distressed teal crate

So, yesterday I shared with you a few inspirations and ideas for my office. I have a cupboard that I would like to paint my main accent color, teal, but I wanted to try it on something small first and I am going to show you how I did it!

I chose this old fruit crate that was given to me for free by a family friend when she was having a garage sale. I liked it. But it's been sitting in storage for over a year and if I LOVED it, I would have found a spot for it by now. The green is just the wrong shade.

It's time to give it a makeover so it will actually be used in my office!

Let's get started! I first applied two coats of new, fresh spray paint. I used tropical Oasis in satin by Valspar which was found at Lowes. It is a paint and primer all in one. I let each coat dry for about an hour. That's the hardest part! Waiting for paint to dry.

I thought the color turned out gorgeous! It was too bright and shiny for this country home, though. I knew that too before I started, which I why I had a sanding block and antique glaze ready!

Next, I sanded the edges and spots I wanted to look "worn" with a sanding block. You can use sand paper as well. The block just makes it easier when working with edges.

After I sanded everything I wanted down, I wiped off the dust with a tack cloth. You can find these just about anywhere and they are very handy with keeping projects clean.

It was time to apply the antique glaze. Antique glaze can be used for a lot of techniques. I just wanted to give my piece a rough, aged look. My glaze is by Valspar and I found it at Lowes. You can read about it here.

You're suppose to wait 24 hours for your base coat to dry before applying antique glaze but I was practically dancing with excitement so I.......... didn't wait. 

I decided a shop rag would be the best way to apply it. A brush would put it on too evenly and it just wouldn't provide the look I was going for. I just dipped the towel into the glaze and smeared it on all over like so.

Then, with the dirty rag, I smeared the glaze all over and smoothed it out. It's pretty transparent and really just the rough parts of the piece pick up the glaze. There's really no wrong or right way of applying this, folks. Just slap it on and swirl 'er around! Just keep in mind that you only have a few minutes to work with it as it dries quickly.

What really surprised me was how little glaze I actually used. I just dabbed off the lid mostly. I had to pour a little more onto the lid towards the end.

And she's all done!

I think she turned out swell! All fresh, modern and slightly distressed.

I just love the sanded detail the glaze picked up.

Time to play a little..

I am so excited about using the antique glaze. I've been looking up distressed painted wood project how to's for what seems like ever and I never got around to doing it because I thought the process would be extremely time consuming. It was so much easier than I thought and I can't wait to try it on a bigger piece. You can do it too! Trust me!

So let's recap! 

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Materials I  needed for this makeover :

• A base coat of paint, spray or brushed on
• Sanding block or paper
• Tack cloth
• Antique glaze
• Rag

Paint, sand, clean and glaze! It's so easy, anyone could do it. 

I think I'm ready to move on to a bigger piece!

What projects have you been putting off due to intimidation? This was one of mine and I feel so silly for not trying it sooner. 

Stay tuned for more paint projects in the future!

I shared this post on Remodelaholic!