have in each of the panels. I wasn't super careful about the size of them, so I do end up having one that was a little bit smaller than the others, but honestly, this is a lamp for myself, and it all really did start to come together quite nicely. It's not something that you notice, obviously. You can see here that I'm just using that first panel that I cut out as a bit of a guide as I'm selecting some other scenes from the decoupage paper for my lamp. Once I had all of those pieces organised, I started applying Paint Couture's decoupage medium in matte in sections and started adding the decoupage paper down over the top and just really sort of smoothing that out and then trimming off the excess down the bottom. I'm not too worried about the transition lines between each of the pieces as I add them because I'm going to be adding some trim over the top of that to separate and tidy up each of the sections. So I'm going to work my way around, applying some more of the decoupage medium in each of the sections and adding each scene along the lamp. I was trying to be careful to make sure that they were relatively straight. Like I said, I definitely didn't want to have some scenes on a bit of an angle. I thought that would look a bit odd. So I'm just going to continue adding the designs until I have the entire lampshade covered. Once I had the final piece in place, I went back over the top of the entire lamp with the decoupage medium to seal everything in. You can see that each section has overhang down the bottom and up the top. That's so that the material, or in our case, decoupage paper, can be folded over here. And I can add some hot glue and just sort of press that down and that will hold it in place. It's a really neat way to finish off a lamp. So I'm just adding that glue along the top rim of the lamp in little sections and working my way along and folding that fabric or decoupage paper over. I'm using a low-temp hot glue gun here because it is very easy to burn yourself. And obviously I didn't want to get really bad burns. So this is definitely my go-to when I know I'm probably going to get some of that glue on my fingers. Once I had all of the edges glued down in place, I took out some of this sort of twine-style trim that I had in my stash, and I'm just going to go along and work out how much I'm going to need over the top of each section's sort of transition line. So I'm just lining that up and then I'm going to trim that off. I do have extra so that I can glue it up the top and down the bottom as well. I'm going to run my hot glue gun over the top of the area where I'm going to want the trim to go, and then I'm going to press that along that line. I'm then going to add more glue on the inside top section so I can fold that trim piece over and under, try and make it a little bit neater, and then also down the bottom as well. Now, as I said, I did not do this perfectly. Each section is not the exact same width long, but I wasn't going for perfect. This is a lamp for myself. I have never covered a lamp before, so this was definitely a fun learning experience. But overall, I'm definitely happy with how this came together. I love twill and I just love that I was able to use a decoupage paper to create a piece of decor for my home. As I was putting this together and cutting out the different scenes, I was more focused on what the scenes actually had in them as opposed to the length and getting everything perfect. I then moved on and started adding some glue around the top rim of the lampshade, and I'm going to apply that same trim around the top edge. Obviously, this is a step that you don't have to add, but I just wanted to keep going and really frame everything out. And I definitely feel like adding this trim gave it a more finished feel. So once I'm finished adding the trim to the top section, I will be moving on to the bottom and repeating the same process. I went with a pretty neutral-looking trim for this. Obviously, you could go a little bit bolder. I did have a gold trim in my stash that I considered using, but I decided to play it safe. But yeah, you could definitely come in and you could add in something a bit bolder. Perhaps a velvet ribbon would have looked beautiful as well, but I went with a more neutral look for this one. I then started adding the trim around the base, as you can see. And if I have any of those little hot glue tendrils or little strings, I will just go back around and grab those and tidy it all up. And here's a look at our finished lamp. I love how this turned out. It's not perfect by any means, but I am definitely happy with this transformation. Let me know what you think of this in the comments. For my first project, I'm going to be working on this handmade wooden tote. It was a little bit rough and you could even still see the lead pencil lines, but I thought it was charming. I'm going to be laying down a coat of chocolate chalk mineral paint. I've still got some leftover Dixie Belle that I'm working my way through. I started brushing it on, but realised that I really wanted to create more texture. And to do this, I poured some out into a plastic container, and then I'm going to add some of Dixie Belle's Sea Spray Texture Additive. I'm going to stir it really well together, and this is going to thicken the paint up, and it's also going to give us some lumps and bumps. And ultimately, I want this to look like an old worn garden tote. So this is definitely going to help with that. And I know I go on about it, but when you want to create something that does look old and worn, you have to think about the layers and what's going on underneath your paint. So I'm going to continue to work my way