Annie Sloan Coco Paint: Before and After

My love of Annie Sloan paint is no secret.
It began two years ago with this
small stool project.

and bloomed...

to this beautiful Duck Egg and Old White mirror..

(I wish I had NEVER sold it!)

On to the side table in Duck Egg...

and the old fixer upper chair again in Old White...

the gray birthday chair for Susan..

.then came knee surgery and a break...

but this weekend...the urge to paint with AS returned.



I found this lantern at a yard sale for $3.

It was marked at $11.99 originally.

It was very heavy and had great

glass panels.

 







This is what she became!

Here's a quick  step by step.

 

 

Carefully remove all glass panels.



Step 1: Using Annie Sloan CoCo, paint all sections of lantern (no small feat!)

In reality, this color looks like light chocolate milk.




2. Using a sanding sponge, distress around edges and sides.
Distressing should be done wherever an item might
receive normal wear and tear.
If you remove too much paint,
go back and paint over the area and let dry before
distressing.
 Use a light or heavy hand depending on the desired look.

#3. Using Annie's wonderful waxing brush and her clear wax,
cover all areas. Let this "dry" for a few minutes.
Chalk paint is very porous. The wax seeps into the holes
and grabs the paint for a very durable finish.







The lantern has now been painted, distressed and clear waxed.



#4. Using a brush just for dark wax, repeat the waxing procedure
except this time, use AS's Dark wax.



 Leave excess wax in areas that you want to appear darker.

Carefully wax in small sections at a time.

The wax dries quickly. If too much dark wax is applied,

use a small amount of clear wax on a rag to wipe away the excess.

Do NOT cover the entire project with dark wax and then try to wipe it off.

Work in small sections ONLY!

One other pointer: I always wax with clear wax before I use the dark.

The dark wax grabs onto the paint and seeps into the pores

and is usually too dark for my taste.

(This is, of course, a matter of preference.)

#5. After the wax dries 30 minutes to overnight,
buff with a soft cloth.



I love this, so very much....



What have you done with Annie Sloan paint lately?



Angela

Oh, We Had Hot Dogs and Potato Chips!

Most men are more or less defined by their jobs...whether this is right or wrong, (understand that I am not speaking in a religious vein, but in a practical everyday one). Men derive some of their self worth from being able to provide well for their family.

Women, on the other hand, seem to derive some of their self esteem by the state of their homes. (Now, you know it's true)...Once, when my son was about 8 or 9, he called me at work to let me know that he and Daddy had brought home a visitor for lunch. I thought he was referring to another child, but he was referring to a very well known coach from a university! I almost died. "What did you have to eat?" There was NOTHING in the refrigerator remotely worthy of someone famous. I had that beginning panicky feeling. "Oh," he replied, "We had hot dogs and potato chips. And don't worry, I put out a clean towel in the bathroom." Yes, that thud you heard was my heart hitting my feet. How could he do such a thoughtless thing?...You see, my house was a semi-wreck that day, and I was mortified. Were the men? Not mine...probably not the "famous" coach either, but I will never know.

So keeping my house in decent condition has always been a priority to me. (Never know when you might entertain royalty.) I noticed that every few months I grew tired of the way something looked and began a "search" for something to perk up the atmosphere. Nothing wrong with that...right? But to do that over and over seemed like it was bordering on obsession and never being satisfied. I began to feel uneasy ...was something wrong with me? And then something happened that changed my perspective... I got a room decorated and it stayed that way for several years. Wonder of wonders, I still liked it. What was the difference?

I know the answer to this age old question...WHY CAN'T WOMEN BE SATISFIED WITH WHAT THEY HAVE? Answer: Because we are so used to putting others first, that we have to skimp on details of the home that would make us feel comfortable...finally. For example, a new couch is needed. The old one is well, old and dirty and fraying. But Junior needs braces, so we throw a slip cover over the couch and make do until Junior's bite is corrected. All the while, avoiding eye contact with said slouchy couch. There is this underlying feeling of dissatisfaction in "that" area of the room...but we do our best to bury it.

 Get to the point, mam...just the facts, please. Ok, here it is. When I am able to decorate even in a modest way, it makes me feel better temporarily. But when, I decorate in a more substantial way (aka spending more AND GETTING SOMETHING THAT WILL LAST) I feel more settled longer...maybe even for several years. Maybe forever!  So, the answer to feeling better about your home is this...besides cleaning it...SAVE UP FOR WHAT YOU REALLY WANT AND MAKE PURCHASES WISELY. Make do with inexpensive trendy items until you can do what will give you lasting pleasure. Does this make sense?

