How to Create Beautiful Old World Finishes on Brass Chandeliers

I love the lines of brass chandeliers but I have to admit, I’m not a fan of brass. I do however LOVE the look of Venetian Bronze and old world finishes. This was the very first chandelier I ever transformed.

The European paint finish we create on brass chandeliers look and feel better than Venetian bronze and has amazing texture and detail. Can you see it?

Typically I start out with a brass chandelier similar to this. Maybe you have one of these lying around your garage! If you have no interest in doing this and are in the area, drop it off to us before you toss it in the trash. We’d love to re-purpose it and save the landfill!

To create a Venetian Bronze finish start with two dark colors such as American Paint Company’s Wild Horses and Lincoln’s Hat. If you don’t have Lincoln’s Hat on Hand, you can also substitute Freedom Road.

Slap on one of the colors covering most of the brass. Randomly leave parts of the brass exposed and then catch that when you go over it with the 2nd color. It’s your choice which color you start out with ~ continue painting until everything is completely covered.

At this point, I like to wet distress the finish to bring out variations in color, exposing tiny bits of the brass. Once dry, I seal everything with American Paint Company’s Dark Wax. Copper and Pewter metallic mica powders also look fabulous when pounced into the wet wax which adds another cool layer of dimension. Buff it immediately to achieve a beautiful finish using an old t-shirt.

We have a steel gazebo on our deck, not the portable easy-up type, but the stationary type you bolt down creating a permanent structure. These gazebos usually have a metal piece hanging from the center that you can hang a light fixture from which is perfect for a candelier!

How gorgeous is this? With our long harsh winters, Michiganders do everything in our power to spend as much of our time as possible outdoors during our beautiful summers. I really love the way these look outdoors ~ they really finish off the look and offer a lot of functionality to an outdoor space.

Oh yeah, did I mention I add candles to them? I strip out all the wires and replace the light bulbs with candles.

This particular candelier sold within minutes of putting it on the market so I had to make another one just for us.

Maybe it’s just me, but I think they’re so pretty!

The candelier can be used indoors or outdoors. This also looks great finished in a vintage white patina. Can you just imagine how beautiful these would look if you hung several of them under a large white tent for an outdoor garden wedding?

You don’t have to just stick to this particular color combination. Use your imagination and personality to create anything your heart desires from bright, whimsical colors to rich neutrals like the one we did on our latest garden wedding candelier.

We have a gal who helps us out once a week and this was her first piece she tried. The only thing I did was suggest the colors; she did the rest. She layered American Paint Company’s Dollar Bill, Rushmore and Home Plate brushing them one at a time in a sloppy splish splash manner.

Isn’t it amazing!!! Tanya ROCKS!!

shizzle design candelier american paint company chalk clay paints 2

shizzle design candelier american paint company chalk clay paints chalk clay paint lighting ideas 2

shizzle design candelier american paint company chalk clay paints chalk clay paint lighting ideas

This sold within minutes at the expo. Somebody had asked me if you could paint on metal and I turned around to show this to them and it was already gone!

2014 West Michigan's Women's Expo Shizzle Design painted furniture American Paint company chalk clay mineral Paints 2018 Chicago Dr Jenison, MI 49428 DeVos kitchen island

If you’re in West Michigan, purchase American Paint Company’s Paints at our Shizzle Design Paint Studio at 2018 Chicago Drive, Jenison, MI 49428. We also supply several other West Michigan locations here.