around the tote, and I'm applying it in a dabbing and stippling motion. Some areas are going to have a little bit more texture than others, and if this was a little bit too much for you, obviously, you could add a little bit more paint or water to thin it out, or you could go back over the top of the texture that you've created and sort of brush down the peaks so that it's a little bit more subtle. I did one coat of this mixture, and then I let it dry completely. Next, I'm going to be using Fusion's Milk Paint in the colour Monterey, and I'm going to measure out one capful into a plastic container, and then I'm going to measure out an equal amount of water and stir it really well. When you're mixing your milk paint, it's a good idea to use something like a whisk, or if you want a really, really smooth mixture, I suggest that you use an immersion blender. Once I've got that mixed through, I'm going to apply my milk paint with a natural bristle brush. I'm going to be applying two coats of this paint to the entire toad. As you can see, in certain areas, there's definitely more texture, certainly on the ends like here, and you can see how the milk paint is skipping over certain areas. I also did that so that when the milk paint is dry, I can come back and do some wet distressing, and that way it's going to look a little bit like chippy paint. I didn't quite get the crackle that I usually get, and I believe that's because this is a wooden toad, so it was very porous. The milk paint really sucked in. No matter how heavy I put it on and no matter how much heat I applied, I didn't really get any cracking, but I did get a lot of wonderful texture. And as I said, I can do wet distressing, and the texture that we have underneath is going to mimic the look of chippy paint. If I really wanted to get a chippy look, I could have sealed the chocolate paint first with a gloss clear coat and then put my milk paint over the top, but that's OK. You can see I'm just speeding up the drying process here. Next, I'm going to be using IOD's Lattice Rose paint inlay. I have not used this one yet, but I'm excited to try this design here. I saw Jamie Ray Vintage use it in another video, and it definitely inspired me. So I'm just trimming off the amount that I'm going to need. I'm just going to be putting it on the side. Then I'm laying down a generous coat of milk paint where I want the inlay to go, and then I'm going to press it into the wet milk paint design side down. That grid should be facing up at you. I'm going to smooth it out, and once I'm happy with that, I am going to take out my mister. I'm going to mist it well, and then I will also use a wet wipe to apply some further pressure just to make sure that I have really good contact with the milk paint and the inlay. Now, I did this in a previous video, and I got lots of fun, chippy effects, but with this one, I think because I laid down two coats of the milk paint, I didn't quite get that effect, but that's OK. I still love how this ends up looking. So the inlay is completely dry. I've misted it with water, and then now I'm going to come in and start to pull it away. You can see a little bit of a peak of the chocolate coming up through underneath, but mainly it is quite a solid finish. But there is some imperfections in the paint inlay design itself, which looks like chippy paint. Now, at this point, I wanted to try and use the inlay again, but, guys, I will warn you, this does actually end up as a bit of a fail. I think I put down too much paint here, and I didn't let my inlay dry, which already had quite a build-up of that milk paint on it, and it was very wet. So once I've put it in there, I just...I feel like it was too much paint blocking the leftover inlay design on there. So it's definitely a lesson learned for me. I am not going to have issues reusing the rose chintz inlay that I did in my previous video, but unfortunately with this one, you will see we did not really get much of anything happening. So if you're going to do this, I suggest letting that inlay dry and definitely don't use as much milk paint as I did because I think that was definitely an issue here. So lesson learned, and hopefully you can learn from my mishap here. Next, I'm going to take a wet wipe and I'm going to go around and do some wet distressing on the edges of our tote here. That's going to pull it back to see the chocolate underneath. I'm also going to do that over the top of some of the texture that we created with that chocolate sea spray mixture. If you're going to do this, it will be to your liking. How much you pull back, you can definitely be quite dramatic with this look. That's the beauty of milk paint and being able to reactivate it with water. Once I had done that, however, I took a stencil that I had in my stash and I want to put the words, uh, "'Fleurs'," obviously that means flowers, and I'm going to be using Paint Couture's Cozy Beige Chalk Paint. I'm dabbing off the excess paint first and then you can see I am doing a dabbing motion over the top of the stencil. I don't need this to be perfect. I want this to look vintage, so I don't mind if I do have a little bit of bleeding underneath. But I really do love the look of the chalk paint over the top of the milk paint. It just...it just is a really lovely finish. And this Cozy Beige is actually a pretty close colour match to the creamy tone that's in that Lattice Rose paint inlay. Once I'd finished with that particular stencil, I then took out another one, and I just want to use the little swirls, uh, that are in the corners there. I'm going to be putting that on the left and right-hand side of the fleurs design that we've already done. I ended up