Monkey Business with Annie Sloan

I had an old marked Chest Of Drawers I had been wanting to do something different with.
While on holiday in Barcelona I saw a kids t-shirt in the basement of department store which gave me an idea, funny where you get inspiration from!

To start with I painted the drawers with Annie Sloan Old White, I did not prime or undercoat – just a rub over with a damp cloth. After 2 coats I noticed a knot bleeding through, so I used some Clear knotting solution to cover and seal it then applied another 2 coats to that small area. Job done. I kept the finish quite flat as it’s easier to get the transfers on.

Now the fun part – making up the images using old books and free images online – as you can see the image is made up of 3 animals, Zebra, Kitten and Orang Utan! I thought it would make a great piece for a kids room.
Once I had found my images I printed out copies and took them to my local high street print shop ‘Ditto‘ in Sevenoaks. Where I got them blown up to the size (depth) of the drawers. I used black and white because I thought colour may make it too confused looking. Oh, by the way – it has to be a Laserjet printer – this is important otherwise it just won’t work.

Then I cut them out ( to the drawer front size, all 3 are the same). Next step was to transfer the images using Decoupage Glue – I paste the drawer fronts and the face of the image, and even gave the back a pasting for good measure. Stick it on the drawer fronts – face down. If you’re using an image with type, remember to get the prints flipped, otherwise you’re writing will be back to front. I left mine overnight to dry off.

I use a combination of hot soapy water, kitchen sponge, sandpaper and my bare hands to rub off the paper -carefully, so as not to remove your images. This bit is hard work, but well worth it. Once cleaned off, I let it dry thoroughly and then simply Clear Waxed for protection.

I repositioned the knobs and painted them a grey colour (Old White and Graphite mix) so as not to interfere too much. It’s now in pride of place in our shop window, come on over and take a look.