(Faux) Blackened Wax Fruit Tutorial~Thrift Shop Bowl Makeover

 If you read my blog on a regular basis you already know that I'm a thrift shop junkie. I have a favorite local shop run by the sweetest little ladies. They are exceptionally kind to me and always seem to have the "good stuff". Last week I stopped by, and among other things, found this...

...large wooden bowl filled with faux fruit, only $4. This is only a few pieces of the fruit, as I nearly forgot to snap a "before" photo. I had an idea brewing and was impatient excited to get started.

I've always wanted a big ol' bowl of the beautiful blackened wax fruit that I see in shops, but being the cheapskate that I am, have never wanted to spend the money on something "I can make myself". Yes, yes we've all been there, haven't we? We CAN make it...but we almost never do. Well, when I saw this lovely big wooden bowl filled with fruit I got the idea to turn faux fruit into "blacken wax" faux fruit. And if it didn't work...well, the bowl was still a deal at $4, right? And while I was at it, I decided I'd give the bowl a new/old finish.

~Before~

 I already had everything I needed, so I gathered my materials.

 

 For the faux wax fruit you only need a few things.

Black Acrylic Paint, Matte Finish (the cheap stuff is fine)

Ground Cinnamon  (the cheap stuff is fine here too. I bought ALDI brand)

Small Artist's Paintbrush

Drop Cloth

Handheld Hairdryer (optional, but sure speeds up drying)

This project is so easy...you're gonna love it.

Spread out your drop cloth and give yourself plenty of room to work. If you do a lot of pieces, you'll have fruit drying everywhere. Using full strength paint, begin painting each piece of fruit with a nice even coat. I painted one side of each piece of fruit then sat it aside to dry and did the next piece. Then I went back and painted the other side of each piece. I checked each piece in bright light to be sure I had good coverage. You want the original color of the fruit to be completely covered. 

 Like this.

I didn't paint the stems. Tip: If any of the fruit is missing a stem-or if they look "fake", you can replace them with stems from real fruit. Just poke a small hole in the top using an awl or a large needle and glue in the replacement stem. Do this before adding the cinnamon.  

 Now for the tricky part. OK, not really...there is no tricky part.

After the fruit is completely dry (this is where the hairdryer comes in handy), pour your bottle of cinnamon into a shallow dish. This project only uses up a small amount of cinnamon, but you can keep what's leftover to use on another project. Just don't use it for cooking. Now, roll each piece of fruit in the cinnamon. You can gently pat, rub or sprinkle...whatever works for you. I just rolled mine around, then sat each piece aside while I painted my bowl. 

Now for the bowl...I started by giving my bowl a good washing and allowing it to dry overnight before painting. There was no previous finish on the bowl. For painting the bowl I used Old Century Colors, acrylic paint in the color, Olde Pewter 2023. I used full strength paint to get the look of a heavily painted old bowl...but you can water your paint down (one part paint, two parts water) for a more transparent look. 

 My painted bowl, before the antiquing process.

I painted the bottom of the bowl, going around in a circular motion, with the grain. Pay special attention to the rim and the bottom where you would see natural wear, were it an antique bowl. If you get too much paint on the bowl, just use a wet cloth to scrub some off, again following the bowl's contours. You can also use fine sandpaper to remove a bit of paint. When you're happy with the way it looks, set it aside to dry. Again, I used a hairdryer to speed up the process.

After your bowl is dry you'll want to go over it with an antiquing medium to give it a bit of age. I used Folkart/Plaid Antiquing Medium, in the color Apple Butter Brown, to stain my bowl. Mix one part antiquing medium to two parts water. Remember a little goes a long way. Brush the mixture on over the outside of the bowl and quickly wipe off excess stain with a dry cloth. Then repeat on the inside of the bowl. The antiquing medium drys fast and the longer it sits, the darker the wood will be. If it is too dark for your liking, wipe some stain off with a wet cloth. 

The  bottom of my painted bowl, after a light sanding and applying the antiquing medium.

I antiqued both the inside, and the outside of my bowl. Keep in mind that you won't want to use these products on the inside if you plan to serve food in your bowl, as they are not food-safe. 