going a little bit, uh, into another section of the stencil accidentally, but in the end, I actually liked how it looked. And it does inspire me to actually go around and do a little bit of drybrushing with this same Cozy Beige, almost to make it look like at one point this was painted white, so some of that white is peeking through underneath our milk paint. So you can see I'm just going along the edges with the same brush that I stenciled with, just running it over the edges, just giving a peek of that lovely creamy tone here and there. When the paint was dry, I took out some spray wax, and I'm just going to spray that over the top of the inlay. I usually like to use a spray sealer, like Rust-Oleum Clear Matte Sealer, to seal, but I thought I would see how it went, seeing as it's in the milk paint, and it actually held up pretty well. Right here, I'm just spreading out that spray wax and also adding a little bit more of my clear wax over the top of the inlay with a microfiber cloth. I'm using quite a soft hand. I'm not pressing too hard, just in case I reactivate the inlay, as this is a water-based wax. So I'm just going to continue doing this. I do love sealing milk paint with wax. It definitely gives a lovely vintage look to it. And I'm just going to continue to work my way around the tote, sealing the entire piece with that clear wax. And here's a look at our finished wooden tote. I really love how this turned out. I think that the milk paint pairs so beautifully with the lattice rose transfer, and I think the stencil really finished it off. Let me know what you think of this in the comments. For my first project today, I'm going to be working on this lovely clock. Now, it did have quite a few cracks and dings, and I did have to replace the clock mechanism, but it definitely had a lot of potential. My first step was to remove the clock face itself. There's some little screws in the back that I need to take out, and that way I can take the clock out, and it's going to make painting this a lot easier. I'll store the screws in a Ziploc bag. Next, I'm going to use Redesign's Finlay mould, and I'm going to be using Paint Couture's Rapid Casting Resin in Black. This is a new product. I'm going to be measuring out equal parts, step one and step two, and then mixing them together. I really like the bottles that these come in because I often tend to overpour or I get some spillage. You get a lot more control with these. So I'm going to stir it really well for about 30 seconds, and then once I have that thoroughly mixed, I'm going to pour it into the larger frame design, and if I have any left over, I'm just going to add it to the centre design. The thing I really like about this black casting resin is if you're going to use a metallic like gold or bronze, it makes getting coverage a lot easier and quicker. After about 10 minutes, my resin is set, and I can take them out of the moulds. The reason I cast this design is because I want to add some ornate details to the clock. I'm envisioning this top section going up the top of the clock, so I'm going to cut away the section that I want to use. It's very easy to cut this resin. Then I'm going to position the rest of the frame just on top of the clock while I'm visualising how I want the rest of the design to be. I'm then going to start cutting off the pieces that I'm going to need to create my design. Before I start doing any gluing, I did decide to use my hairdryer to heat up the resin piece. These had been sitting for a little while. This is just going to make it a little bit easier for me to bend and manipulate it to my project shape. I'm going to continue to cut the pieces to the size and shape that I want, and then I'm going to come in with some hot glue and add it to the surface of the clock. I'm also going to be using some Gorilla Super Glue on the back as well for extra hold. I'm going to position my piece on top of the glue and hold it in place for about 30 seconds. I am going to continue adding the resin pieces around the top section. It doesn't matter if these don't fit perfectly because I'm going to be using some texture a little bit later, so that will hide any really obvious gaps. But overall, this is definitely a really good fit for this project. So, as you can see, I'm adding them on the left and right-hand side, really thinking about the shape of my design. And I've used resin for this because some of the castings are sitting above the clock, so they need that extra support that resin brings. I'm also going to glue another piece down the bottom in the centre. As I said at the start, this piece had quite a few cracks and dings in it. I'm going to use some air-dry clay. I'm just forcing it into the cracks to fill those in just to give them a little bit more stability so they don't break off, but also to fill that in. Even though I'm going to use texture, I just want to make sure that that is a nice, neat finish. So I'm just pushing that in. I'm then going to take some sea spray texture additive and add it to a brown chalk paint, and I'm just stirring it really well. I'm then going to start applying it to my clock. Now, I am just brushing it on to start off with, but I do go back and start doing some dabbing and stippling so that I can create texture. I want this to look like a vintage clock, and in order to achieve that look, I need to think about the first layer of paint, and adding this is definitely going to give it more of an aged, weathered feel. So I'm going to continue adding that sea spray mixture over the entire clock, including the back. I did one coat and let my mixture dry completely. I'm then going to use Fusion's Sea Glass Milk Paint. I'm going to measure