Union Jack Chest

This was probably the most challenging project 

I have done . .  ever!

This chest belongs to my son and his husband.

They wanted it painted like the Union Jack flag.

Well, I had never attempted anything like this

before but they were excited and gave me the 

confidence that this could work out beautifully.

In this picture you can see the gold detail but

what you can't see is the indentation that these

gold designs have.  This now created a new

problem in painting a nice smooth flag.

I proceeded to fill in the indentations with

plaster and with a lot of sanding we 

achieved a pretty smooth finish.

This took a few evenings for me to finish.

The guys dug right into the paint and 

I sat back and encouraged them.

We started with a few coats of 

Anne Sloan's chalkpaint, 'Old White'.

Isn't this work room great?

We actually knocked out the adjoining

bedroom (on the left) where I store all my 

projects and I paint in the storage room.

It didn't take Craig very long to do the 

measurements and then the fun began.

Here the guys are using 'Emporer's Silk'.

Another night to add 'Napoleonic Blue'.

She was so pretty sitting there.

To make sure everything looked great before it left for

its new home, we brought it upstairs to see what

she looked like in the real light.

Here we are just adjusting some of the dark wax

with some clear wax.  

A glass of wine before dinner is good also. 

We did just a little distressing around the edges.

The guys didn't want the flag lines to be too 

distressed but rather a sharp line, so we had

to make sure we didn't over distress in other areas.

Aren't these just the cutest knobs!

They purchased them at Interiors to Inspire,

right here in Calgary.

Here you can really see the brush strokes.

Like Anne Sloan says, brush strokes add

character and this chest has that for sure!

Off to your new home now.

I hope I find a chest like this of my own

that I can perhaps re-do and keep for myself.

~ till later,

Bonny