Thursday, March 10, 2011

That’s A Switch: A Tutorial of Old World Plaster


If youve been following my blog, you know I kind of have a thing about light switch plates covers. Almost every switch plate cover in my house is decoratedpainted or decoupaged. Well, since Ive learned this Old World plaster technique, I just had to try it on a light switch plate. It was a little tougher using this technique on such a small surface, but I love how it turned out! Heres a tutorial for those of you who want to try it!
Materials:
       Wood light switch plate
       Base paint color of your choice (I used Americana Decocrafts Slate Gray because its my absolute favorite gray.)
       Joint compound (I prefer and recommend using white, but all I had was gray)
       Glazing medium
       Mixing container
       Sponge brush
       2 Rags or towels
       Old credit card or gift card
       Other paint colors to mix with joint compound and glazing medium I used black and white (I like to live on the edge).
       Embellishments or stamps
       Gorilla Super Glue
So, to get this exact (more or less) switch plate cover, heres what you do (actually, you may want to practice this technique on a block of scrap wood before you attempt):
1.    Paint base color (slate gray) and let it dry.

2.    In the meantime, mix white paint and gray joint compound to lighten it up a bit.

3.    Slop it on the dry light switch plate and then kind of swish it around with the gift card, wipe excess off of card and keep scraping and swishing until you get the desired effect. Let it dry, thoroughly.

4.    Mix 3 parts glazing medium with one part black paint (you only need a little bit) and apply it in small sections to the dry switch plate. 

5. After you paint one small section, wipe it off in with your towel or rag. Some of your base color will show through and the black with gather in the textured part. Move on to the next small section and do the same thing.


6.    Repeat this until you like the look. I did this about four times.
7. I also elected to add another layer by using some French script and architectural stamps in spotsyou can stamp anything. You can stop at this point or add some embellishments.

8. I decided to add embellishments, so i searched in my stash of vintage jewelry to find the perfect pieces. I decided that I need to liven up  the dark background just a bit so I chose some old scatter pins and this really fun and rather large vintage rhinestone earring piece. After arranging them just so, i used my trusty Gorilla super glue to secure them to the plate.

And, there you have it...a unique, crazy light switch cover...details count, right? 

5 comments:

Sherry@Back2Vintage said...

Details DO count! Love the rhinestones...thanks for the tutorial!!!

Cassie Bustamante said...

very cool! it almost looks like slate with the color and texture.

julie - eab designs said...

I love this idea, especially the mix of the rhinestones with the aged patina. Thanks for sharing! ~ Julie

Lana Manis said...

This is gorgeous! Although my daughter and I love the bling, I don't think my husband and 2 sons would enjoy it... but even without the extra sparkle, they are wonderful! Thank you for the idea.

Anonymous said...

O.M.G. I used Gorilla glue this weekend and I LOOOOOVE it! (bought it for something else a while ago but it wasn't what I needed)

I like that texture technique and might try that one day. Great way to dress up a light switch!