An easy faux-finishing technique!

I wanted the table top to have a chess/checker board on the surface to add decoration as well as usefulness , how nice to be able to play a game of chess or checkers without dragging out a board! Here is what you will need for this step:

Supplies: Contact Paper, Acrylic Paint (M Graham & Co.), Craft knife, sea sponge, foam brush, ruler, pencil, Other: Painter's or masking tape, scissors and a feather or fine brush.

Step 1: Cut 32 1 1/2″ squares out of the contact paper. Mark out a 12″ square in the center of the table top and stick down the contact paper in the design of the grid.

Stick down the contact paper where you want the dark squares.

Step 2. Mask off the boarder with painters tape.

The painters tape will give you a nice crisp border!

Step 3. Set up your palette, I am using a disposable palette (a pad of this waxed paper) squirt out dabs of white, yellow ochre and burnt umber and mix them to make a dark, medium and light shade of brown, do not over-mix!

Mix 3 shades of brown using white, burnt umber and yellow ochre.

Step 4. wet the sea sponge and squeeze out all of the water you can, dab it in the paint colors and sponge over your checker board. Do not rub or paint may seep under the contact paper.

Never put paint on a dry sea sponge or you will ruin it, always wet it and ring it out first!

Just dab on the paint, that's all there is to it!

Step 5. Take a feather or thin paint brush and add in a few veins to the marble with strait burnt umber and white paint.

don't try to be perfect when painting the veins, the sloppier you are the better it will look!

Step 6. Wash out your brushes and sponge with dish soap. Remove the painters tape and contact paper. Do not worry about any rough edges, we will fix those next time 😉

Peel off the tape and contact paper and viola!

Thanks for checking out my progress on this table and thanks to M. Graham & Co. for donating the paint for this project. Til next time happy crafting!