Not your ordinary library table

My sister found this library table for me and knew I could do something special to it to make it pretty. She didn't know what, but grabbed it up before it was too late. I was pretty pleased when I saw it, but I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with it. I knew I was going to do some stain art on top, so I went ahead and stripped the top.

I stared at it quite awhile, but it just wasn't speaking to me. So, I consulted my friend Tammy from TheTatteredRabbit.com. She helped me to see a great plan with paint and making the details pop by painting with a two-color scheme. I was excited because I wanted to use my Velvet Finishes paints again!!

While I was waiting for my new shipment from Velvet Finishes to arrive, I came up with a design for the top. I decided on Dogwoods. One of my mother's favorite trees. (still at my age, I always strive to do things that make her happy/ proud of her baby lol)

I was feeling pretty good about the new design and paint colors we chose!

AND. THEN. MY. SISTER. VISITED......

NO PAINT, she said!

She reminded me that people at the shows have proven to be more drawn to the artwork done on the wood. She is right {big sister knows best.... whatever!}- those are the pieces I sell better. So, now my whole plan changed!

I decided to keep with the dogwood image I had designed and got started with the top.

Now, I was done with the top, except for the finishing (sealing/ poly). I decided to use a sanding sealer first as I read great reviews about giving a smoother finish and not having to sand so much between coats of poly.

BTW, with this technique, I have to put a LOT of water-based coats of poly on before I can start sanding between coats due to the artwork underneath ~ don't want to sand any of the stained design away.

Well, here is where I got really disappointed! The sanding sealer says it is clear, but it actually gave an amber hue. ALSO, it went on so streaky -- still need to practice that application!

Here is the comparison:

I was pretty disappointed, but got some opinions from others on Hometalk, and most others thought the SealCoat brought out the warmth of the wood. OK, so I guess I will keep going.

I sanded as much of that streakiness off as I could using different grits and tried very hard not to disturb the stain underneath.

I forgot to mention that I had stained the bevel around the top with Ebony stain (same as I use on my artwork) to give it a good border.

So, now I have to decide what to do with the base.

I think I 'm going to go with a mahogany/cherry stain on the base, the colors would emulate this piece I have. I'm not sure if I will do the drawers in cherry or make them match the top.