Bar Stool Redo...

A couple of years ago, my husband and I got 2 of these stools as a gift. They are nicely made stools, but still nonetheless, pretty plain Jane, run of the mill, everybody has them, stools. So, one day, I decided to change them up a bit and make them a little more original.

This shows it stained too

First thing I did was sand them down with my electric sander until there was no trace of their original finish. (Sorry, I don't have pics of this step...I'm still learning.) Then, I painted the legs using Valspars "Natural" in a satin finish.  After they dried I applied a little bit of brown glaze to give it more of an aged look. 

I used screwdrivers, nails, and a hammer to distress the top. I then stained the top a darker color than it was originally. I painted the sides of the top with the same paint I used for the legs. This time, I used my block sander to get most of the paint off the sides.  A little tip for projects like this, is don't let the paint dry too long and it will be easier to sand.

I used a rubber stamp with script writing to stamp the tops of the stools.

 I used a fantastic ink called StazOn in Timber Brown. It is sold at most major craft stores and comes in a wide range of colors.  Here is a description of the ink.

"StazOn is Tsukineko's only solvent-based stamp pad, designed for decorating non-porous surfaces such as glass, metal, shrink plastic, cellophane, aluminum foil, leather and acrylic. With StazOn, you'll achieve a beautiful stained glass appearance, due to the transparent nature of the ink. Thanks to its mild smell, StazOn is much safer to use than other permanent inks."

After the ink dried I gave each stool two coats of sealer using Minwax Wipe-On Poly in semi gloss. I did this to lock in the ink and so the stools would wipe down better when they need to be cleaned. 

I did this project over a year ago and these stools are holding up wonderfully! We love them!