White lamps!

 

 

I was in Target a few weeks ago and saw these lamps and immediately had to check them out.  This is not the best picture, but I just loved this white lamp.  It was $59.99.  Not a bad price but I was not in the market for lamps so kept walking. (that is hard for me to do!)

 

 

 

A week later I was in Target again and saw the lamp and again had to check it out.  It was on clearance now for $34.00.  Not bad......

 

 

 

 

A few days ago I was shopping and saw the lamp again.  This time the lamps were down to $17.00!  Now that is a deal! These are heavy nice lamps! (they had 3 left at this time)   I decided to think a little more and come back.  I went back early the next morning and  only 1 lamp was left!!  I needed two!

 

Then I saw a lady with MY two lamps in her cart! I stayed around her for awhile in case she decided to put them back.  She did not.  ( I probably creeped her out too!)

 

 I grabbed the one lamp and had customer service check other stores and the Target down the street had another one.  Whew!  So long story short I now own the two white lamps I had my eye on for weeks.  I paid $34.00 instead of $120.00. 

 

I think I got a pretty great deal on these lamps!  Here are a few similar.  

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Adler Nelson-$395.00

 

 

 

Lamps Plus -$213.00

 

 

 

Pottery Barn-$129.00

 

 Arteriors Paulette Table Lamp - $478   

 

 

 

 

 

 These are the lamps I had in my family room. (sorry for the blurry pic!)  I bought them a few years ago from Pottery Barn.  I still like them so will to try and find another spot for them.   

 

 

Here are the new lamps....

 



 

 

 

 

 

I love these lamps! 

 

Sometimes all it takes is a little paint!

 

 

I have had this wood wine rack for years.  I bought it at Kirklands.  (the Kirklands near my home is out of business, I just saw that the other day!)  It has served its purpose well over the years.  Lately I have been looking at it knowing it needed something.  I was not ready to get rid of it, I actually like it in that little corner.  I was getting tired of the BROWN!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been on a lightning up my home kick for awhile now.  It was time to give this little guy a makeover.  The little crystal knob is from Hobby Lobby.  I added that to spruce it up a few months ago.

 

 

I decided on Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White.

 

Old White (Chalk)

The colour of chalk and gesso, a cool soft white without pink or yellow in it. A colour which works with everything but for the quintessential French look use it over Paris Grey.
We also suggest adding it to the other colours to make them the exact tone for your room

 

 

Old White is by far my most used color.  I think it is a perfect off white. 

 

This project was pretty simple.  It took two coats of ASCP.  After it dried I did some heavy sanding.  I wanted this distressed and worn looking.  Then I followed it up with a coat of clear wax.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of those projects that I should have done a long time ago.  I love this cabinet white!

 

This dining room has gone through quite a few changes over the years.  Here is a before picture the first year we lived here:

 

 

Before:

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite color was brown!  I loved this room, it was cozy and warm.  I got a lot of my accents pieces from Bombay Furniture.  I loved that store!  It has been out of business for quite a few years now.

  

 

 

Here is the dining room today:

 

After:

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

So happy with this room now!  :)

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!