~my other two cents on chalk paint and little provence nightstand~

i love furniture with shapely legs and that french provencale look

so i couldn't wait to get my paintbrush to this cutie-patootie

almost forgot the before photo

~almost, but not quite!~

gave it a dust and wipe down, then set to work

i did lightly sand a couple of spots on top where the paint was starting to peel off, for a smoother finish

and yes, you guessed correctly, Annie Sloan's "provence" chalk paint

so if you read my earlier post on chalk paint here, now you'll get my {long overdue} opinion after using it on multiple pieces

i debated lightening the paint up a little with some old white, but decided to use it as is

 i simply ~adore~ this color

the first coat went on kinda streaky, and i was thinking, okay, we're looking at 3-4 coats here

but once that first coat dried, and i applied the second coat, the coverage was perfect

~yes, i was impressed~

buffed it up with a coat of clear wax

and an old t-shirt

here i ran into a bit of trouble, i left it overnight before buffing and the finish was kinda streaky...

after LOTS of buffing it came right and i love how it turned out

here it is at market shortly before it went to it's new home

~sigh~

sometimes it's hard to let go

as many other bloggers have commented, perhaps the most appealing quality of this paint is the time it saves prior to painting

{you still have to do the sanding/waxing steps afterwards}

in my world i don't have hours and days to devote to projects and painting

sometimes i wish it did, but i just don't

so when i can grab an hour here and there and get right to the painting -without having to sand and prime first-

that's HUGE!!!

{apple green vintage storage box, gave it a wash of old white, heavily sanded and stencilled}

so here's my verdict on Annie Sloan's chalk paint:

PROS:

~ no sanding

~no priming

~saves lots of time and mess

~dries relatively quickly

~sands easily {messy!}

~looks fab waxed up

~easy clean up

CONS:

~pricey, especially if you don't have a local supplier and have to pay shipping

~most of the pieces i've worked on {chairs, benches) have needed a third coat for good coverage

pine bench before

and after

 painted with paris gray, washed with old white, sanded and stencilled

so will I continue to use it?

YES!!!

especially now it was recently released in pure white, and I haven't even played around with mixing colors yet...

before I go, take a peek at a couple more projects I recently painted with ASCP

"goldilock's chair"

before

and after in old white

yes, i get a little carried away when i fire up the mouse

stencilled "paris" and sanded it down to show wear and tear

rustic garden bench in paris gray, love how numbers transform just about anything!

kiddies chairs in provence

{did i mention i'm in love with this color?}

hope you enjoyed seeing some of my projects

Carrie at The Passionate Home is now carrying ASCP, yay!!

linking to Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Take-a-Look Tuesday

Tracey

~old wooden drawers transformed~

i've been wanting to work with some old wooden drawers for a while

but you know how it is when you're actually looking for something!

~it took a while~

i found this one at an antique mall, very ugly but i love how deep it is

{the pull was even uglier, believe me you don't want to see it}

painted it up with Annie Sloan chalk paint (ASCP)

"provence" on the outside, "paris gray" on the inside

buffed it up with clear wax

love the yellow of the sunflower against the blue...

added a sweet sparkly knob

old drawers are a practical (lots of space) and pretty way of storing or displaying things

~yup, i have a thing for blue canning jars~

wouldn't a drawer be great at a wedding filled with wedding favors or mason jars full of lemonade...

before...

and after

this one was a curbside find, also very ugly

{by the way, i gave them a good scrubbing before painting started}

~i'm a bit picky that way~

anyway, this one i left with the decorative pull, sans the pull part

i think it adds a classy and interesting detail on the front of the drawer

this drawer is super wide and got the "old white" touch

repurposed drawers are great in a studio for storage, to display your linens, used to showcase goods for sale

~yup, i have a thing for vintage crystal doorknobs too~

and vintage linens...

 so before...

and after

i'd love to hear if any of you have transformed ugly old drawers

i'm still on the look out for old sewing machine drawers, they are the perfect size for desktop storage in a studio or workroom...

linking up to Take-a-look Tuesday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Tuesday's Treasures

Tracey

PS. These repurposed drawers will be coming with me to Fieldstone Vintage Market next week Saturday

~my two cents on chalk paint~

well peeps my long-awaited package of chalk paint arrived

let me tell you i was in that van so fast to pick them up, just couldn't wait to get started...

{by the way, did you know "fragile" actually means "turn me upside down and toss me around"

especially if it also says "this side up"!!}

now of course they arrived smack-bang in crazy week

but i did get to try them out just a little...

{who needs sleep after all}

i totally love the "provence" the color is so rich and just way nicer in real life than it looks in color swatches

i used it here on this tray

i found a foamie applied best on this surface, but foamies do absorb a lot of paint

so what do i think?

well, the jury is still out for me on chalk paint

i do love how it looks, but it took quite some coats to get good coverage

i look forward to seeing how it performs on a larger piece of furniture

but i totally love the look once the wax is on

i sanded this tray then waxed it and gave it a light buff

(you're supposed to wax, sand, wax again but this worked for me)

it sure showed up the color and detailing beautifully, and gives a little protective finish

i used "old white" to paint this chalkboard frame, which had been giving me trouble with the spray paint bubbling {first sanded off the bubbles}

i applied the paint with a brush this time

the chalk paint gives a great authenic vintage look

so i'll announce my final verdict once i've had a chance to try it out on a larger project

for now i'm really liking it, especially with the wax finish, but it's gonna have to wow me to warrant the price tag for future projects!

Tracey