French Linen and Old White Stenciled Dresser

She's finally done!  Whew!!  She's a little shabby, with areas worn down though the paint.  She's a little chic, with her Paris in the Springtime stenciling.  She's done in Annie Sloan French Linen and Old White and sealed with CeCe Caldwell Wax.  I ordered new drawer pulls for the bottom and they will complete her so she can be sold.

My camera sucks, by the way.  Maybe I'll get a new one for Christmas!!  Hint, hint!!

xoxo~Di

Chalk Paint Sofa Table with Etched Glass Top

I found this sofa table and 2 matching end tables and had to have them.  I am not crazy about glass top tables, but I loved the shape and the details.  The bottom of the sofa table had some bubbling veneer.  I tried the iron method, but it just wouldn't lay down.  So, flying by the seat of my pants, I scraped up the bubbled veneer and filled the area with wood filler.  Hmmm, I know I took a picture of that, but can't seem to find it, along with my before pics.  Oh well, I decided to etch a fleur de lis in the glass.  Not knowing whether it would work or not, I grabbed my Armour Etch that I've had for a couple of years and made a stencil out of contact paper.  Well, by golly, it worked!!

Then I decided to add some fleurs to the top of the column legs.  I had a button I got from Goodwill that was the perfect size, so I grabbed my trusty Amazing Molding Putty and got to work!

I painted the table with CeCe Caldwell Cinco Bayou Moss first and then Annie Sloan Old White.  I distressed it heavily, because I like that shabby french farmhouse kind of look, and I'm hoping that someone else will too!  It was my first time using CeCe Caldwell's Clear Wax and WOW!  I am impressed.  I am used to using other waxes that I have to battle with and it went on so smooth and easy that I contacted my stockist, Shelly at Shizzle Design, to make sure that I was doing it right!  Shelly took time out of her busy day to give me all of her tips and tricks and it turned out fabulous!

I may add some dark wax, hmmmmm...I am not sure yet. I don't know how people get done with a piece in a day.  This took me about a week!  Of course, it's a little bit here and a little bit there, but my goodness!  I don't know that I could ever get done in one day! Let me know what you think!  I will post more when I get the end tables done.

Enjoy your day!! :)

My Mess-terpiece

I have been looking at this little table for a while now and just didn't know what to do with it.  I forgot to take before pics, but this little pair of Mersman bunching tables were dark wood, ya know, lilke the Brady Bunch era.

I started messing with it last night.  I painted it in AS Old White, nah!  I put Paris Grey on top.  Kinda plain.  Then I washed it with Cece's Vermont Slate.  I like it better.  Then I added the crown and the typography, which I got from the Graphics Fairy.  Unfortunately, I eyeballed it and the lettering is crooked!!!  Lol!  Oh well.  I put some Martha Metallic Glaze on top of it all.  Wow!!  What a mess!!!  Ha ha!!  Oh well, they weren't my favorite tables anyway!

The first is an indoor shot and the last two are outdoor shots.  I should start a blog on how NOT to do things!  I'm a pro at that!

Chalk Paint Entry Table

My cute little entry table, which was originally a vanity table is complete!  I just love it!  What do you think?

I didn't have time to set it up in nice lighting or stage it, but this gives you an idea of how she turned out.

VACATION!!!

I don't have much to report today.  I was going to do a post on my kitchen cabinets, but I got lazy and didn't take pics, lol, so I am just going to ramble a bit before work.  I only have two more days of work left before I start my ten day vacation!  No planes, no resorts, just kicking it right here in Michigan.  The weather is fantastic today and the weather report says it will continue through the week.  YAY!!  I love fall in Michigan.  There's a nice breeze and the sun is shining!  My kind of weather!  I am spending my vacation with rock stars like Annie Sloan, Cece Caldwell and many religious saints.  I will be painting and soldering!  My 2 favorite things to do.

However, I may sneak off to Cadillac to our cabin for a few days and tire out, oops, I mean play with my puppies that have soooo much energy!  Until tomorrow.......

Chalk Paint Vanity Turned Entry Table

I found this cute vanity table at my local Salvation Army.  I wish I had taken before shots, because she was in ROUGH shape.  Nothing compared to what she is starting to look like now.   This table contains a lot of firsts for me.

I sanded the top down and filled the holes where the mirror was supposed to attach.  I used Cece Caldwell Simply White Chalk Paint on the lower portion and for the first time ever, I tried my hand at glazing.  I used Ralph Lauren Tea Stain Glaze.  Glazing is a lot more difficult than I would have thought, but I think that for my first time, it turned out okay.  Trying to avoid hard lines was the hardest part.  I waxed it with Annie Sloan Clear Wax.

Another first for me was using Webster's Chalk Paint powder.  I mixed it with Behr French Roast.  I was really happy with the way that it went on.  NO BRUSH MARKS!  I had to add a little more powder than the package suggested, but I love this color, so it was okay with me.  I distressed and waxed again.

This is what it looks like so far...

I am still waiting for the glaze to dry on the drawer so I can wax it and finish her up.  I am thinking of dark waxing the top as well.  Let me know what you think!  Thanks for stopping by!

A Chalk Paint Epiphany!

I have been playing with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Cece Caldwell Chalk Paint for a few months now.  It did the job.  It had a decent finish.  Some of my pieces turned out mediocre and some turned out really good, but not good enough for me.  Small pieces, I have not had a problem with, they turn out great, but the furniture, I haven't had the best of luck with.  I have spent quite a bit of money trying to learn how to get the professional finish that I wanted, without traveling to an workshop miles and miles away.  In hindsight, it would have been cheaper to travel all of those miles, but eh, I am a diy girl!  I am self taught!  I can do this!

This is the first weekend that I've had off from everyone and everything.  I am determined to get some of this furniture painting done.  Tonight, while I was struggling with my Coco dresser on the deck, in the dark, with mosquitoes biting me everywhere and low lighting, I finally saw the finish I was looking for!!  I was so excited that I didn't even notice all that buzzing in my ears!  Finally!!!  I wish I could continue to work on it tonight, but those mosquitoes are really eating me up!  So stay tuned!