Side Table beautification using, you guessed it, Annie Sloan Chalk Paint®

Hello again!

I have one more Annie Sloan® project to share with you before I delve into the chairs I want to work on. There's so much going on in this house, I don't know when I'm going to be able to get around to them. Besides, I need the practice, so I'm starting small...

I also need to upload the photos from our Fourth and share where we enjoyed the fireworks this year. 

But, first, this table. Here is the only *before* photo I had, but you get the idea, right? This table actually came from my mom's house; I brought it home after she passed. It's just a cheap little table that I think she and my dad put together from a kit then stained and poly'd (quite heavily), but I couldn't part with it. It was still in great shape and it held sentimental value. 

I hadn't attempted to paint it in the two years I've had it, it just seemed like too much work. Now I know why...it was meant for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint®! I just had to wait until I discovered it and how easy it is to use.

So, here is the before:

And, here is the *After*:

And here is all the {in-between} 

Unfortunately, I don't have any progress photos. I sort of explain why that is at the end of this post...

To get the grasp on how to prep (surprise! There is none!) and paint this piece, you can check out my very first project using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® paint.   

This time, though, I went ahead and purchased the medium sized Annie Sloan Paint Brush. All of the tutorials I have watched really praised the dynamics of this brush. I wanted to see for myself. I tried the flat brush I used in my last project, and the round ASCP brush. Lo and behold, the AS brush won out. It really did cover the best and the brush strokes were more random, unlike the "too uniform" flat brush. Does that make any sense? ASCP is meant to have texture, brush strokes, and look shabby chic. The beauty is, you get to choose just how shabby, or chic, you want your finished project. And, if you don't like it, you can just slap on another coat, and start all over again! (Which is what I actually had to do this time).

Take a look at the post linked for you above. Go ahead, I'll wait...

        You back? 

                Okay, so, after I put two coats on, with a very short drying time in between, I went ahead and sanded using my 220 sanding block. Now, you can wax it first for a less distressed look, or just go for it before waxing. I just advise to go slowly until you reach your desired effect. However, you can always go back over your project with a little more paint and start again from scratch.

This table came with a lot of detail that was perfect for sanding to show wear and tear. I just sanded all the edges, went over the screws, and along the grain on the table top and flat bottom piece. 

I went all around the table edge, lightly at first, then adding more distressing where I wanted it. 

I then waxed the whole thing. I used a soft wash cloth and the small stenciling brush shown in my last post.  I will be getting a waxing brush very soon, but for this project, I did ok with the smaller brush, as my surfaces were smaller, but for any bigger projects, I will need the ease of use that the waxing brush gives. I've seen a few on Amazon, or you can visit your local Annie Sloan stockist. Don't know who sells ASCP and supplies in your area? Just do a quick Google search!

As I brushed on the wax, I buffed it in and wiped off the excess with an old wash cloth. I let it set up over night before I set anything on it. You want to be sure to let it 'dry' all the way before you set anything atop your furniture, as the wax will still be soft and you probably don't want little *divots* in your surfaces. 

After it was dry, it was good to go. Or so I thought. I had these beautiful orange lilies (no pictures, sorry) that I separated from a larger bouquet that I placed in a vase on this table. Now, with this paint and waxing technique, you are supposed to be able to live with it as normal as a "dipped" piece of furniture. Practically indestructible. 

IF you wax it correctly. 

Which I apparently did not. 

I think I must have put too much wax on, or didn't buff it enough. It was a tiny bit 'sticky' when I was done, but it dried up really well. Maybe I just shouldn't have put one of the most pollen dropping flower I have ever had in my house on this table. Then again, maybe it's just the flower, and not my table. Apparently, you aren't supposed to rub or wipe the pollen off of the surface. (Learn how to remove your own pollen stains here).

Anyway, I did just that. And smeared it. A lot. Then I tried to wash it off with warm water and a cloth, a magic eraser, paper towels, all of which made it much, much worse. I even tried to lightly sand it out. When that didn't work, I just rolled up my sleeves and started sanding away. I just sanded the areas with the dark orange smears as much as I could. I knew I didn't have to go overboard, because, with the miracle that is Annie Sloan Chalk Paint®, you can just paint right over any mistake...wax or not. 

