A Tale of Two Vax Image Transfer Projects

I recently teased on my Facebook page that I was working on two Shabby Paints Vax image transfer projects.

I had followed this video that Shabby Paints owner Shannon had posted showing how to transfer an image using Vax as the transfer medium.  ANOTHER amazing thing about Vax!  Find more here
and here and here.

Seems easy enough!  The hardest part is waiting the 24 hours after applying to rub off the paper! Or so I thought...

I'm not really sure where I went wrong...on BOTH projects!  I think maybe I either didn't apply enough Vax or I didn't rub the paper down well enough when I placed it down.  I have done this transfer before successfully.  SORT OF.

See???  Perfect transfer...just slightly off center.  <SIGH>

So I painted over it and tried again...

Centered this time...just didn't quite get the transfer done perfectly.  A bunch of it rubbed off.

Here was my other project that I was attempting at the same time.

Excuse the scratches - I had started sanding before remembering that I needed to take pictures of my failed attempt.  Admittedly, this one was a whole lot better than the other one.  This will help...

Again, I think that maybe when I laid the paper with the Vax down on the furniture, I just didn't rub it on enough?  That's the only thing I can think of since most of the image transferred and it was just bits and pieces that rubbed off easily.

So, how did I fix these problems?

Well...with the jewelry box, I essentially gave up on the idea of the transfer!  I will blog about this jewelry box at some point  - if I EVER FINISH IT.  I've been working on this stinking thing for EVER.  I think it's cursed - for reals.  I can't get it done.  But, for the sake of this post, all you need to know is that it will remain image-less. 

The orange table is a different story.  I felt like the image was still overall in tact and that the furniture was just trying to tell me that it wanted a more distressed look to it!  So I went with it!  I got out the sanding paper and distressed it all around the edges.  Then I got the Hazelnut ReVax and went to town!!  None of this Vaxing first stuff.  Just straight up Hazelnut ReVax!  All over...and lots of it. 

This table turned out NOTHING like I originally thought it would.  I don't have a before  - just imagine your average mid century mod split level table brown.  I painted it with Volunteer Orange - gorgeous color but it just felt boring to me to leave it alone.

So I added Brown Bronze Shimmer Glaze to the edges and detailed areas.

It still didn't look right to me.  So I decided on the image transfer...which you know about.  And that brings us to the finished product!

I'm pretty happy with it!  I used to get really upset and down on myself when a project like these didn't go right.  But I finally figured out that sometimes the look I want and the look the furniture wants...not always the same!  In furniture painting, you sometimes have to abandon yourself to the piece and go with the flow!!

Both of my images were found at the Graphics Fairy blog.  She has THE BEST stuff!!

That's my tale of two Vax image transfer projects. I'd love to hear about a time you had to go with the flow!! 

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