Mica Magic – Using American Paint Company Mica Powder

Every once in a while, I’ll get an email from someone who’d like to know if we’re interested in a piece of furniture.  This happened a while back and I was SO excited when I saw the pictures of  a charming vintage vanity.  Here’s what she looked like when we picked her up.

I have wanted to paint one of these for years!  Seriously, last year  my mission at The World’s Longest Yard Sale  was to score one of these.  I came up empty handed.  With all her beautiful features, she could have looked awesome in any color but I had to decide.

I wanted to play up the bottom of the mirror which had aged so gracefully so I painted everything in Limoges by American Paint Company.

Limoges is the color of bone china; a definite must have color that I absolutely love but I wanted to really frame the gorgeous mirror so I mixed up Wild Horses with either Freedom Road or Lincoln’s Hat.  I can’t remember which, but I mixed them up and painted that around the mirror, legs and top of the two sides.    I waxed all dark areas with American Paint Company’s Dark Wax.   We have more and more people walk through our door every single day because they’re fed up with the wax that they’ve been using.  There’s a good reason everybody is switching over.

It’s seriously THE best wax on the market!

While the wax was still wet (immediately after applying it) I dipped my finger into the Copper and Pewter Mica Powders and blotted it on with my fingers.

It’s SO easy to do this!  I love showing our students this little tip at our workshops!

  I apply it with my finger then blend it in with my small Mica Brush because I LOVE the look!

I struggled on which parts to distress on this one because there were so many different parts I could have played up.  I stressed over it and handed the damp rag over to Cathy to do her thing.  She’s so much better at distressing than I am.  I tend to be way too conservative and it just wasn’t working this time.  I was trying different options below to figure out which direction to go.

Here’s the finished transformation!!

Post courtesy of Shelly