My friend at the Cozy Crop House and I were chatting the other day (we're really good at that), and I noticed a very ugly piece in her crop room that looked like this:
I looked at her, trying not to appear rude, and stated, "WHAT is that?" I mean, the Cozy Crop House is a wonderful retreat home for women who want to get away from the mayhem, pack up burgeoning rolling totes and canvas bags of scrapbooking supplies, rushing away from the demands of kids, husbands, jobs, neighbors, family members, people that they wish weren't family members...you get the idea. So, why was this piece of C-R-A-_ here is this great business? She told me that she bought it at a local yard sale for a buck (thank goodness she didn't pay any more than that!). It apparently belonged to a little girl who was obviously given the privilege of painting this item without the benefit of basic painting technique instruction. My friend, Kate, said that she bought it to put tea bags inside, but hadn't gotten around to doing anything with it.
After having told her that I have recently had some time to do some decorative painting, she jokingly said, "Here, do you want to paint this?"
So, I took it home, not thinking I'd get to it for a while, but HubbyDoc is on vacation this week. We didn't have any concrete plans, so I've been having fun. Here's what it looks like now:
It's inspired by Miss Mustard Seed. Here's one of the sides:
I used Louis Blue Chalk Paint as a base, dry brushed Paris Grey Chalk Paint on top, dry brushed the Old White Chalk Paint, and then finished with a coat of oak Briwax and clear Briwax. I also distressed it a little, but not too much for fear of bringing back the lovely multi-colored striations.
Here are 2 more views:
I can't wait to give it back to her. I really want to create some lovely altered paper craft rectangles to put in the openings, so if I do, I'll take some pics and show you the final project. Now, on to the cook book shelf for the kitchen. I'm loving this Chalk Paint!
So about chalk paint. There are some distinct advantages:
1. You don't need a primer.
2. Often, only one coat is needed.
3. Clean-up is a breeze. It washes very easily.
4. It's very distressible.
5. It paints on virtually anything. I painted on a piece of ceramic and the coverage was great.
However, there are some downfalls:
1. It is quite expensive- about $36 per quart. However, since it covers so well, you don't need much for a project, and you don't have to prime, so you save lots of time.
2. If you're painting a piece that's going to get a lot of wear, you will need to wax the piece to give it a more durable finish, so if you don't like waxing, stick with your semi-gloss paint.
3. It's very powdery when you sand it, so there may be a little more clean-up than normal.
So, there are the goods and bads of it. However, I'm LOVING my chalk paint and have several projects lined up, including my bedroom furniture. Can't wait for that!
Thanks for looking!
Fondly, Tami
After having told her that I have recently had some time to do some decorative painting, she jokingly said, "Here, do you want to paint this?"
So, I took it home, not thinking I'd get to it for a while, but HubbyDoc is on vacation this week. We didn't have any concrete plans, so I've been having fun. Here's what it looks like now:
Here are 2 more views:
I can't wait to give it back to her. I really want to create some lovely altered paper craft rectangles to put in the openings, so if I do, I'll take some pics and show you the final project. Now, on to the cook book shelf for the kitchen. I'm loving this Chalk Paint!
So about chalk paint. There are some distinct advantages:
1. You don't need a primer.
2. Often, only one coat is needed.
3. Clean-up is a breeze. It washes very easily.
4. It's very distressible.
5. It paints on virtually anything. I painted on a piece of ceramic and the coverage was great.
However, there are some downfalls:
1. It is quite expensive- about $36 per quart. However, since it covers so well, you don't need much for a project, and you don't have to prime, so you save lots of time.
2. If you're painting a piece that's going to get a lot of wear, you will need to wax the piece to give it a more durable finish, so if you don't like waxing, stick with your semi-gloss paint.
3. It's very powdery when you sand it, so there may be a little more clean-up than normal.
So, there are the goods and bads of it. However, I'm LOVING my chalk paint and have several projects lined up, including my bedroom furniture. Can't wait for that!
Thanks for looking!
Fondly, Tami
