Decoupaged Chairs

Just before the weekend I spotted these chairs sitting unwanted outside our local Church Hall, which is currently being renovated. 

Apart from the fact that I hate seeing anything thrown away, I really liked the shape of these chairs.

Very retro, and they have dates on the underside from back in the 60s. But they were in need of a bit of attention. I grabbed a couple hoping to do them up in time to sell at the Bake Off, which was a little optimistic.

Maria kindly helped me paint the metal frame!

We used chalk paint, one red and another in a lovely bright green.

And then I cut up an old, vintage children's book, that was falling apart anyway, and used it to decoupage the seat and the back. One of them with a general nursery rhyme theme:

And one with a 'Red Riding Hood' theme:

They were very rushed, I could have done with taking a bit more time and care over them (and even so they didn't dry in time for Saturday unfortunately), but it's amazing how a bit of painting and sticking can transform a dull, unwanted piece of furniture.

I think they'd look really good just painted too. And I was also very tempted to decoupage them with an ancient cookery book. There are so many possibilities with decoupage - maps, sheet music, stamps, comics, nature books... 

There's a nice, clear tutorial on decoupage here, and if you need any further inspiration then have a quick browse round Pinterest, here are a few ideas from there:

 

 

 

And if you're local then there are still some chairs outside that Church Hall that need rescuing from the 'dump'!

Back tomorrow,

Sally.