More Annie Sloan!

 

 

With the addition of my new china cabinet I have been changing things around.  I was not sure where the cabinet was going to go, but I did manage to find the perfect spot!  A few other things had to go to make it work!

 

 

I got this little table from Kirklands years ago!  I have always liked this table.  My sister Kim says it looks like it should walk away.  Ever since she said that I picture that table on stage in Beauty and the Beast!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyways, I decided to paint it.  I have wanted to paint it for awhile, the wood color was making it look dated.  I just was not sure what color.  Now since it was getting a new spot in my home I wanted to get it done!  I went to Carter's Cottage and started looking at all the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint colors.  I have quite a collection here, but I wanted a new color!

 

I decided on French Linen.

 

 

French Linen
A cool neutral khaki grey inspired by bleached deep neutral of old pieces of French and Italian furniture. It works beautifully with golds and a range of rich and bright colours such as Emile and Emperor's Silk

 

 

I skipped taking pictures of the painting process.  I do this when I get on a painting kick.  I just go and forget to stop along the way!  With this piece I wanted to try something new.  I was told to sand after painting and before waxing.  I have never done this because it scares me!  I started to sand once and it seemed to take off the paint and make it look flat so I stopped. ( I often sand to distress a piece but this sanding is different)   After talking to the owner of Carter's Cottage she explained how she did it,  and all her pieces are so smooth!

 

I applied two coats of ASCP in French Linen.  (I mixed a small amount of Old White in with the French Linen to make it abit lighter)

 

Once the second coat was dry I used fine sand paper and sanded away.  This really does change the paint.  Before sanding the surface is chalky (makes sense!)  After sanding it lightens in color a little and is soooo smooth! It actually makes it less chalky looking and much more shiny!  A fine dust of paint comes off but it is not too messy. 

 

I vacuumed off the dust and wiped the table down.  Then coated it with ASCP clear wax.  I used very small amount of the dark wax on it as well. 

 

 

 

I love how this table feels!  :)

 

 

 

 

I love the color too!  It is not too gray, it is a neutral light gray just as described.  It is a very pretty color!

 

 

 

 

 

I moved this guy into our office/den.  It is perfect in this room! 

 

 

Before:

 

 

 

 

After:

 

 

 

 

 

This was a fun project!  I like the color French Linen so much I am looking something else to paint this color!  :)

My experience with mik paint!

 

 I finally tried Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint! As most of you know I have been using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for awhile now and love it!  The store I buy my chalk paint from started selling the milk paint as well.  I was very curious about it.  I have heard mixed reviews and wanted to find out for myself!

 

I was originally planning to paint a cabinet I have had for awhile, but after a hearing a few more iffy reviews of the paint decided to try it out on my $2.00 flea market chair first!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint (MSMP) comes in a powder.  It has to be mixed with warm water. I read that mixing it in a jar with a lid is a good way to get it mixed well.  I followed the directions on the bag.  I had purchased the bonding agent also.  This is supposed to keep the paint from chipping.  I wanted it to chip so decided not to use it.

 

 

 

 

I decided to go with Ironstone.  It is a creamy off white color.  I saw it on some furniture and loved it. 

 

 

 

I used an old pickle jar to mix the paint in. 

 

 

 

It mixed well I thought.  The hard part was reaching my hand and brush into the jar to get the paint.  It got very messy!

 

 

 

Here is one coat.  The paint is much thinner than Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  That could be because of the portions I used.  It does indeed come out with a milky appearance.  It also has an odd musty smell.  (which I kind of liked!)

 

 

 

It dried fairly quickly, but not as fast as ASCP.  I applied a second coat and still felt like it was not covering the best.

 

 

 

Just like this paint is suppose to, it started peeling and chipping after the second coat.  I only took this picture.  I was freaking out abit!  It chipped bad!!  I used sandpaper and a putty knife and removed the chips.  This made a huge mess!!!  I had to shake that blanket out a few times.  The paint flakes were everywhere!

 

I ended up mixing another small batch and adding some of the bonding agent to it.  I did not have much paint left on the chair so went over a few spots.  The paint with the bonding agent bonded well!  It did not move!

 

 

I decided on this blue burlap for the seat cushion.  Hobby Lobby has some cool colors of burlap.  This little piece cost me $2.00.