out a capful of the milk paint powder and then add an equal amount of water to the mixture, and then stir it really well. If you want it to be even smoother, I suggest a whisk or an immersion blender. Once I'm finished mixing my milk paint, I'm going to start applying the paint. I'm starting up the top where we have the resin pieces glued down. As you can see, adding that texture has definitely helped blend the resin pieces with the clock quite seamlessly, and adding this paint over the top is definitely going to help as well. So I'm really working it into all of the details that we added and also making sure that I have good coverage. It's only going to take one coat, but I'm not going to be worried if my milk paint or brush skips over the texture. I do definitely want to have some of that paint peeking underneath that brown paint because that's going to make it look chippy and, again, weathered and worn. In this particular section, I held it like this as I was painting because I didn't want any of that milk paint to go on the inside section of the clock. I want to keep that cream that's going to match the clock face, and I don't want to have to go in there and try and paint the inside because it is a very tight fit. It would be very tricky to get a nice, clean finish. So our aim is to not get any of that paint in there. I'm going to continue working my way around the clock painting it, and I also used my hairdryer to speed up the drying process at the end to help create some texture and some crackle. When the milk paint was completely dry, I came in with Paint Couture's Cozy Beige Chalk Paint. I'm just going to begin by adding it to the resin castings that we glued on up the top. I really want to highlight these and just really draw attention to the beautiful shape of these. It's definitely given the clock more of an elegant feel. But as you can see, I'm not going for perfect. I want it to look like that paint has chipped off and faded over the years. I'm also going to add a little bit to some of the details on the front section of the clock and also on the resin piece that we added down the bottom. When that was dry, I came in with a wet wipe and started doing some wet distressing. Milk paint can be reactivated by water, so wet distressing really is a great way to reveal the layers underneath, especially that texture that we created with the sea spray. I'm also pulling back some of the Cozy Beige paint that we added to the details. Again, I want this to look like quite an aged piece. So I'm just going to go around and do distressing in some of the areas. And again, there's no right or wrong way to do this. It just depends what look you're after. I want this to have a little bit of a French country look, so I'm going to take Paint Couture's Antique Gold Luxe Metallic and I'm just going to add a little bit of that on the resin castings that we added up the top. And as you can see, again, not going for perfect. I want this to look like weathered and worn gilding. I'm also going to add a little bit down the bottom. When that was dry, I came in with some white wax on a chip brush and I'm really working it into all of the carvings, into the texture that we created with the milk paint and the sea spray mixture. This is going to seal my paint and that's really the best way to seal milk paint is with wax, but it's also going to tone my paint and give it a bit of a faded, worn look. I often reach for the dark wax for this, but I wanted to keep things quite light and the white wax really is catching that texture beautifully, so I'm definitely liking this look. I'm also using a microfiber cloth now to buff that wax and also pull back some of the excess. I don't want to pull it completely back. We definitely want that white to highlight the curves and the details, but I definitely want to make sure I don't have any big blobs of wax hanging around. We need to get rid of those. If you don't have white wax, you could try a paint wash instead. Just keep in mind, if you're using it over milk paint, you may accidentally reactivate it or a glaze could also work as well or some white dry brushing. Now we're going to move on to the clock face. I've already replaced the mechanism and I just have some pieces from the traditional pots transferred. This is one of the blue designs that I've cut apart and I'm just arranging it here how I want it to be on the clock face. I'm going to start with that lovely symbol up the top there and I'm just going to use the transfer stick that comes in the pack to rub that down. Then I will pick up part of that plastic and start pulling it away as I'm rubbing. Remember to take your time with this, especially with text as that can be a little bit fiddly and tricky to make sure that you have all of those little pieces down. I definitely wanted to add something to the clock face, not too much because we have a lot going on with the clock frame itself, but I think that the text on this definitely finishes it off nicely. And the traditional pots transfer is always a really safe bet. There are so many elegant designs that you can use and add to your projects. So I'm just adding the last transfer now, the word Paris. I love anything French, so I think that this is just the perfect complement to the rest of the design. Because this is going to be behind glass, I don't need to seal it. I just need to put it all back together again and put it back in the clock. And here's our finished French country clock. I'm really pleased with how this turned out. I think that it definitely had a great base to start off with, but adding the castings and the milk paint and the transfer, of course, has definitely transformed it