Did you know…

Shizzle Design is a small family-owned business in Jenison, Michigan. My sister Cathy and I work, paint, ship and teach our chalk and clay paint workshops out of the same space where we paint all our furniture. We are truly humbled to be known as a leader in the world of chalk and clay paints.
Instead of hoarding our knowledge, we empower DIY’ers by sharing our years of experience. Stop in for paint and we’ll provide you with honest and knowledgeable answers for all your chalk and clay paint needs.
We are so blessed to have taught people from all over the United States and Canada. Join us for one of our super fun hands-on chalk and clay paint workshops. Learn in our casual & relaxed environment. Click Paint Workshops to see a list of current classes offered.
Subscribe to Shizzle Design for tips, tutorials, ideas, pictures, videos for our furniture painted in all natural chalk and clay based mineral paints.
Did you know that you can get these sent directly to your inbox and that it’s FREE? It is ~ what are you waiting for? Enter your email in the right hand column of our blog to stay in the loop.
We have a Shizzle Design Facebook Page. We share all sorts tips, ideas, photos EVERY DAY and offer special deals (which you’ll only know about if you’ve Liked our Facebook Page).
Pin our posts on Pinterest ~ Find all sorts of inspiration here.
We sell our painted furniture in our Shizzle Design Paint Studio at 2018 Chicago Drive, Jenison, MI 49428 and at Not So Shabby Antiques and Fine Furniture at 2975 West Shore Drive in Holland, Michigan
Shizzle Design is an Authorized Retailer for American Paint Company Paints. We offer a large inventory of chalk and clay paint and supplies at our Shizzle Design Paint Shop /Studio, 2018 Chicago Drive, Jenison, MI 49428. We also stock several other shops in the greater Grand Rapid’s area, to find out where, click LOCATIONS. Not from Michigan? No worries, we ship paint and paint supplies worldwide through our Online Shizzle Shop.

Click here to see Shizzle Design Painted Furniture Makeovers

Click here to see our Shizzle Tips, How To Tutorials & Video’s

Click here to see Funky Finishes

Linking up to these GREAT Parties!

Domestically Speaking – The Power of Paint Party

The Shabby Creek Cottage – Transformation Thursday

Miss Mustardseed – Furniture Feature Friday

Redoux – Friday Link Up Party

Homespun Happenings – Rustic Restorations Weekend

Funky Junk Interiors – Saturday Night Special

Silver Pennies – Silver Pennies Sundays

Knick of Time Interiors – Knick of Time Tuesday

a hui hou ~ Shelly

March 23, 2014

Our Shizzle Design Booth at West Michigan’s Women’s Expo, DeVos ~ Grand Rapids, MI

In the midst of this long cold winter, Cathy and I were invited to be one of the featured speakers at West Michigan’s Women’s Expo.

We immediately started preparing for it. I was panicked about how we were going to pull something of this magnitude together in such a short amount of time? Cathy had left for Florida with mom and I was already swamped with the start of our Inventory Clearance Sale when we decided to stop carrying CeCe Caldwell’s Paints.

I knew we wouldn’t be able to do this expo on our own so got on my knees and prayed and prayed and prayed. I then gathered the best friends a person could ever ask for and together, we pulled it all together.

I didn’t finish everything I wanted to do prior to the event due to a major crashing of my laptop

the night before I had to get all our show particulars to Channel 13 for our segment on Take Five so I ended pulling an all nighter but I got it in… three minutes before the deadline! Considering all the challenges and technical difficulties we had leading up to the event, I think we did alright.

By the time of the event, we needed a 26′ long U-haul to pack everything!

It was cold, VERY COLD, the day we moved everything into DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids. Many, many thanks to Beth and Liz, Ann, Uncle Jack, Chantelle & Ohana who froze their okoles off that day.

Many, many thanks to my cheese-head friend Ann and fellow American Paint Company Retailer, who brought in a bunch of fluff to stage our space. I’m telling you, this gal is one talented chicka. She’s also a hoot! I laughed for four days straight! Love this girl!! But I have to admit, I am so NOT talented with staging and never could have done it without you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

We started moving things around until it made sense and before we knew it, everything was in it’s place!

Ahhh ~ that reminds me!!! We still have to pick winners for the paint workshop giveaways!!

We haven’t even opened the box! I’ll get right on that this morning and post the winners here!

Here are some of the things we had For Sale

Some of the furniture sold during the show, some was taken to Not So Shabby in Holland and some of it is back in our Studio. Contact us if there’s something you see on here that you’re interested in.

