{Dreamy} Claw foot stool makeover

Remember this claw foot stool I got from our local flea market for $5?? If not, you can read about it here. Needless to say, it was in rough shape. I lagged a little on this makeover because to be honest, I was a bit nervous. Not too sure if I could pull this one off people.

Remember, the top had broken off....UGH.

...and if you look in the right bottom corner of this picture, you'll see that I accidentally broke the top in half while I was getting ready to paint. Double UGH. This stool was dirty, REALLY dirty. It also had like eighty billion upholstery tacks under the seat. You guessed it.....Triple UGH.

Look at these sad lookin' claw feet. I am a lover of claw feet. How could anyone be so sloppy and careless when painting these original, antique claw feet. C'mon people, you're killing me!

My husband had some super strong paint stripper stuff that is specifically for metal (he's in charge when there's toxic chemicals involved).

Since I cracked the top of the seat, I figured I better go with it rather than stress about repairing it. My A-ha moment.............paint a "grain sack" using the crack as a guide. A-ha!! Here she is below before I distressed the heck out of her. I chose the number 4 because there are 4 members of my immediate family (& the #4 has always been one of my lucky numbers). I was worried about being able to paint the letters and number without messing it up, so I actually just drew it on with a sharpie. It's permanent, and I knew I was going to seal it in the end so it would be fine.

I grabbed some sandpaper and went to town. Our power sander was on the fritz, so I had to get down and dirty and do it by hand. It was cool to see the gold and green come through in a couple places (hard to see it in these pics though).

Here she is in her new home in my kitchen. I bought a leafy green indoor plant (fingers crossed on this one......I'm not much of a green thumb), and put it in a basket instead of a ceramic pot. This way, if (when) my kids knock it over, they won't hurt themselves or break it.

Look at how the light shines through!! Gorgeous.! It's like magic.

Here's the big picture (& I'm super in love with how the heart on the banner matches the red stripe on the stool).

And here's this little guy popping in to say hi and show you his goofy face :) I'm VERY happy with how this turned out and I think I pulled it off! U Likey???