Before & After: Chippy Chalk-Painted Aqua Dresser Mirror

I'm sure I'm not the only junker who stockpiles treasures to work my paint magic on at a later date, but I don't normally wait a whole year to do it!

I remember when I saw this mirror at Goodwill.

It had just left the stockroom and was still on the cart, waiting to be put on the shelf.

It was quite easy to imagine how beautiful it would look with layers of chalk paint.

So after procrastinating the design process for a year, this project was one of those delightful surprises when it magically falls into place instantly, and designs itself.

Nope, no real brainstorming this time.......

Just beautiful chalk paint layers of Aqua, Cream, Beige, and metallic warm Gold.

A really awesome bonus to this piece? The original lacquer on the wood base had authentically crackled, so it gave added texture to the chalk paint layers.

It also facilitated my distressing process. Where I normally only use various grits of sandpaper, this time I also used a chisel to scrape off paint. The old lacquer helped the paint come off in a more chippy appearance, which looks totally awesome.

The cardboard backing was in decent shape, with no tears or puncture wounds,

so rather than rip it off and create another tedious step, 

I chose to seal it with wood glue and cover it in chalk paint and wax.

Underneath the base, it still had its original label with handwriting,

so of course I left it that way. I have a soft spot for original labels, 

especially when they're really old like this one, so it's my M.O.

to keep them intact if they're on the bottom not hurting anybody....

It's my way of preserving a little memento of its history.

Oh, I do love it when painting progress comes together easily.

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