Friday, January 20, 2012

How to Emboss Furniture DIY


I completed this project a few months ago, and have loved it, so I thought it was blog worthy!  It also qualifies, since it is simple and quite easy to do.

Embossing can be done on any piece of furniture, or in this case, an existing built in buffet. 

This is what the cabinet looked like before I embossed it.  When building the house, I knew I wanted this piece to look like a piece of furniture, hence the Queen Anne legs and the hardware I chose for it.  

To get started, you need:  Painters tape, a stencil, putty knife (or knife I use for icing), and wall spackling paste.  

I found this stencil online at Royal Design Studio.  This Micah design fit my cabinet size, and I did modify on the drawers.  I taped off the center medallion so it would fit on either side of my drawer pull.  This one measures 4.7" X 21"  and is priced $25.


Wipe down your furniture piece with a wet rag.  When dry, center and secure your stencil to the cabinet or drawer.  Load your knife with spackling, and evenly glide it across the stencil.  If needed, you can go back and add more to areas that are uneven.  


I did a small section to show you...Now, I would go back over it with the knife, scraping excess spackling into stencil design, but off the surface of the stencil itself.  This helps keep the spackling even when you peel off stencil. 


Once you've filled in the stencil with spackling, carefully lift it off.  Clean off any excess spackling, and secure it to next section.  Let the spackling cure and dry for 24 hours.  I lightly sanded the edges that were sharp, or slightly uneven.  Next, I painted the stenciled sections the same color as the piece and let that dry for 24 hours.

Last step is to antique it.  This is my all time favorite go-to Antiquing gel.  It's a deep brown gel that I water down.  (Any acrylic dark brown paint will work as well, just water it down quite a bit)  My rag of choice, is the cloth diaper!  Still have some of those hanging around the house.  (14 years ago they were burp rags! Ha!!)  Anywho...dip the rag in the watery paint and wipe on piece.  Make sure to get it into the crevices, then wipe off excess until you like the look.  You can wipe on and wipe off as much or as little as you like.  

And, it doesn't have to be perfect.  If you notice, in my final pics, the antique finish is varied.  Once the antiquing process is done, just let it dry.  I have not put on a protective coat of poly.  It seems to be holding up fine without it, but certainly could if your piece needed extra protection.  


Would love to hear about the pieces you emboss!  Have fun!!

Find me at this link party French Country Cottage

27 comments:

  1. Janis!!! So good to have another fellow blogger! I love this cabinet idea! I'm going to be on the look out for something to try it out on! Hope you're doing well! :)

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  2. Thanks Marcie! You girlies inspired me!!! I've got lots to learn...I love your blog page!! Look forward to the next excursion with you all...:)

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  3. Oh my goodness, beautiful work!! I love it!! You are so talented!

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    1. Thank you Alyssa! I appreciate you taking a look! Come back again!

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  4. Wow! Looks awesome! I didn't realize it was this easy! Maybe I shouldn't have looked, because now I'll be embossing everything in the house! :)

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    1. I'd love to see pics of the pieces you emboss! Have fun with it...it is definately easy! Thanks for your feedback!!

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  5. It looks great. Wow! Thanks for linking up. BTW I removed the link you entered in error.

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  6. Thank you Cinthya!!!! I'm a total dork, but learning!! I have found so many great blogs and ideas on the hops! I'm a new follower of yours!

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  7. So very stunning!!! Would love to have you come by and enter my “coastal” giveaway…you can find it on my sidebar.

    Blesings,
    Linda

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  8. Janis,
    I love your buffet! It turned out beautifully. You have great taste as well and a wonderful personality. I have really enjoyed wondering around your blog. I also followed your Pinterest because I am a HUGE fan of it like you. :)
    Have a wonderful day!
    keep in touch.
    amber

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    1. Thank you Amber!!! Appreciate your very sweet comment!! I'll look for you on Pinterest!

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  9. I think you buffet is just awesome. I have always wondered how to do it. Makes such a statement piece now!! Great job!

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  10. Wow Janis! This is great - I can't believe you did this with spackle. From the humble Home Depot to something truly amazing! I'm inspired!

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  11. Love this idea. I had seen this done a few years ago but not step by step. Your tutorial is great and the finished product looks custom! Gotta love that!
    Kim@reposhture.blogspot.com

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  12. You can learn to emboss furniture with help from the post here.. Useful post

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  13. Hi! I was wondering how the spackle was holding up? A bath is such a high use area, I have been worried about trying this and chipping. What did you use to adhere it? Any particular primer or adhesive paint? I really love the look you achieved!
    Thanks,
    Christine

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  14. Well, i always admire DIY projects. These are very much inspirational..

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  15. And inspiration is the mother of the best creations ever..!! So be inspirational and get inspiration..!!

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  16. It looks wonderful! I didn't expect embossing furniture to be that easy. That simple emboss on that cabinet just made it look very elegant. The magic of embossing I guess? Thank you for this wonderful tutorial.

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  17. Janis- This is so cool! Would you Link this to my Friday Favorites at http://imnotatrophywife.com
    I love this! Scrolling back up to re-read! laura

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  18. LOve this!!! Where did you get the beautiful hardware?

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  19. Janis, do you have time to answer questions?

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    1. Yes Christine, reply here with your email address (when I tried to respond via email yesterday, it showed "no-reply blogger", and I can answer any questions you have.

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  20. Hi! :)
    Thanks so much! I've been told that, but I have no idea where to change it. Actually, ytrying to reply to your email didn't work, either. Your return address comes up noreply-comment@blogger.com.

    So.... I simply asked back in January how the embossing was holding up?

    I've been so inspired by this that I keep coming back to look -- and I bought the stencil. I just noticed the vertically aligned stencil is a partial of the horizontal one. I hadn't realized it and have been looking for an urn-type stencil. There are so few out of 1000s that speak to me, and this is one. Hope you don't mind. I don't think we'll be wearing the same dress to the party.

    Another person asked where you picked up your knobs?
    Thanks for getting back to me. If you know where I change the setting I'd hop on it!

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    1. Oh gosh, I replied to your question in Jan., but now I'm thinking it didn't go anywhere due to the noreply thing. Sometimes I forget to check and just send it via email instead of here on the blog. Somewhere in the blogger profile it asks about email, and you have to agree to use it...it's not super clear, which is why so many of us have had to go back in and change it. If you google "changing noreply on blogger", I'm sure you'll get a tutorial or two.
      You can send me further questions at janisstew@yahoo.com. Emtek is the company I purchased those knobs from, but that was 8 years ago, so not sure they still have them. The embossing has held up great! No chipping, rubbing, nothing. Yes, I taped off a portion of the stencil to fit on the drawers. I share so others can do the same, so no problem at all!

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  21. Cannot wait to use this info as well!
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  22. Thank you for sharing how to emboss a piece of furniture..its fantastic..although I didn't understand what spackling paste was...google search to the rescue...polyfiller...now I cant wait to try this...I love that aparador...its beautiful!

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