Distressed crib using candle wax

Best Christmas present to date?

A handmade crib from my sweet father-in-law :)

Inspired from The Land of Nod's chocolate Meadowbrook crib, he modified the design a smidge and added his personal touch, European style. {He was born & raised in Holland and the crib has a Dutch feel to it... which is appropriate since this baby will have a Dutch name. TBA!}  Anyhoo, Kelli had mentioned a way to distress furniture using candle wax and I wanted to give it a try.  I found a great tutorial here but I wanted the original wood to show through, not an undercoat of paint, so I tailored the tute for my project.  

Take a peek at the before, raw & smelling like fresh cut wood... mmm! 

This was a fairly quick process but I had to take lots of breaks with little hands around so it took me a few nap times and getting up really early one morning to finish up ;) 

Supplies:

To distress furniture using candle wax you will need a candle* paint, roller, sander, foam brush/water and polyurethane. 
{*I'm a Scentsy girl and don't have any wick candles in the house.  Little hands, remember?  Anyway I snagged a handful of used votives in a baggie at GW for $1.99 that included 2 unused Scentsy bar sets.  Score!}

1. After wiping down leftover sawdust, rub candle wax on the areas you want the original wood to show through... corners, sides, etc:

2. Paint at least 2 coats and let dry... you can see how one coat shows the wax really well:  

Note: The more coats, the shabbier the look when sanded :)

3. Sand the areas of the wax down  l i g h t l y  as the paint comes right off the waxed areas:

I didn't like how bright the original wood now looked in contrast to the dark paint:

{Glazed wood on left, sanded raw wood on right}

 I used a tip from Misses-Know-It-All {Kelli} and simply watered down my paint to make a glaze {Measurements: 3 parts water to 1 part paint} and rubbed it over the raw wood with a foam brush.  Perfect:

After 3 coats of poly to polish it off, the crib is done:

Not the nursery, or crib bedding, but the crib itself ;)

Kelli & I, although twins, are not the same when it comes to decorating.  She can bust out a project lickity split {like last week's tornado of starting and finishing her daughters room in a couple of days} but alas, I cannot.  I am indecisive and too picky about how to stage things.  Drives her nuts, I'm sure :)  

In the meantime, here's an updated belly shot:

I know, super cheesy face but my hubby has no patience taking pics! lol

In all honesty, I am surprised at how crazy pregnancy is that it automatically takes over your body.  Pretty amazing, actually, how it's doing all this work without my help.  I thought women just gained a bit of weight and that was that... boy, was I wrong!  I carry Tums around and eat them up like candy, toss & turn most nights due to discomfort, stopped wearing heels because my swollen feet won't fit in them and pretty much gave up on dressing stylish... lol.  It's worth every pound of weight gain and ache though.  I ♥ it! :)