Little Rocker

First, I want to give a shout out to my new blogging buddy, Roeshel at The DIY Showoff and thank her for featuring my mannequin.  And as if simply being featured wasn't fabulous enough, check out who else saw it and commented:

eddieross said... Genius! I can't wait to try this.

Eddie Ross!  Someone pinch me!  If you aren't already reading his blog, you should.

OK, time to stop dancing in the kitchen and get back to work.

I bought this child's rocker at a garage sale two summers ago.  I don't remember what I actually paid for it, but I remember my hard-driving husband asked the seller to throw in three recently released hardcover books in the deal.

We don't have children, but it looked like a fun project.  So much fun it sat in the basement for two years, untouched.

A friend is now in the process of opening her own photography studio and she asked for me to be on the lookout for cute, vintage furniture.  Boy, do I have just the thing for her.

The rocker was structurally sound, but the old stuff that was holding on with crusty duct tape had to go.

The Plan:
1. Lightly sand the old finish
2. Spray paint with trusty ol' Heirloom White
3. Gently distress the paint (I'm going shabby chic on it, baby)
4. Cover with new foam and re-upholster in gender-neutral sage green fabric.

The Results:

Note to self:  Distressing wood that I painted so carefully is a pain.  I'd sand off too much, then I'd have to haul it back outside to recoat.  I think I like glazing better.

Then again, when it came time to upholster it, I was thankful for the distressed finish.  Manhandling it on the floor while I stapled and pounded tacks into it just added to the "patina."

Which do you prefer?  Aging with glaze or manually distressing with sandpaper?