The Story of Two Paddles

I bought two paddles at Michaels.  Always wanted an "established" sign to show who we were and when we were officially "established".  Because we live in a small port city, I thought boat paddles would look perfect along with the rest of my nautical theme decor.

 I stained both paddles with a dark wood stain by ACE named, Java Bean.  The bottom paddle in the picture above shows what the paddles looked like right off the shelf.

After the paddles dried (overnight), I whitewashed them using 1/8 cup white chalk paint to 1/2 cup of water.  I applied the whitewash haphazardly using a sponge brush.  I let them dry while I worked I prepared dinner. Whitewashing over the dark stain gives it an old age look which is what I wanted.

After the whitewash dried (and after dinner), I printed out the designs I wanted for both paddles.  I printed them backwards.

Trimmed it down and taped it to the paddle face down.

With a damp sponge brush, wet the design and then use a soft dull object to gently trace over the entire design.  I use the eraser end of a mechanical pencil.  I tried a wooden spoon, a plastic spatula and found the eraser easy to use.

I then removed the paper and voila!  There's the design transferred onto the paddle.  I then used an extra fine point black permanent marker to finish drawing in the design.  This was the hardest part of the whole project.  I had to keep my hand very steady, making sure I didn't slip.

Once the designs were painted in and dry, I took some rope I had on hand and glued and wound it around the neck of each paddle.  A perfect nautical touch!  I clamped each one and let it set overnight for added measure.

That's it!  Here's the final product and couldn't be happier :)

This is not their permanent spot as I have yet to attach their hooks in the back.  I just thought it would be cute to put them next to the "gnarly captain" wooden statue I also bought. :)

The end.

Have a great weekend.  Until next time,