So, I did. I just opened my can, dipped my brush in a little, and swiped a little coat of paint right over the pollen stains. I set it in front of the window to dry, and rechecked it to be sure no stain was seeping through. It didn't, so I moved on to waxing. 

I just put a light coat on with the cloth and buffed it in really good. Let it dry, and it is perfect. No stains, no stickiness. And I'm able to set anything on it.

Well, I think I'll pass on the lilies....

I'm sorry I don't have more pics showing the process, but I didn't know how it was going to turn out. I wasn't even sure I was going to share it. But, I am happy with it, and I now have the practice, and confidence, to jump into those big projects that are waiting for me.

I can't wait to get the chairs done. We have a ton of other projects we need to get under way, including a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom...

But, I'll continue to share as we move along. I hope this encourages you to try this painting technique for yourself. It's so much fun, aside from being easy and quick. There's nothing like instant gratification!

Thanks for reading today and have a great weekend!

Nanette

*The opinions in this post are entirely my own. I have not received any compensation from Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® or any other company mentions in this post.

"Recycled Chic" Ottoman rescue!

Well, hello there! I know I haven't blogged here for quite some time, and for that, I apologize. Life sure can take you on a journey, can't it? Well, I'm really going to try to get my projects underway and get them out to you here. I am! Really!

I've just been putting a lot of time into other things that made their way to the top of my list. Family affairs always come first, and I've been writing on my other blog confessionsofathinkaholic each week. It centers me, and that is precisely what I needed. 

But! I've got several projects that I want to share, so let's get right to it...

So, here is project #1. 

We had a hand-me-down 1970's footstool/Ottoman. I always wanted to cover it, but never found the fabric. Well, Noah and I decided it was time to get at least one small project done, to further freshen up the look of the living room, so we went hunting for some fabric. 

Coupons and sales papers in hand, we commenced the search for the perfect pattern. 

Noah found it. 

I've gotta hand it to him, though. I absolutely LOVE it! It was on sale for 50% off at Hancock fabrics. 100% cotton upholstery fabric. We only needed one yard, luckily, and paid only $12. 

That was our only cost, as we had everything else on hand. I'll tell you what we did, step-by-step, but I just wish I had thought to take pictures along the way. (See what slacking gets you? I went from taking pictures of everything to forgetting to take any at all!!)

The best I can do is describe this beautiful creature to you...

It was brown velvety corduroy,  all worn out and threadbare. It had the 'piping' trim all around. And the padding was completely flattened out. But the legs were in great shape. 

We started by cutting the piping off with a sharp pair of scissors, very close to the seam line. It didn't matter how it looked, really; I was covering it up. I have a TON of quilters batting on hand (and I do mean a ton. So much, in fact, that I gave some away at our last yard sale. I did, because it was given to me for free and I needed room in storage for other stuff, plus...freebies at a yard sale do wonders for business ;) 

Anyway, I laid out a couple of layers of that: a "long on all sides" piece, then a piece that was just slightly larger than the top of the stool to give the top that rounded soft look, and turned my stool over, centering it right on the batting. I then pulled one side at a time of the longer batting just to the bottom edge of the stool and stapled, continuing around until I was satisfied. I trimmed off the excess, and that part was done. It was nice and fluffy.

Next, I took my printed fabric and centered it over the top of my stool. This took a little while as I was not satisfied with where the pattern was laying. When I got it where I wanted, I carefully flipped it over. This is not as hard as it sounds, the fabric is 'see through'. I just made sure it was straight. I pulled the front and back up, and put one staple in it to hold it.

Then we took it outside.

We used the air compressor and staple gun to do the rest. I unscrewed the legs and continued to pull and staple all around--equal on all sides, making sure not to cause any puckering. I left the corners for last. Tucking that much material into square corners can be tricky. And, as this is the first time I've ever done this, I just played with it a little until it looked good, and trimmed where I needed to, and stapled the dickens out of it, nice and tight.

