How I transformed two pieces of Pine.

This project started out as an experiment to see if I could transform a piece of pine to look like an aged piece of driftwood.  What do you think?

The picture below shows you what I started with...two pieces of pine that I used to make simple chalkboards for Christmas decor.

First thing I did was cut away the sides and edges of the wood with a skillsaw.  I just randomly cut away the wood.  I then used a chisel to make deep grooves and gouges in the wood.  Once I roughed up the wood, I sanded the entire piece with 100 grit sandpaper rounding and smoothing out the edges.  I used the back of the wood which had been previously stained with a dark walnut Minwax stain so I removed most of the stain and took it down to bare wood.  I simply used a primer paint mixed with plaster of paris and water and brushed the entire piece of wood with a whitewash.  Once dry, which took minutes, I used the same method but using craft paint by Decoart called Khaki Tan. Again, once dry I sanded it with 180 grit sandpaper exposing some of the bare wood and whitewashed wood.  I then applied espresso Minwax stain making sure to fill the deep grooves and gouges with the dark stain.  The last step was to apply a clear Minwax paste wax, buffing to a smooth, glossy finish.  

I liked the finished wood so much that I decided to hang a piece on each side of this mirror.  

Thank you for stopping by.  I hope you have a great week!

Lesa