The British Invasion End Table Flea Market Makeover is Finished!

I'm almost finished with my Flea Market Makeover end table! It's been sitting in my basement only partially finished for the past year, until this spring I decided to finally finish it! Spring is the best time to varnish in the garage before it's too hot during the summer and the varnish doesn't paint on as well. Winter the varnish just freezes and won't ever dry. Spring is just the right time to finish my British Invasion table.

I painted the entire table colonial blue. Then I painted the flag on top with acrylic craft paint. I masked off the stripes with the green painters masking tape and painted each one. for the side flag I glued a piece of scrapbook paper on with scotch quick dry paper glue, just like a scrapbook project. After that was dry I covered the entire paper with matte decoupage medium. Make sure to paint over the edges to seal in the paper. It's ok if you extend the glue an extra half inch past the paper onto the blue paint as the decoupage medium will dry clear and disappear after it is varnished. I did 2 coats of decoupage medium over the paper waiting for it to dry between coats. I love how scrapbook paper looks on furniture!

For the door inserts I used the same decoupage technique with more scrapbook paper. I like to glue on the paper with the scotch quick dry adhesive rather than decoupage medium as the paper is less likely to bubble or tear. Believe me as I have tried this technique on many projects and have learned from my mistakes. As the glue dries you might notice a few bubbles. If you just leave it alone, the bubbles will smooth out after it's dry. Different papers react differently, but I haven't had any problems since I switched to the scotch quick dry method to glue the paper on, let it dry, then cover the whole paper with decopauge medium.

I love the clock knob I found at hobby lobby! It goes perfectly with the theme. I think the cupboard door looks like a British phone booth.

I even decorated the inside.

I used scrapbook stickers for the "Keep Calm Carry On" shelf and covered and sealed them with decoupage medium. There is a piece of glass that goes on the top right but I haven't put it back on yet.  

Finally after all the decoupage was dry, I varnished the entire project with 2 coats of satin oil based varnish. I sanded it in between coats with very fine sandpaper so it would be smooth, taking care not to sand the decopauged areas. I like the oil based varnish better than water based varnish as it's more durable and just looks better on wood. It's messy on the brushes. Sometimes I put the brush into a plastic bag between coats so I won't have to clean it. Then I either toss the brush, or put it in some brush cleaner to soak and clean later, ha-ha. Sometimes I actually go back and clean the brushes.

I love the little flea market table now and can't wait to find a location for it in my house! Right now it will have to sit in the garage for awhile until the varnish cures and becomes hard instead of sticky.

Before (The price tag says $5.00 LOL)

After!

Here's a link to my blog entry when I first started the project.