Vintage Desk re-do w/Stencil

I found this nice little vintage mahogany desk the other day. It was a little beat up, but

nothing that I couldn't handle with sanding and wood filler and my magic! 

 I took down the top to it's raw state and applied some
reddish walnut stain and lightly brushed on some varathane weathered gray stain. I decided on using gray
chalk paint and some stenciling. I sealed the top with a few coats of semi-gloss acrylic.

 Anyone who has ever painted one of these vintage pieces in a light color is familiar with bleed-through. Shelley??? Can you hear me???? (Shelley at "Shizzle Design" really knows!). Anyway, normally I prime w/white shellac based primer but I didn't want any white to show through on the distressing part. So, I painted on this shellac base wood sealer. Two coats. Dries fast and gives a nice surface to paint, Anddddd, no bleed through! Perfect!   OK,,,,so here the stencil on one of the drawers.

I used CeCe's white and lightly sanded to give a worn effect.

                               Here's the final result.  I staged it a few different ways.......

 This is the last shot I have of the Xmas wreath I spent hours making.

 Of course I dropped it and it 

shattered all over the floor. Oh well......

               The drawer bottoms were in poor shape. I lined the middle and painted the rest.

                           Can you see just the hint of gray on the wood???

                            Handles were really bad. I sprayed oil rubbed bronze on them.

                                                                                                 I only covered the middle drawer in velvet. The other all got painted in a grayish lavender.  I had

Martha Stewart's paint in "blue suede" and I mixed it w/some red. Instant purple! 

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The Girl Creative	The Southern Institute
Homemaker on a Dime	Between Naps on the Porch
Mod Vintage Life	Making the World Cuter
Boogieboard Cottage	The Dedicated House
Knick of Time Interiors	Coastal Charm
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia	Elizabeth and Co.
Cedar Hill Ranch	Nifty Thrifty Things
Carolyn’s Homework	A Diamond in the Stuff
Ivy and Elephants	The Thrifty Home
Gingersnap Crafts	My Girlish Whims
Handy Man Crafty Woman	733 Blog
We are That Family	Savvy Southern Style
Home Stories A to Z	Fine Craft Guild
Primp	Beyond the Picket Fence
The Shabby Creek Cottage	The 36th Avenue
Katherine’s Corner	Brambleberry Cottage
From My Front Porch to Yours	Blissful Rhythm
A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson	A Glimpse Inside
The Artsy Girl	Stacey Embracing Change
French Country Cottage	Redoux Interiors
The Shabby Nest	Finding Fabulous
Romantic Home	Primitive & Proper