faux leather finish with brown bags

Last month, I introduced you to a very talented local artisan and fellow mom of three.
Didn't you just love her French-inspired dresser she made using an overhead projector?!

In case you missed it, you can see it here.
And don't forget to pin it so you can inspire others too!

This month Laddie is back to share another genius technique with my readers.
Since Laddie doesn't have her own blog {yet} please make sure you leave lots of nice comments for her and go and visit her Facebook page to show her how much you appreciate her.

Hello again! This is Laddie from Re-New Furniture Finds & Re-Finishing.

 A BIG THANK YOU

 to Rachel for inviting me back for another guest post!

Today I'd like to share with you a faux finish that is in-expensive, easy peasy to do and the end result

is really super cool!

The first time I tried this technique was on the top surface of an end table.

It was a cool effect that resulted in a marbled faux leather look.

Then I had a client with a large plain 6 drawer pine Ikea dresser that needed

some spicing up for her teenage sons room. This finish was masculine and

perfect for this piece! She loved the idea of doing it on the drawer fronts

and her son loved the finished dresser.

So, recently she brought me a nightstand to do in the same finish

to go in his room and I thought I'd take you through the process with me.

The materials you will need are:

• Brown masking paper or any light weight paper bag
• Mod Podge
• Foam brush
• Glaze (I used Martha Stewart Black Coffee)
• Scissors
• Rag
• Polyurethane (optional)

The first step is to paint your furniture piece your desired color. In this case I used

a dark brown semi-gloss.

Then after it has had plenty of time to dry, rip off strips of the brown paper masking

and start crumpling it up

 and crumpling it up.

Open it up and crumple some more

and a little more

until it is nice and soft.

Start in the corners and work your way towards the middle.

To get nice edges I cut the sides of  the crumpled paper to fit.

Put a good coat of Mod Podge on the back of the paper

with your foam brush and then place it in its corner.

Leave it a little crumpled and layered with some creases.

 DO NOT SMOOTH IT OUT

 otherwise you loose your texture.

Continue this process in the corners and then overlap a little and layer

your way from the edges in to the center until the surface is completely covered.

Now take your foam brush and coat the entire top surface with

a layer of Mod Podge.

Give this time to dry completely and then we GLAZE!

The trick with glaze is to go light and use a little at a time. If it isn't enough

impact you can add another layer. If you start off too heavy

and dark it is much harder to reverse this process and go lighter.

So with your rag dip it in the glaze and get just a little and start

in the corner rubbing gently in a circular motion to get the glaze in to

all of the creases and layered edges.

You'll see that a little glaze can spread a long way!

Keep going until all the paper is coated to your liking.

 Having some uneveness to your color

and shading will help with the look so don't worry about being perfect!!

By now you should have a really cool look going on!

I use a light spray polyurethane just to protect it but the layer of Mod Podge

has really already done that for you. If you are doing this

technique on a table surface the extra protection is a good idea.

Hope you give this a try on your next project! This

is especially handy on pieces that have rough tops or drawer fronts

that are beyond sanding! You can just HIDE the flaws!

Try using newspaper or sheet music as an alternative with

the same steps as above!

Happy Re-Newing!

Until next time, Laddie

Isn't that a great technique?!  As Laddie said, it's a great technique to use if your furniture piece is just too far gone to save.  So simple, but so awesome.  Thanks Laddie!
Don't foget to "like" Laddie on facebook and see what else she's been up to.
And remember, show her some love today.  I kind of want to keep her around and see what's she's going to show us next!