Reclaimed Wood DIY Whale Wall Hanging
Reclaimed Wood DIY Whale Wall Hanging
This is a whale my sister found at the thrift store last week. He’s big and beautiful measuring 8″ in height and 33″ in length. His colors were a little bold and I offered to take him home and tone him down a bit.
Would you pay the thrift store price of $12? Well you probably would if I showed you this similar whale that was sold at Ann Tiques for $145. This picture shows the boldness of the colors more than my photo did.
He’s about to get his makeunder.
After hitting him with the sander and then a coat of white wax his colors were much more muted. This Waverly wax is so easy to apply, just paint on and wipe off the excess. If you would like a little more of the brown highlights, you can easily blend in a little antique wax as you see fit. If you add too much, just wipe away any extra.
If you need a whale pattern, you can print out and enlarge this guy to any size you need.
The colors are all still there, just in a more muted form.
While I had this beautiful whale in my possession, I thought , I can make that. I just needed a piece of wood about 8 inches wide (mine was 10) and 33 inches in length. Mine was about 70 inches, so why not make 2?
I traced around the whale onto my reclaimed wood and cut out. I used a tabletop scroll saw to make all the cuts but since my wood was 2 inches in thickness my scroll saw was not happy. My scroll saw would prefer wood no thicker than 1 1/2″ but he was able to get the job done. Hey all you DIYers out there, if you can operate a sewing machine, you can operate a scroll saw. It’s just a matter of feeding the wood thru the blade.
Also consider a band saw or a handheld jigsaw.
Almost finished all my cuts. I took a break from cutting and switched to sanding. Definitely use an electric sander if at all possible. My inspiration piece had a whole bunch of deep carvings, probably created with a router. I just used coarse 60 and 80 grit sandpaper to round off the edges and give definition to the fins and tails.
With all that sanding and chopping this old dried wood had a few cracks and breaks. Nothing a little wood glue and clamps couldn’t handle.
Each of the whales got a coat of watered down white chalk paint. Let dry.
The next coats you’ll apply all in one step. Most of the whale was painted gray with a white belly. While the gray is still wet, apply a blue to the top blending it in with your paint brush. This is Apple Barrel Award Blue but any medium blue will do. Use your finger if you don’t like the paintbrush. Do the same with the white at the bottom of the whale
The same way I toned down the colors in the thrift store whale, I’m finishing up these whales. Lightly sand the edges of the whale again with your electric sander giving him a little, I’ve been swimming in the ocean a long time, worn look.
Use white wax to soften the colors of the whale and to give him a whitewashed finish. If he gets too light, wipe off the excess wax now while it is still workable.
A little watered down antique wax will get into all the nooks a crannies. If you leave the antique wax at full strength, it will quickly become very dark. Wipe off the excess.
Hang and enjoy.
As always, stay inspired.
If you love whales you may want to check out this whale from 2019 perched on an old car jack.
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Oh they are so gorgeous Joan! Can’t believe the difference that little eyeball made. Thanks