 

 

Here is the chair completed.  You can see some whiter areas, this is where I added the paint with the bonding agent.  There was no paint on those areas of the chair.  (not sure I should have done that, but I did...) I also put a layer of Annie Sloan clear wax on.  I did not buy any of the wax from Miss Mustard Seed so decided to use what I had.

 

 

 

I am not sure how I feel about this paint.  I was told it is unpredictable and it is.  That is not a bad thing, but on this chair I felt that too much paint came off.  I wanted a chippy white chair so I guess I did get that.  For me this paint was very messy to work with!  In all fairness to Miss Mustard Seed I did not watch any of her videos on this product, I am sure I did a few things wrong. 

 

Alittle of this paint goes a long way.  I want to try it again.  I have seen some beautiful pieces painted with this and I want to figure out how to do that! 

 

 

 

 



My first bench!

Wrapping up January's "Favorite Projects". 

 

 I am ready to wrap up January too and move into spring!  I am excited for some new projects coming up!  :)

 

But first here is one of my very first projects......

 

 When I saw this bench at the flea market I knew it was perfect! I had set out to find a bench for our hallway off our mudroom.  We needed a place to sit to put on our shoes!  I got this bench for $18.00.  I acutally kind of like that funky fabric!

 

   I wanted this bench white.  I was on quite the white kick for awhile.  I had not yet discovered Annie Sloan so I spray painted the bench white.  (after removing the cushions)  I then sanded the edges to rough it up. 

 

 I used painters drop cloth for the fabric.  Cheap cheap cheap!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I added some nail heads to the back.  Easy!!

 

 

 

You can read about the entire project here:

 

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5262909746498862430#editor/target=post;postID=3676572396215870541

 

  

 

 

 

Here it is!  Perfect for that spot!  BUT it has been awhile and I am getting alittle bored with that bench. Plus it gets alot of use so all white was probably not the best choice of colors!  I have some new ideas of how to spice it up!  Stay tuned!  :)


 

More candle ideas!

 

 

I love Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I especially love the color Florence.  I think it looks amazing when the base color is black and it is distressed to show both colors.  I have been looking for something to paint this color in my home. 

 

Here is how Florence is described by Annie Sloan:

 

 

Florence - LIMITED EDITION
This is inspired by the colours of the copper green mineral and semi-precious stone, malachite, and from the same family of stones as azurite and turquoise. In the 17th and 18th century it was used as a colour made with verdigris but as it is a very fugitive colour turning black with time so we are not aware of how it was used on woodwork in many houses. It is a classical colour found in classical Italian furniture.

 

 

I decided on this big black candle stick.  My sister Kim gave this to me many years ago.  She had no where to put it so I took it and stuck it by my front door. 

 

 

 

 

 

 This was a perfect Bears game project!!  I can watch the game and get something done at the same time! 

 

 Cubby loves to watch my projects!  :)

 

 

 

I used two coats of Annie Sloan in Florence.  Then I used a wet scotch bright pad and sanded it heavy.  I wanted a lot of the black to show through.  I protected it with a coat of the clear wax and then a thin layer of the dark wax. 

 

I love how it turned out!!!!

 

I then decided to spice up the boring white candle I had on it.

 

I saw these candles at Pottery Barn. ($16.50-$29.50) I like the burlap texture.

 

 

 

 

SOOOOOO since I had leftover burlap and a hot glue gun I decided to make my own.  I like the real burlap better anyways!

 

 

 

Pretty simple project.  Cutting burlap straight can be a challenge though.  If you pull one of the strings where you are going to be cutting your line, it makes its own line in the fabric.  Then you can just follow that line and it helps!!

 

 

 

 

So easy and so FREE!!!  I made a few extras I liked them so much!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Close-up of Florence with black underneath.

 

 

 

Loving the pop of color!!

 

 

 

Have a great weekend everyone!!!



Elkhorn Flea Market....

 

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a great weekend.  The weather here was amazing!!!

Sunday I spent the entire day at the Elkhorn Flea Market with Kim.  Last one of the year.  Bummed about that!!!  It was a loooooong exhausting day once again but I loved every minute of it! 

 Here we go!! Ready to shop!!!

 

Fall flea markets have amazing mums, pumpkins, veggies, and I even found broom corn for a great price!

 

 

 

I love the two colors!