This flower dresser was revamped. The entire top was refinished and the flower was enhanced with more paint and an outline.

We did a lot of teaching during the show both on stage and within our own booth. I’m so glad Laurie caught the bug! Thanks for all your help Laurie! She helped out so much with all the details like designing our “Transform Your Find with Shizzle Design” T-shirts! Thanks Laurie!!

It was awesome to finally meet so many of our customers in person!! Thanks for much for coming out, it means the world to us!

We didn’t realize how much advertising was going on all over the place. Thanks so much for bringing articles from newspapers and magazines so we could read them! I can’t wait to send to our mom.

It was great to have so much interest in our Shizzle Tips & Techniques during the show!

What’s your favorite American Paint Company Color???

The hottest selling colors during the show were: Peacock, Limoges, Crushed Tea, Sackcloth, Waistcoat, Cannonball, Home Plate, Beach Glass, Fireworks Red, Rushmore and Freedom Road. Shoppers also stocked up on lots of our fabulous Clear, Light and Dark Waxes as well as Topcoat while they were at the show and our metallic mica powders and American Grit were hot hot hot!

Thanks also for joining us for our stage presentations! It was so cool to see such a large turnout and meet people from all over the place.

Mya, you were awesome painting on stage! You really showed them how easy it is to apply; everyone loved how you painted!! Thanks for helping out with our demonstrations!!

We’re painting this bed for my Aunt Katie and Uncle Jim, all profits from the sale of this bed will go back to them for all the help and support they’ve always given to us throughout our lives. Thanks guys!! You’re the best!!

Anastasia, you’re so awesome!! I absolutely adore you!! Thanks for all your help and for all the fun you added to the weekend!! You’re the best!! Hey, I didn’t get a picture of your handsome son, but please express our gratitude towards him as well!

Ok, so we started getting a little goofy after three days straight at the expo. Ann started it, the silly virus was contagious from that point on!

Thanks for all your help Lori!! You rock!! and always brighten up a room with your upbeat personality. We love you Lori!!

Thanks Liz! Vanna doesn’t have anything on you!!

We can’t even begin to express the amount of gratitude we have for each and every one of you for all the help and support you’ve given: Lori, Liz, Laurie, Anastasia, Kami, Lisa, Kathe, Beth, Ann, Uncle Jack, Kalei, Kekai, Ka’iulani, Denise, Chantelle and everybody else who helped out before, during and after the show.

Thank you!!

Did you know that…

We’ve opened up our Shizzle Design Paint Studio at 2018 Chicago Drive, Jenison, Michigan 49428? This is where Cathy and I paint our furniture but we want our customers to know that we’re here for you. We encourage everyone to stop in any time to buy paint or to get your questions answered.
We’ve taught people from all over the United States and Canada how to paint furniture Shizzle Style using chalk and clay paints? Join us for one of our super fun workshops. Learn hands-on in our casual & relaxed environment. Click Paint Workshops to see a list of current classes offered.
You can Subscribe to Shizzle Design for tips, tutorials, ideas, pictures, videos for our furniture painted in all natural chalk and clay based mineral paints.
Did you know that you can get these sent directly to your inbox and that it’s FREE? It is ~ what are you waiting for? Enter your email in the right hand column of our blog to stay in the loop.
We have a Shizzle Design Facebook Page. We share all sorts of additional tips, ideas, photos EVERY DAY and offer special deals (which you’ll only know about if you’ve Liked our Facebook Page).
We have numerous Pinterest Boards Stop in and check out our extensive portfolio ~ Pin us on Pinterest
We sell our painted furniture at Not So Shabby Antiques and Fine Furniture at 2975 West Shore Drive in Holland, Michigan
We sell American Paint Company Paints & Supplies our of our Shizzle Design Paint Studio (headquarters) 2018 Chicago Drive, Jenison, MI 49428 as sell as several other locations in the greater Grand Rapid’s area. Click LOCATIONS to find out where we’re located. We also ship the paint domestically and internationally through our Online Shizzle Shop.