completely. Let me know what you think of this in the comments. For my next project, I'm going to be working on this pink vase that I had in my stash. I am, first of all, going to prep the surface with Paint Couture's two-in-one primer. Now, obviously, this comes in a white as well, but I already have my grey out, so we're just going to be applying that over the pink. It will also help hide that pink colour. When my two coats of primer were dry, I took Paint Couture's buttercream chalk paint, and I'm going to be applying two-and-a-half coats to this lovely vase. Now, I did not go on the entire inside. I just went down partially in that particular vase because I thought if somebody still wants to use it with flowers, I want it to still be able to have water in there for the flowers, and if I add paint, that paint is probably going to be compromised over time. When my paint was dry, I took out IOD's Veranda Stamp. This is one of their new designs, and I'm going to be using some of the larger floral and also IOD's China Blue ink. I've already added it to one of the IOD stamp pads, and I'm going to be using these two larger designs. Now, the flowers do face different directions on these stamps, so they will definitely complement each other nicely. I've inked it up with that beautiful China Blue ink, and now I'm positioning that stamp down in the bottom section of the vase. So I want it to look like the flowers are creeping up from the bottom, and I'm working in sections here because this is a curved surface. I have one hand holding it in place while the other moves around the design and applies pressure in different areas. I then carefully lifted that stamp straight up. I'm then going to be inking up the design that's very similar, but the flowers are facing a different direction, and I'm going to position that next to our stamp design on the left-hand side and just repeating the same process, one hand holding that stamp in place while the other one moves around the design, applying pressure. As you can see, I do not have a thin mount or any kind of plastic backing on the stamp because I need it to be flexible so that it can mould to the surface of my piece. I'm going to make my way around the vase, adding that stamp and alternating between the two different facing designs. I did, however, make sure that I heat-set my ink before I turned it over and added the stamp in any other areas because I didn't want there to be any smearing. My inspiration for this piece was vintage transferware, and I feel like the IOD stamps and the China Blue ink definitely pay homage to that particular look. Once I'd finished stamping around the different sides, I got to this section, and I just did a partial stamp to fit that design between the two. I then took my ink pad, and I'm just pressing it around the rim of the vase, and I just love how this looks. It's not a perfect impression, but we're not going for perfect here. We want this to look vintage and crazed, so I'm going to add that around the rim, and then I did let my ink dry overnight. This is how our vase is looking the next day. Now, you could definitely just leave it here and seal it up, and you'd be good to go. However, I want this to have more of a vintage look, so I'm going to take Paint Couture's Crackle Step 1, and I'm going to apply a generous amount around the entire outside and also on that inside lip there. So I'm going to apply it, and I'm also going to be doing a cross-hatching motion as well. This will give us a bit more of an erratic, cracked look. So ultimately, I want this to look like crazing, so that's definitely what I've got in mind when I'm applying the product. Once it was dry, I tested it to make sure that it was sticky to the touch, not wet, and then I came in with Paint Couture's Crackle Step 2, and I'm going to apply it in exactly the same way as I did Step 1, and then I did let this dry for several hours. If you don't have a crackle medium on hand, something else you could do is use IOD's Vintage Texture Stamp and use the crackle design in particular. Next, I'm going to be using Paint Couture's Light Brown Sugar Glaze, and I'm going to apply it over the top of the entire outside and that inside lip, and then I will be using a wet wipe to pull back some of that excess. Now, this definitely gave it a nice vintage feel, but it wasn't quite antique enough for me. It was still a little bit more subtle than I was looking for. So after I'd removed as much excess as I wanted, I did allow it to dry, and then I decided to come in with Paint Couture's Van Dyke Brown Glaze, which is quite a bit darker, and I'm going to apply it in exactly the same way I did with the Light Brown Sugar Glaze. But as you can see, it definitely makes those cracks a lot more dramatic. It gives the whole thing a much more aged look, and I definitely like the layering as well of the different brown tones. So I'm going to continue adding that glaze around the entire outside and the inside lip until I'm happy with it. If I've inspired you to try any of these Paint Couture products, I would really appreciate it if you would use my affiliate link. I will put it in the description and on the screen. I just get a little thank you from Paint Couture in return. And here's our finished vase. I'm really happy with how this turned out. I definitely feel like it's reminiscent of vintage transferware. Let me know what you think of this in the comments. For my second project, I'm going to be working on this little wooden planter box that I thrifted. I think it is absolutely adorable. The base can come out, which is very handy. I'm going to be using Redesign's Parisian Charm Mold, and I'm going to be dusting it first