Boiserie Tutorial

Last week I shared the little Roses and Swags pediment piece

and also the faux boiserie that I used french armoire doors to create.

Here's a quick tutorial on how to get a similar look

Several years ago- I ordered a few moulding pieces from a company called Do It Yourself Chic

They make fantastic shabby molded swags and bows and all kinds of yummy pieces!!

I chose a couple of different pieces to try out... you might remember one that I used last year to make the architectural interest on that vintage headboard I placed behind my bed

(excuse the terrible iphone picture!)

I also ordered the small wreath pictured below

 and the one that I used on the pediment piece is a dainty swag that comes in 3 pieces.

They are white in color and highly detailed.

~To make the pediment piece with the applique~

I started with a simple piece of scrap plywood that I had 

and I took the swag and laid it out in the center of the board until I was happy with the placement

and attached it using regular glue  and let it dry overnight with chalk paint cans on it to hold it down.

 (Wood glue or White glue should work)

Note: 

If the appliques are too stiff you can set them in the sun in a window to warm them a bit to 

make them more pliable and bendable.

After they were dried, I used Country Grey Chalk paint and gave it a once over. 

Country grey to me is more like a tan almost... not really a grey and I was wanting a bit more grey...

 sooo... 

the next coat that went on was Coco  which is basically a brownish grayish color.

Finally, I dry brushed a bit of exterior white  on it to lighten it in areas 

(no tint- just right off the shelf at the hardware store)

and then used Annie Sloan Dark Wax to go over the entire piece 

and also work the the dark wax into the nooks and crannies of the applique to accent it a bit more.

Here is how it turned out:

 I mentioned before that when I was photographing the board a little thought popped into my head about 

making a faux boiserie wall and using the architectural detail at the top.

I have an old French armoire that was disassembled and being stored 

(it's one of those that comes apart in about 15 pieces)

I grabbed two of the doors from it and brought them inside to be transformed

When I started to paint the doors were pink with faux silver leaf detailing.

I covered it in a creamy layer of Country Grey chalk paint first and then took some of the Coco 

and dark wax and brushed in places giving it a bit of a streaky aged looked.

There was no specific method to my madness

 I just brushed it where I liked it and added extra wax in the detailed areas and corners.

I also painted the handles and used the wax on them to age them a bit more as well.

After everything was dried- 

I sanded the edges and the detailed edging that is on each of the doors.

and placed the architectural piece on top of them- there are little pins that are

at the top of the doors that easily hold the board in place.

 I didn't want it to be super distressed

 I just took a bit of the paint off to reveal some of the faux silvering and pink.

That's it.

A little applique... a little chalk paint.. and a little elbow grease.

See you Thursday for Feathered Nest Friday!

Happy Saturday!!
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