So here is the cradle - in progress. Its a slightly imperfect version of the origional - in fact it would probably ship to a factory second's store if this were mass production(after all it IS my first major woodworking project...with a sincere lack of tools but also a sincere thankfulness for all the ones I borrowed - because the only thing I own is the cordless drill and the hammers :P ) - but for me its been a great learning experience, alot of fun and sometimes a frustration. I am in need of suggestions on the finishing of the cradle - utimately the decision will be up to its intended owner - Amy - but I'm in a quandary about what I should do. The basket (or actualy cradle part) is made out of quite nice wood - solid 3/4" birch plywood which would look really quite nice stained... However, the rest of the piece (legs/posts/stretcher) are made of regular dimensional lumber - you know spruce and fir - the stuff usually used to frame houses and patch barn doors. Here are the options that I have thought of (keep in mind I have only until thursday night to do all the finish sanding and whatever surface treament I choose as well as clean the house and pack my bags!)
Option #1
Varnish the whole things with a clear coat varnish - which will bring out the natural colors (although they will be 3 different colors)
Option #2
Stain the whole thing with a colored stain - which will allow the grain the show through but somewhat mask the different colors.
Option #3
Stain or paint the posts and legs with something to cover up the inferior wood - but still varnish the basket
Option #4
Paint the whole thing and cover up the pretty wood...
On second thought - this freaking blogger website is having issues - I just spent a half hour trying to upload these - but I guess you just get to click on a link to my increasinly favorite website - HERE
7 comments:
Hey! I think if you did a two-tone stain job, with clear on the basket and a dark stain on the legs/base, that would look pretty cool. just my two cents!
Wow - you work fast! You did a good job, especially for your first project! Hmmmm . . . as for your question . . . keep in mind that the different types of woods will take the stain differently. Holly had a good idea. But if you go with two stains, make sure you test them on each type of wood (scraps) first tho - to make sure it's what you expect. I'd be kind of tempted to paint it white (prime first, of course!) but I don't know . . . Some help I am. :o)
robin
I like it so much! It is beautiful, you did such a good job. I have no clue about stains, but I would just paint the whole thing white and then sand the edges. I'm crazy like that. I like the antique shabby chic look for nurseries.
Heather! It`s beautiful!!!! I`m with Coralee on the antiqueing look. You can do a solid coat of whatever you want, tan, white, even blue is cool, and then put a layer on top that is this thick stuff and it crackles- you can get it at Rona or anywhere i think. It looks really cool, and antiqued. We did it with a wardrobe and it turned out great.
Good luck whatever you do! And post the results!
~bethany
Heather - I like the paint it white & antique it idea too.
Can't wait to see you! Sounds like we're on for Wednesday night family dinner.
I agree with the painting of it too...like that matters;) It is beautiful though, you are amazing!!!
K - the cradle is almost complete - I'm just going to put the final coat of varnish on it now....I didn't listen to anyone's ideas....sorry :P I'm not sure I'm totally happy with the result but I will post pics later
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