One thing though...be sure NOT to staple your fabric over the holes that your legs get screwed back into or bunch too much fabric around there or you won't be able to get the legs on. But, before you do that, you should staple, or even glue, if you want, a backing on to cover the fabric edges and make your project have that 'finished' look. You can use muslin, but most fabric stores sell the black mesh fabric that you find on the bottoms of chairs and ottomans.

Next, make little holes in the fabric for your legs, screw the legs back in as is, or paint them out. And enjoy your new ottoman! Do you know how much these go for in retail?! Here's one from Target (I didn't even shop "expensive"!) It's close enough to mine, I think...or am I flattering myself? And what would have happened to this had I thrown it out...landfill city! And we don't need that. Not when you can have "Recycled Chic"!

Thanks for reading today...and I have a lot of catching up to do so there may be some fall inspired posts to come...or maybe I'll just wait till fall. It's not that terribly far off, now that I've waited so darn long...

Have a great week!

Nanette

Upcycled Telephone Table

Oh my gosh! How is everyone?! I have been on hiatus for way too long...I do apologize. I really have a lot of projects and adventures to share, I have just had so much going on, it's so hard to find the time to get it all done. I am pretty ambitious, I guess. I want to do it all...right NOW. It sometimes surprises me to realize that I can't do it like I imagine myself doing it. There is always so much that I want to do, I overwhelm myself.

Anyhoo, I have a lovely little telephone table to share with you. First, I must clarify--I did NOT re-do this table. I found it at the Grafton Flea last month. I had to have it. It's just what I would have done, but saved me all the time and put some money in some lovely gal's pocket, to boot! They had so many wonderful up-cycled things in their booth, I just KNOW they watch Flea Market Flip, like Noah and I do.

I walked past this booth twice to get a really good look at all their stuff. I immediately set my eye on this table. I checked the tag...$48.

Whew! A little more than I wanted to pay. I hate to haggle, because I know the work that goes into re-doing furniture pieces, IF they are done right, and not "slopped" together just to make an insane profit. I knew that this was probably an old discarded piece from a garage (free), or at the very least picked up for next to nothing at a yard sale. Heck, they could have even gotten it from someone's curb. I come across a lot of great stuff that way. But, I wanted to be fair. It was done very nicely, and, like I said, exactly how I would have done it. Plus, I'm a sucker for paisley.

I started my haggling...I asked her if she would do it for $30. Yeah, yeah...I know...kind of a low ball offer. But, I didn't want to run the risk that they didn't primer it first.

*Note: Whatever you do, always sand and prime your piece before you paint, unless you have a special paint that boasts "no primer needed", and even then, I'm wary. There is nothing worse for a project than peeling or chipping paint where you don't intend it to do so. You can never quite match up a nice big chip unless, of course, you want the piece distressed and then you can just sand that spot down into a distressed spot.

Ok, where was I? Oh, yeah...haggling. So, thirty was too low, I guess. I got a bit of a grimace. Not too bad of one though, so I knew I had room to keep going. She went $45, I went $38 she went $42. She wasn't moving much, I wanted it, I took it. There you go.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for paisley AND the work already being done for me...this time.




I was longing for something to go next to my front door that I could sort of fake as an entryway since the front opens right into the living room. I had been looking for an old dresser, or would have even settled for a new piece with drawers and cubbies for baskets, which is what I really wanted there, storage is always good, but I fell in love with this and it is the perfect place to sit and put on your shoes.

 Here are some close-ups of the great job these ladies did on the very subtle distressing. Just my style, and not too shabby.

I love how the vintage ash tray's color ties in perfectly with the seat. They are the perfect spot for loose change or keys. And, the paisley really compliments the cut out pattern of the wood in the table front and seat back, don't ya think?

I set the wicker basket I use for my Better Homes and Gardens right under the table, and since there are only three legs, it's a perfect fit!

Edana was an instant fan. Then again, she's always an instant fan of anything new brought into the house.

I have so many other projects of my own to finish. At least two chairs right now and a table or two, and a dresser I'm converting into a buffet for the eat in kitchen. The list goes on and on. Hopefully over the rest of the summer we can get most of what I want done. We are on a week long vacation over my birthday in about three weeks so I have big plans for our "staycation".

I hope you found some inspiration here for your own house. Until next time, thanks for reading!

Nanette