with cornstarch, and then I'm going to be using my Dust Air Dry clay. I'm just sort of flattening out the clay first a little bit, and then I'm going to start working it into the mold, sort of pushing and spreading that clay around, and then using my fingers to pull the excess out. Once I've finished filling the design with clay and making sure that every area has an even amount of clay in it, I'm just going to start pushing that excess out. If you are struggling with this particular step, you could use a plastic card or a spatula to help you remove that excess clay and get a smooth back. Once I'm happy with that, I am going to start flexing the mold. I find that this helps that clay to release, so I'm just working my way around, flexing it, and then I'm going to flip it over and curve that mold back, and the casting will release. I'm then going to flip the casting over and add my Seelie's Quick Set Wood Glue over the back, and then I'm going to use my fingers to spread that around and make sure that I've got a nice, even coat. I'm then going to be placing this design in the centre of one of the sides of the planter, and I'm just going to smooth that down, making sure that's stuck down really well, and then I'm going to turn it over and I'm going to put the exact same mold on the opposite side of the planter box. I didn't put it on every side. I felt like that would be just a little bit too overwhelming, so just the front and the back. I then took out these wooden beads that I picked up from Kmart Australia, and I'm going to be adding them to the top corners of the planter. I'm going to be using a combination of Gorilla Super Glue Gel on the base of the bead and also some hot glue for immediate hold, and then I'm going to position the bead on the corner, and I'm going to be adding these to each of the corners, and I'm going to wipe off the excess with a wet wipe, and then I'm going to use my hot glue gun to actually fill up the top section of the bead so that it's an enclosed, hole-round shape. We don't want to see the hole. And I'm going to be repeating that same process and gluing down each bead in the exact same way. I really feel that adding the beads to the top corners really took the project to a new level. If you don't want to use hot glue to fill the holes in the beads, another option is to fill them with air-dry clay instead. I let my clay castings dry overnight, and the next day, I came in with Paint Couture's Pinecone Chalk Paint. I'm pouring that out into a plastic container, and then I'm going to be using my salt wash mixture, adding that to the paint and stirring it really well. I want to give this more of a stone or concrete look, and salt wash is perfect for achieving that. I'm then going to start applying it with my chip brush. Definitely use a chip brush. Salt wash can be really hard on your bristles, so it's best to use a brush that you don't mind if it gets a bit damaged. And also, chip brushes can create texture, so it's actually helping you create a more texturised project. So I'm just going to continue adding that salt wash over the entire piece. I'm going in a lot lighter over the top of the castings. I don't want to obscure any of the details, but I do also want to make sure that it does look like one cohesive piece. This salt wash is also definitely going to help to bring together the beads that we added. It's going to help blend that in more with the rest of the piece. It's going to hide some of that hot glue that we added. So salt wash is definitely a really great option if you're wanting to create that textured vintage look. As I'm applying the salt wash mixture over the top of the beads, I'm being sure to make sure I've got plenty of product so we can hide that hot glue. And also, I am moving the project around to make sure I can get at all those different angles. I picked pinecone chalk paint because I wanted something that would look like age. It perhaps could even look a little bit like rust as well. I wanted something that it didn't matter if it showed through underneath, that it would just add to that overall vintage look. Once the salt wash was completely dry, I took out Paint Couture's Piece Mineral Paint, and I'm going to be applying that over the entire project. Over the top of my castings, I am going to be going in a little bit heavier. I don't really need a lot of that pinecone showing through. We didn't put much of it on the castings at all. We really do want the details of those moulds to really be the star, really, of this piece. But I am allowing my brush to skip over some of the texture in some of the other areas because we do want a little bit peeking through. It's going to add to that weathered and worn look. And I'm going to just continue working my way around. I ended up doing, I'll say, one-and-a-half coats because my second coat was really just a matter of me touching up certain areas. Because, as I said, I don't need it to be perfect. We want a little bit of that pinecone salt wash mixture showing through. And I think, overall, it definitely was a really fun and worn look, definitely something that you could use to decorate your garden pots with or anything, really, that you want to give that sort of vintage, outdoor French country look. I also added that piece mineral paint to the inside of the planter as well. When the paint was completely dry, I took out Paint Couture's Van Dyke Brown Glaze, and I'm going to be really working that into the details of the castings. And I'm also loving how it's catching the texture that we created with that salt wash mixture as well. So really working it into the details. And then I'm going to be using a wet wipe to pull back some of the