Antiqued Baby Cradle

February 18, 2015 by Terry

This beautiful cradle was originally a light pine color. It seemed to lack character and just wasn’t selling at The Creamery Antique Mall and I had noticed that the vendor had placed a ridiculously low price on it in order to move it. I mentioned to the vendor that instead of giving it away she should just give it some character with a little paint… and so we did!

I took it home and gave it a quick sanding before spraying the entire piece with Espresso spray paint. By spraying it with a dark brown first it gives the paint a nice dark undertone. I was planning on using linen colored milk paint and once it was sanded it would show the espresso a bit.

After the espresso dried I gave it a light sanding and gave it a coat of Linen Milk Paint (MMS). I had actually expected it to chip because of the spray paint but it didn’t at all… I was disappointed as I had envisioned this cradle looking old and chippy. Turns out it may have been for the better anyways as it is quite possible that someone might buy it to actually use as a cradle and we don’t want babies in flaking or chipping paint! Even though the paint would be sealed, there is always a possible loose paint fleck here or there with regular use.

So after sanding the whole piece smooth and distressing the edges and wood nail heads a little I found that it still looked too new and a lot unfinished. I decided to go over the whole piece with antiquing wax (MMS) to help age it along with the distressed paint. This really grabbed all the details of the wood grain and the small imperfections that give it character.

After a final coat of clear wax and a good buffing it was time to style it with some pretty accessories!

My mother had made each of my children a crib set when they were born and I have tucked each of them away to save for them for when they have their first babies. This is one of them…

This one is called an egg crate quilt and it is made out of hundreds of tiny little lacy pillows sewn together and trimmed with more layers of lace and ribbon… so beautiful! It will be something my daughter will be able to keep and pass down to her children.

I kept all kinds of pretty things from when they were babies… each of my children has their own box of special things and I’m glad we carted those things around with us from place to place all these years.

… and they make for great props!

Actually… the little dress was mine when I was a baby.

What a beautiful cradle and it could be used for a boy or girl being the color is gender neutral. It will also look pretty in any room one might move it to…

Maybe a new grandmother to be or a new mother to be will purchase it and love it as much as I do! Maybe it will be purchased for a little girl to place her baby dolls in to take a nap… It doesn’t have to be for real babies :0)

Whoever buys it is lucky… makes me miss the innocence of a baby…. oh the good old days of beautiful sleeping babies!

This cradle can be seen in person or purchased at The Old Creamery or by contacting me by e-mail.