Refinished Bookshelf Tutorial

I wish I had gotten a photo of the bookshelf upright and indoors before I dragged it outside, but at least I took one before photo.

And yes, that's my kitty hoping we were building something for her to explore in. ;)

First, I primed the whole bookshelf with white primer for two reasons.  One- I invisioned a white undercoat and two, this bookshelf is oak, and therefore, very grainy.  I didn't want the wood grain to dominate through the paint.  I knew I wanted a few layers poking through when it was finished so I then painted some of it with dark brown.  I painted this outside by my garage and I am sure my neighbors were wondering if I had lost all sense of style- painting a bookshelf like a cow.  It was very temporary.

After it dried overnight and got a good sun bake, I applied a light brushing of some crackle paint over some of the brown paint.  I didn't want the whole thing crackled.  I just wanted a natural heat and humidity weathered appeal. :)

Then I painted a pretty pale blue- with just a hint of grey.

Next, I sanded all over to reveal my underneath layers of paint.  I varied the intensity of the sanding all over, but most of it is very subtle.  Some of the crackle paint gave me bubbles instead of crackle, and I loved that too.  It sanded beautifully!

 The final step was the glazing.  Again, I wanted it soft and natural, so I mixed Valspar glaze with some walnut dark stain- about 8 to 1 parts.   Then I stirred it all up and painted the whole shelf down.  Before it was too dry (maybe 10-15 minutes), I wiped it down with rag.  I continued applying and wiping until I was satified with the coverage.  Very fun.  But do wear gloves when doing this!

This is the final product:

             I especially loved the school pics of my mom I placed by some of my favorite books. :)  And the shelf below contains a great old photo of my Hubby's Grandpa and his squadron from WWII.  And I also put 3 old cameras on there- all from different eras. 

This has been a nice soft change to my living room. :)

Now I want to paint and panel in here. Any suggestions?