I started by sanding off the shiny finish on the blue paint with a power sander. I made sure to sand down to the bare wood around all the edges. I knew that I wanted black to show on the edges, not blue, so I was sure to get rid of that.
I used a soft paintbrush to dust off the frame, then did three thin coats of satin black spray paint.
I allowed it to dry for 20 minutes between each coat.
For the top coat I used satin finish “brown boots” by Krylon.
First a thin coat…
First a thin coat…
The next day when everything was good and dry, I used the sander to lightly remove the brown from all the edges, exposing the black underneath.
I typed their last name and year of marriage into Word and printed it onto white paper to figure out the size and placement. Instead of cutting it out I decided to tear around the personalization.
Once I had the size correct I printed it on scrapbook paper…
Then tore around the words and checked once more for placement and size.
Next I used some antiquing gel mixed with a little water…
To give it that worn, old look, I used a dry rag dipped in the gel, then dabbed off all the excess. Then I rubbed it into the edges of the scrapbook paper.
I used good ole Mod Podge to attach the name plaque to the frame, then added a coat of Mod Podge over everything.