From pow to wow the conclusion

 Posted by: Paulette

I posted earlier about the broken trim molding above the back door, and what I was doing to fix it. Well, today I got it done and I am thrilled with how it turned out!
The transition between the original molding and the arch looks seamless after it's been painted!

I used Super Sculpey to sculpt the center rosette, tree branches, the bird and nest. A half jelly roll pan was the perfect size to sculpt on and then bake the appliques. After they had cooled, I scraped it off with a spatula.

I made sure that when I was forming the appliques, there would be a place where I could pound in a couple of nails to support the piece while the wood glue was drying.

After the glue dried, I primed the whole thing including the wood with Kilz primer. And then painted on one coat of Valspar semi gloss in white. I thought it might need another coat, but it didn't. I've been using Wal-mart cheep paints up until new, and I have to say that it's worth the money to spend a little extra on some quality stuff. If you use double the amount and it's half the price, there isn't really a savings there.

When the paint dried, I went over the applique with an acrylic antiquing medium. And then wiped off the extra. It brings out all of the details so much better than just leaving it white.
Doing projects like this makes me fall in love with my house all over again. I love the asymmetric design that I came up with, because it feels more organic. And incorporating birds into my design is so me. I loved birds in my decor long before it became popular. So what do you think?