Fleur de lys Transfer Chair

My sister turned over  Paris Flea Market to her son Jeff this year and instead became a dealer in his new store. They both graciously suggested that I start picking and selling there.  I thought it might be a fun way to get rid of some of my projects.  I didn't know how addictive it could be.  So I got on craigslist (not many garage sales in March in North Idaho) and found this chair.                                                                          

I know, it's not too pretty, but it had some features that could be fun to experiment with.  First I took off the seat, removed all of the old fabric and batting, and reupholstered it with a lot more foam and batting, and used some of my black velvet left over from my ottoman.  I painted it grey then found this great Fleur de lys on Google images.

 I copied it on to the shiny side of some butcher paper, then carefully rubbed it on both the front and backside of the chair.  A few lessons learned; don't try to use the transfer more than once, even though it looks like there is plenty of ink on it, make sure to mark exactly where you want it because it transfers immediately, and it doesn't really dry that well so don't try to glaze over it until you spray some type of finish on it.  To finish it off I used Martha Stewart's metallic paint in pewter and dry brushed all over, especially in the groves, then finished with a poly.  I wasn't really thrilled with the results but my sister thought it was cute, and it eventually sold so I guess it wasn't that bad.  Here's the result.