excess. I'm going to be pulling back more on the castings as opposed to the rest of the planter box. And I'm sort of dabbing at it in certain areas as well. I find that when you dab at the glaze, it can often look a little bit more like age spots. And also, this paint has a built-in sealer, so I'm able to wipe back as much or as little as I want. If you're using a paint that doesn't have a sealer, I definitely recommend that you seal your paint first with a top coat, let that dry, and then come in with your glaze. It just gives you more control over the tone of your piece. So as you can see, I'm continuing to add that glaze to the rest of the project, just following the same steps, wiping it on, wiping it off. And again, really allowing that glaze to sit down in all of the texture and the crevices. If you don't have access to glaze, you could create a brown paint wash as an alternative, or you could use perhaps a brown wax. If I inspire you to try any of the Paint Couture products used in today's video, I would really appreciate it if you would use my affiliate link. I will put it in the description and on the screen. I just get a little thank you from Paint Couture in return. When the glaze was dry, I began applying Paint Couture's Bronze Luxe Metallic to the castings, and I'm going to be dabbing that product on. I don't need it to be perfect coverage. I want this to look a little bit like faded gilding, but I am going to be adding it over the top of all of those details. Again, it doesn't need to be even, it doesn't need to be perfect, but I really do love this pop of metallic and shine. I definitely feel like it finishes the piece off. Now, if bronze isn't to your taste, you could go with gold or silver or copper. There are lots of Luxe Metallics to choose from. I did a video a couple of months ago where I used similar techniques to create a cast iron style planter. I will try and pop that in this video so you can check that out. But these are definitely techniques that you can use to create beautiful garden decor. And here's a look at our finished planter box. I love how this turned out. I think it's amazing how you can transform something plain with some castings, some wooden beads and some salt wash. Let me know what you think of this in the comments. Next project, I'm using a piece of wood that was originally a shelf from something that I refurbished. And I'm going to give it two coats of Dixie Bells Drop Cloth Chalk Mineral Paint. This is going to be my base. And I often do this so that I can have a bit of a think about where I want to go with the project. It just helps to have that blank slate. Once my paint was dry, I grabbed my Chocolate Sea Spray mixture out again and I'm applying it over the top with a chip brush. And then I'm grabbing IOD's silicone blades and I'm just pulling it through the mixture. I'm pulling it and dragging it. And I want this to look a little bit like old plaster. So we're going to be building up layers. So I'm just adding that texture, spreading it out and then using that paint blade to pull it through again. So this is going to give us a really authentic old world look. Ultimately, my vision for this is that it's an old piece of wall from a chateau, basically, that's going to have some French artwork on it. So we have to think about layers when we're doing that. So you can see I'm really working that paint, pulling it in different directions. And then I'm using my hairdryer to speed up the drying process to create more texture. Once that layer was dry, I took some of Dixie Bells Cashmere Limited Edition Fall Colour. I poured it into a container and then I'm going to grab some more of our Seaspray Texture Additive. This is going to thicken up that paint nicely. I'm going to stir it really well and I'm going to repeat the same process as before. However, this time I don't want full coverage. I want that lovely chocolate colour to be peeking through underneath. I don't want it to be too blotchy or patchy. I just want hints of it as if over time that creamy tone plaster has worn away to reveal another layer underneath. If you don't have access to one of these silicone paint blades, you could use a spatula instead. I'm also adding that same cashmere paint to the edges of our board. Once my paint was dry, I grabbed Dixie Bells Au Naturel Voodoo Gel Stain. I'm putting a little bit out on a plastic lid. I'm misting my board surface and also the product with water. And then I'm grabbing a chip brush and again, just adding more water so that it spreads. And then I'm spreading the product onto our board with the paint blade. So that is really going to help us get again that authentically aged look. I'm then using a wet wipe to dab off some of the excess and tone down the harsh spots that have a product build up. I'm then going to be using IOD's Lachase Paint Inlay. I'm trimming around the outside. This is one of the smaller designs that you get in the pack. Before I apply it, though, I decided that I wanted to seal my paint because we are going to be applying our paint inlay with clear coat. So I'm using Dixie Bells Flat Clear Coat. I'm applying a generous amount of that flat clear coat over the top of our already dry coat that we added. And then I'm going to be positioning my paint inlay in the center and pressing down. I'm going to smooth out some of the wrinkles. But again, I want this to look old and weathered. If this looked perfect, it would look odd on the background that we created. I'm using a brayer to help smooth out some of the wrinkles. I'm then misting it well with water and then using a damp cloth to further add pressure and just make sure we have good contact. Once this has