PAINTING FOR DUMMIES

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Painting a Tortoiseshell Jewelry Box

Stuff You A plain wood jewelry box gets swankified with a few simple swipes of a
Need to Know paintbrush and some varnish. A tortoiseshell finish is almost impossi-
ble not to pull off, even if it’s your first attempt at faux painting. The
Toolbox: effect relies on random splotches of paint rather than the precision that
some other techniques require, so even the least crafty person can pull
ߜ Newspaper it off with flair.
ߜ 1-inch blue painter’s tape
ߜ Wooden jewelry box
ߜ Latex gloves
ߜ Stir sticks
ߜ Latex paint in pale gold
ߜ 2-inch flat sash brush
ߜ Acrylic paints in raw

umber, burnt sienna, red,
and black
ߜ Disposable plastic plate
ߜ Mineral spirits
ߜ Acrylic glaze
ߜ Four round artist’s
brushes (inexpensive
ones are fine)
ߜ Softener/blender brush
ߜ Acrylic gloss varnish

Time Needed:

About a day

1. Cover your workspace with newspaper.

Then apply blue painter’s tape to any areas
of the jewelry box that you don’t intend to
paint.

2 Painting Do-It-Yourself For Dummies

2. Put on latex gloves, and use a stir stick to

thoroughly stir the latex paint. Then using
the 2-inch flat sash brush, apply a latex base
coat to the jewelry box. Let the paint dry.

3. Shake up the acrylic paints and, wearing

gloves, place a dollop of each acrylic paint
color onto the palette.

4. Mix a few drops of mineral spirits and

acrylic glaze into each color, blending the
mixtures with the artist’s brushes (one
brush for each color). Stir in more mineral
spirits, a few drops at a time, until the
paint is thin but not translucent.

3Painting a Tortoiseshell Jewelry Box

5. Using a different brush for each color, paint

small, curved brush strokes all over the
painted box. Vary the size and thickness of
the strokes. Use primarily the burnt sienna
and raw umber colors, with the red and
black splotched on randomly as highlights.
Leave some of the gold base color showing
through.

6. While the glaze is still wet, blend the

colors by very lightly sweeping the
softener/blender brush forward and
backward over the whole box.

7. Repeat Step 6, brushing over the box in a dif-

ferent direction. Let the box dry overnight.

8. Stir the acrylic gloss varnish with a stir stick,

and use a 2-inch flat sash brush to apply a
coat to the box. If desired, let that coat dry
completely before brushing on another.