 The inside of my finished bowl is a nice warm brown color.

~After~

Looks  and smells just like the real deal...and just in time for my Thanksgiving table!

That's it! Told you it was easy!

Until next time...

Rhonda

~Tuesday Display Chain~ Baskets

Each Tuesday Misi, of Gable House Musings, chooses a theme and invites bloggers to play along with her "Tuesday Display Chain". This week we are showing off baskets of every kind. 

As a collector first of "country", and then primitives, I have accumulated my fair share of baskets. I've even woven a few myself. Baskets are wonderful and useful for so many things...these are a few of my favorites.

~I'll start by showing you a couple of baskets I made years ago. This one, perched on a pile of handwovens is one I am particularly proud of.~

~This Shaker Cheese Basket was the most difficult basket I've even woven. It's so hard to get the little holes even..still not sure I got it right.~

This is the workbasket that I keep next to my chair. It is a large handwoven piece, with an oak handle. I'm sure it's very old. It was passed from my Grandmother to my Mom, and then to me. I remember it, lightly spray painted gold (yikes!) and filled with pine cones at Christmas time when I was a child. Thankfully all the paint seems to have worn away with time. When I told Mom it might be valuable, she replied "No... not that old thing."

~The contents of this particular basket are ever changing. Here it is brimming with antique homespuns taken from a worn out quilt and a pair of sleeves from a 1800's plaid dress.~

~Another of my favorite baskets...it is both functional and beautiful. This was made to hang on the clothesline and hold pins. It was woven at the school for the blind in Chicago, at the turn of the century. I love using beautiful things in my everyday chores, don't you?~

~This little honeysuckle vine basket holds sewing goodies, including two bonnet shaped needle books...one old, one reproduction.~

~A basket of sewing needfuls, including a half-finished pair of socks knitted on old wire.~

~Speaking of sewing needfuls, this little prairie doll pincushion, totes her laundry and my extra pins, in a sweet miniature basket.~

   ~I bought this basket, woven from honeysuckle vine, as a young wife. When the rim started to come unraveled, I couldn't bear to part with it, so I wrapped it with a strip of antique calico. Now, it's ready for many more years of service.~ 

~Technically this isn't a basket...but all of my Easter goodies are still packed away so I thought this would give a touch of springtime to my otherwise dreary collection. I've always loved the colors and the basket weave pattern on this little gem.~ 

Until next time...

See the other Tuesday Display Chain participants at: http://1890gablehousemusings.blogspot.com/

Tuesday Display Chain

Each Tuesday, Misi of Gable House Musings, chooses a theme and invites bloggers to play along with her 'Tuesday Display Chain' by featuring items from their collections. The theme this week is "Make-Do."

In my grandmother's day, when folks had a need, they'd look around to see how they might "make-do" with what they had. It was a common practice for people to pass down or patch clothing, fashion a needed tool, or share what they had with a neighbor.

I can't count the number of times I heard Gram recite the old saying, "Use it up, wear it it out, make it do, or do without."

As I was looking around our home, I realized that we "make-do" with a lot. Almost everything, has had a previous owner...or two. Rather than running around photographing every stick of furniture in the house, I thought I'd share a few favorites.

A litter of goofy sock cats, stuffed with rags.

 

 We've all made at least a couple of these pincushions, haven't we? Both of these started with candlestick bases.

 This old blue bench serves as a coffee table in front of our craigslist sofa.

A make-do apothecary, made from old crates and cheese boxes.

And speaking of my gram...she made literally hundreds of teddy bears over the years. These from my childhood, are my favorite "make-dos" ever. Their "fur" is made from cast off winter coats. I can remember Gram allowing me to cut the cardboard that lined their footpads. The large bear, was Papa of  "The Three Bears"...Baby Bear is wearing his second skin-because I wore the hair off his first. Momma Bear now lives with my cousin.

I still have Gram's original pattern...she made bears in three sizes.

I wonder how many of her bears have survived?

Baby Bear

I hope you've enjoyed today's Display Chain. Hop on over to Misi's blog to see the other fabulous contributors! Until next time...