 

 

 

Not sure what to do with that old birdcage?  Stick a plant in it!



 

I have been seeing so much antique fiesta ware!

 

 

 

 

This antique TV was $850.00.  Wow!!

 

 

 

 

An old bubbler.  I remember when I moved to WA I got off the plane and asked where the bubbler was?  Not a sole knew what I talking about!  Still cracks me up!

 

 

Pretty cool old library index card cabinet.  I love this stuff!

 

 

 

I really like this orange metal stand.  I think it would be great in a kitchen!

 

 

 

We LOVE this vendors things!  LOVE!!  Very industrial and very hip!! 

 

 

 

Brady used to have one of these.  No idea why we ever got rid of it!!

 

 

 

Fire stuff is in.  I should start selling TJ's old fire coats!!!

 

 

 

I have been seeing a lot of these pitchers.  Pretty pricey though, but they catch my eye!

 

 

 

  See the old face powders?  The old brushes and combs remind me of my Grandma Peterson.

 

 

More old brushes and mirrors etc.  I have never seen these at a flea market before.

 

 

 

Grab some vintage Ivory soap and you are all set!!

 

 

I even manage to get my hair done at flea markets!  My parents used to have one of these, not quite this fancy though!!  :)

 

 

 

Kim's husband has been training for the marathon and is getting a bit thin!  :)

 

 

I learned this is how brussel sprouts come.  I never knew that!!

 

 

 

Hippie Tom!  Kim and I are trying out those soy candles he sells.   He was pretty busy but he managed to sign a pic for us!

 

 

This table was painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Barcelona.  I have been wanting to see this color.   I think it looks awesome!

 

 

 

 

This table caught my eye.  Price?  $1250.00!!!!

 

 

 

Cool clock!

 

 

 

Fun colors!

 

 

 

 

So I have talked about our garbage picking before.  Well we were walking around and it was getting to be that time.  Garbage time.  We saw this little (similar to the above) old wash board sitting in the trash.  Kim asked if I wanted it and I thought for a few minutes and then thought it would be really cute in our laundry room.  I grabbed it and we kept walking.  Next thing I know I hear a lady yelling "did she take that?"  Then she starts running after us shouting that we stole the old wash board!!!  I was shocked and a little embarassed!  I tried to tell her it was in the garbage and she kept pointing at the price and saying "no it is $5.00!"  It was SO in the trash!  Maybe she saw me take it and decided it was worth trying to sell again!  It was alittle Awk as my daughter would say!!

 

 

 

That's my sold sticker!  :)

 

 

This is when I usually show you the pickup truck chocked full of our finds.  We had our first flea market mishap so that did not happen.  Kim bought some super cool metal drawers and we wrote down the item and the # of the booth like we always do to pick up at the end.  The drawers were our last thing to pick up and it was booth #1250 according to our notes.  After driving around at least 1.5 hrs we never ever saw #1250, or the vendor, or her drawers.  This has never happened to us before.  

 

 We think the guy gave us the wrong booth # and then maybe got tired of waiting for us?  No idea but we were going crazy trying to find him so by the end we were both so tired we just wanted to go home! Hence no picture!

 

 

 

Here are some of my finds.....

 

Mercury glass,  some cool brown bottles, an old metal bin.  Those books were in the trash.  Who throws away books???

 

 

 

 

I love that little rusty bird.  See the long wood thing?  It is from Mexico.  It is used to make sugar cane.  The vendor showed us the sugar cane that comes from the molds.  She goes to Mexico and brings these back, they are all stamped from customs.  I love that they are the real thing.  I have seen similar ones at stores for much more.  These were $35.00.  I am going to use it for candles!

 

 

I got the wrought iron rusty hooks in the garbage.  Anthro sells these.  I think they could be cool.

 

 

 

I am pretty excited about this table too.  I love the bottom!

 

 

So all in all  it was a great day.  We bumped in to some friends who found some awesome stuff too!

 

A few more things we learned.......

 

*Get our butts out of bed earlier and get there first thing. Like wait in line bright and early first thing!  We are missing some good stuff!

 

*Again-invest in some kind of cart or wagon!!

 

*be very accurate when listening and writing down where we leave things we have paid for!!!

 

Other than it was another successful flea market with my sista!  Love that we get to spend this time together!!