A Dollar Store Dress Up

The creative bug has taken serious hold of me.  That bumble bee has stung me too many times.

As I was going through a few old things while I was cleaning my office I started a thrift store donation box.  I tossed in a shoe I think my dog ate the mate to, some electronics cables that aren't compatible with any equipment that we have, (What exactly is a VCR, anyway?), an old cheap resin parakeet from the 99 cent store, then a...  Wait a minute.  I can do something with that ugly parakeet.

 I mean, really.  They don't come any cheaper than this, do they?  Tacky, tacky, tacky.

But my brain said "NO".  It does not have to stay tacky.  I can rebuild it, I have the technology!   By technology I really only mean the chemicals that make up a can of glazing medium, gesso, and acrylic paint.

So I took this pathetic little guy and covered him in two coats of artists Gesso.  Two more coats of white acrylic paint, and all of the color was thoroughly concealed.  With a whopping large mixture of a spoonful of glazing medium and a spoon of tan paint, I covered him with glaze doing small sections at a time.  I gently sponged most of the color off with a damp cloth.  Two light coats of a matte finish clear coat spray completed the job.

He is, as they say, a new man.  I am no longer ashamed to display this stunning "sculpture" in the public spaces of my home.  I believe he will fit in nicely with a more classic Country French decor.

Remember the old saying..."Don't judge a cheap resin figurine from china by the store you bought it in."   Ok, maybe that's not really how the saying goes but who says we all can't create our own new sayings.  I think this will be my tag line for a while.

Some times a little bit of vision can transform what is before you into a pretty addition to your surroundings.  Try looking at what you see without the color and then picture what you might be able to do with it. 





Bryndal....oh, never mind.