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A whole lot of painting going on...

 

Way back yonder I dragged this steal of a deal home from an antique store. It was painted a lemony yellow...not a color that will blend with my new decorating direction.

First coat of the Annie Sloan chalk paint in Old White applied...several more steps to go before she's finished. Didn't even use a drop cloth!!! Please don't tell my hubby...he's away on a business trip which is why I can get away with such antics.

He's a rule follower....big time. I know I give him headaches. A lot.

 

When he starts a project, he sticks with it until its completed.

Me? Well...here's a good example. Paint swatches randomly slapped on our walls have graced our abode for longer than I want to admit. {but on a redeeming note, i've made my decision and the paint is in the garage waiting for the painters to come. the painters i haven't hired yet, that is...}

I needed time to think about it. Plus, the wheels in my brain spin constantly. And before the ideas disappear I sort of need to mark my spot. That way I'll have a visual reminder of what I was thinking about earlier.  

Let me illustrate...midstream while painting the hutch, I wondered in my spinning brain if I should paint out the two curio cabinets in the dining room as well.

So I just slapped a little of the Old White Annie Sloan paint on one of 'em just to take my idea for a test run, so to speak.

 
Thankfully I like the way it will look with the dining room chairs I'm painting out. So what was my plan B if plan A didn't work? I don't know. My brain spinners never got that far..........LOL!

What I won't show you, is that in this same room, there is a wall filled with paint swatches in various shades of muted/frenchy/robin eggs blue...the new color direction for this room.

Some {all?} of you are horrified right now, aren't you? Don't be. It always works out. Usually. Just ask my dolly friend who lives in the curio cabinet I randomly slapped some paint on as stood idly by watching... 

And often times during this latest painting spree, I'll head up to my art room and go to class.

 
My recently cleaned up table is now back to its messy usual self. But that's okay because I am thoroughly ENJOYING Christy Tomlinson's She Art online class. Fun. Fun. Fun.

 
I adore her style...and her videos are so well done...for my first attempt, I'm using an 11x14 canvas board I just happened to have in my stash.

 
There are still lots more layers and techniques that will be applied before I'm finished with this board. I just happen to have a frame that will work perfectly for this canvas...

...and you guessed it....it needs to be painted first.

But I always put down protective covering when I'm painting frames. I mean, duh. Did you think I didn't know any better?!!

Are you a rule follower, bender, ignorer, or a hybrid mix? Pray for me, okay?!

Xo, Sue

 

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

 
I first read about this paint on Miss Mustard Seed's blog. Oh my....

No sanding, no primer, no nothing needed before you paint a piece of furniture. Seriously? Even over varnish? Even over varnish.

After watching this video on her blog about waxing versus using a poly sealer I placed my orders for a few cans of the paint, two kinds of wax and the special waxing brush you see in my photo above...on this link she talks a little more about the paint and places to order it.

 But even if you're not in the market to paint some furniture, her blog is very inspiring! You might even discover after visiting that you now NEED to paint some furniture.

 
As soon as I opened the box of paint, I could hardly wait to try it out. Right in the middle of my floor. [not recommended by anyone who knows better] Sanding the piece for distressing purposes in the middle of your house is an even worse idea. Naturally....I did this too. Just once....never again!!!!! 

 
One dining room chair down...

 
...seven more to go...not to mention several other pieces I plan to tackle. The bids to have everything refinished by a pro was going to be a lot...

 
But it was obvious something needed to be done... Let's just call this style of distressing "puppy love".... Most of our chairs look as if we raise beavers inside our house!!! Grrrrr.... But our little puppy has grown up now and no longer chews furniture....thank goodness.

 
The cream colored paint from the Annie Sloan line after adding some wax matched my corner cabinet in the kitchen just beautifully. I painted part of one chair to test it out. That's the beauty of this paint...even after waxing it {or applying poly} if you don't like it, just paint over it.

Sadly enough, puppy did a number on all of those chairs too. One puppy with sharp teeth left unattended for even three minutes can inflict unbelievable damage.

But somewhere over the course of last week in all of my decorating scheming, I decided to go another direction with the chairs.

 
I ordered these........! One meal of spaghetti with a pack of teenage boys will let me know rather quickly whether I made a huge mistake. The old chairs will find a new home and purpose in our basement.

Incidentally, you can use this paint to make chalkboards too....check out the Annie Sloan website to see all the colors available. Or mix a couple of colors for your own custom color.

Wishing you all a wonderful week of living creatively!

Shabby love...

 

 

Photos from little treasures found in my studio.

Shabby, as defined by Webster, can include such words as:

               ~ ill kept

               ~dilapidated

              ~ inferior in quality

               ~mean

               ~despicable

But to those of us who love shabby, we would use words like:

               ~warmth

               ~relaxed

               ~character

               ~interest

               ~inviting

               ~comfortably cozy

               ~history

Do you suppose the differences in our perceptions has to do with love?

Makes me wonder how many other things in life, if viewed through the eyes of love, could be elevated to a more favorable position?

Deckle frames designed by K. Pertiet