dried, it will be probably about a 30 minute wait, depending on your weather, maybe an hour. I'm going to mist my inlay really well. And then after that's had about 60 seconds to sit, I'm going to very carefully start to pull it away. You want to take your time here and go really slowly so that you don't rip the design because you could get another use out of this, maybe two. And once I've pulled that away and it's dry, I will seal it with Rust-Oleum's Clear Matte Sealer. To create a border around the outside, I'm going to be using some air dry clay in IOD's Classic Elements Mold. I just love this little beaded trim. So we're working some clay into that using my thumb to push out any of the excess clay. I'm then flexing the mold and gently pulling it out. And I'm going to be making several pieces of this because that's what's going to go around the outside. So I'm just sort of positioning it where I need it to go, cutting it where I need to. And I'm going to have some gaps so that it looks a little bit older. And here, I actually want to sort of square it off, if that makes sense. We're sort of creating a pattern in the border so that it looks like there's a little square in the top left-hand corner. So I'm going to continue making that trim. And then once I have enough of those pieces, I am also going to be grabbing an element from the Swags Mold, this round design, and I'm going to be casting two of those. Now, you'll be able to see the pattern that I'm going for here. I've got them positioned out roughly where I want them to go. And I'm just arranging them how I want them. And again, I do want bits missing from this. I want it to look like a piece of salvage from a French chateau. So it would naturally, over time, have pieces of that border go missing, fall off. So we want to have little parts that are going to have some gaps. So I'm just keeping that in mind as I'm doing this. And I am just doing it by eye. It's not going to be perfectly straight. It's not even, but that's OK. We are embracing the imperfections. Once I've worked out my design, I am going to pull them off and I'm going to paint them with that cashmere chalk mineral paint before I glue them down. If I glue them down and then I start to paint them, I'm going to end up messing up my design that we created earlier. So we're painting them before we glue them down. So you can see I'm just putting a little bit of glue down and then I'm going to position our castings where I want them to go. In the end, I did decide that it was better to actually add the glue to the back of the castings. I just got too much glue build up doing it this way. So here you'll see me speed it all up. You can see that I am grabbing my pieces in sections and painting them and then gluing them down. I didn't want to lose the design that I'd created. And I'm just going to work my way around until I have each of these pieces painted and glued down. Once my castings had dried, I sealed the entire piece with Dixie Bell's flat clear coat. This is going to protect them, but it's also a great base for our next step. Next, we're using that Eau Naturelle again. I'm going to pour out some more of it. We're going to water it down. And I am repeating similar steps to before where I'm really using that water to help it spread, but also to really sort of tone down the intensity of it. I'm using a fan brush to work it into the details of our border. And then I'm going to be using a wet wipe as well to go in and dab off some of the excess. I'm going to be repeating the same process for each of the sections of our artwork. And I really feel like doing this again adds to that age and just adds to that authentically weathered look that we're looking for. In the parts where we left gaps, I grabbed some of that voodoo gel stain and just dabbed it in a little line there just to make it look like there had been a border there previous and it had fallen away, but there was a shadow left where it was. I'm then going to use some Easy Peasy spray wax, and I'm spraying it in the areas where I want to add some Dixie Dirt in charcoal. This is a powder form product. You add it to wax that is still wet. It needs something to grip onto. I'm just adding it in the areas where I think age would naturally accumulate. I'm using a small artist brush to do this. And then I'm also going to use a clean, larger brush to go in and blend that out. And anywhere that I get too much of the product, I can come in with a wet wipe and tone it down or I can wipe it away completely if I make a mistake. So I'm going to repeat the same process. I'm going to work my way around our board, adding that Dixie Dirt. And this is going to add to that aged look. If you don't have Dixie Dirt, you could use a dark wax for this step instead, a glaze or perhaps a paint wash. Finally, if you've been watching me for a while, you know I like to add a touch of gold to my projects if it's suitable. So I've got some of Dixie Belle's gold gilding wax, and I'm just very lightly hitting certain points. I don't want this all over the project. I want it to look like gilding that's worn away over time. And here's our finished French panel. I love how this turned out. I really feel like I've managed to achieve a look that reminds me of an old chateau. I feel like it looks like a piece of architectural salvage. But let me know what you think of this project in the comments. I really hope that you enjoyed this video collection and you can find the products used in this video on our website, theprovincialfarmhouse.com.au If you haven't already, I would love it if you would hit that subscribe button, like, comment and share this out to a friend that you think might enjoy it.