Here is an example. Swags I made 15 years ago were still doing their job.
Did I love them? Fabric, yes...style, uh, no.



Whala! New updated drapes and I love it! Makes the room seem larger and lighter.
Even though I feel guilty for letting the old swags go...they served us well.

I added this centerpiece after the pictures.



A friend gave me this toile planter years ago...it works just right now!

I updated the buffet lamps with shades that have a leaf design on the lining.
They came from my bedroom.  (The value of using a similar color palette throughout
your home is re-arranging is so much easier.)

Cloche with nest and Peter's Pottery bluebird add "the hope of Spring" touch.



I brought out a small glass cabinet and added my lambs, some redware and
my great grandfather's little Webster's dictionary.



My hutch needed a good cleaning and I added some painted metal hearts that sport tiny bird's nests.





February signals time to bring out some of my vintage Valentines.
One of my favorite holidays!!



Even the bathroom got a little touch of spring.
I found the print bath cloth on sale for fifty cents...
The bottom line is trendy is ok, in small doses...but saving for a substantial
upgrade is more satisfying in the long run.

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY,



Sometimes Old is Better

Every once in awhile, something about decorating just clicks with me. It's like the light bulbs you see go off over someone's head in a cartoon.

While straightening up in my guest bathroom the other day, I had one of those moments. To the right of the double vanity in the room is a small wall. It needed some art and I had bought two inexpensive prints several years ago. They filled in the void but they were never exactly what I wanted.

Recently, I was given two very old oriental prints and promptly cleaned the glass and the frames and popped on a price tag. While I was cleaning the bathroom, it occurred to me that the colors in the two oriental prints were perfect for this  area!

Home they came and settled into their new space quite nicely.

I like to mix new and old.

Updating certain elements of a room

and then introducing something with some wear and tear

always makes a room feel homey.

This rather new apothecary jar is filled with sea glass that catches the light and matches the colors in the oriental prints.

Notice, how the jar is set on a lacy vintage glass square.

Again, using the old with the new.

In another bath, I use brushed nickel fixtures, new pottery and have added new "spa" towels.

 A very old picture with wavy glass tops off the tub area, thus adding something "old".

I won these beautiful needlepoint pictures (dated 1943 on back) on Ebay.

These are also in the same bath. You can see the nickel outlet below them.

On the flip side of this coin, sometimes I take very new frames and mats and make them look "older".

In the picture above, I painted the frame with spray automotive paint (dark bronze), popped out the picture and the mat. I covered the mat with tissue paper and painted the white scrolls.

I found a free vintage print online and put it in.

This toned down the gold frame and the very new looking mat.

I say, sometimes, old IS better!

Mirror, Mirror On the Wall....

Can you stand one more post on the Annie Sloan Chalk paint? Today I remembered a lovely gold leaf mirror that was hiding at Dwellings. I grabbed it and as you can see, it was quite pretty just as it was...however,

Just a little too gold for my taste.

So I "Old Whited" it and let it dry.

Then I "Duck Egg" blued it and wiped away both colors on some areas so the gold could twinkle through. A little clear wax all over and dark wax in a few areas finished it off.

Look up close and you will see the sheen that the clear wax imparted and the depth that the dark wax added.
This added so much beauty that I was astonished at how easy and how fun it was to do the transformation.

I also had a small wrought iron piece that needed a little attention.

Above BEFORE. Below AFTER.


Hope you will try this paint soon!

Annie Sloan Paint

Guess you all have heard about Annie Sloan paint...I've been talking about it for months, but have just now slowed down enough to actually be able to use it. Today, my friend, Libby and I went to "Paint", a little store in the Fondren area of Jackson to look up close and personal. Libby has used the paint, I, on the other hand, have only drooled. I chose Duck Egg...a beautiful blue that my pictures don't do justice to at all!

Below is my pitiful little maple side table..in bad need of a makeover! The only problem with maple is once you have it, IT NEVER WEARS OUT!

One coat is all this chalk paint requires (NO! it's not the same thing as chalkboard paint, even though you can use it for chalkboards, too.) Below is the table in the drying phase.

After painting, I waxed with light wax, buffed, distressed and waxed with dark wax.


I am debating on the two pillow choices. Which do you like?



I also did a quick plastic frame makeover.

Again, my lighting just doesn't show up how pretty the blue is peeking out from under the Old White.

This paint is pricey...but worth it. I barely could tell I'd used any from the can. It really goes along way. As I do more items, I will post. The 30 or so colors they have are all really neat! To see them, go to Annie Sloan's website.