My Experience with Annie Sloan and Chalk Paint

Remember to check out my Pinterest page where I have almost 7,900 pictures of eye candy. I have a couple of hundred more photos to upload but it'll take me a couple of days to get them ready. So far in my Photobucket account I have over 16,600 photos. A great deal of those are on Pinterest.
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 We've had this dining table for probably 30 years now and in the last 6 or 7 years I've wanted to paint it white. I cannot find a photo in my iPhoto that shows it in its original stained oak. There is always a cloth on it. Sorry. This has been what it's looked like at the Living Beautifully household for a week now. Today, hubs ate lunch at that right corner as there is too much wet paint on the drop cloth to eat anywhere else. I'm sure he's going to be thrilled when this is entirely over tonight. Sigh. Me, too!

Anyway, I put it off because I was not looking forward to all the prep work it would take: paint removing, sanding, etc. I've done that to several tables we have had through the years and it's WORK. I am allergic to work! I hate redoing a piece of furniture at my age. It just isn't going to happen.

Several years ago we had a man do a small remodel on this house and I asked him how much he would charge to do the prep work on the table. I would be the one to paint it. He refused. Why? Because it was oak, the sacred wood of men. They just seem to have a problem with painting oak. It was MY table, for Pete's sake! He simply wouldn't. He lost a job for his obstinacy.

So recently after acquiring those 2 French cane back/seat chairs, I thought about painting it again. I posted a question for advice on how to do it without having to kill myself. The answer I got back was "Chalk Paint." No stripping or sanding. Simply dust off the table and wipe off the food and paint it. Sounded good to ME.

Then I had to find Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. It's an English product. It's also very expensive and not very available here in the U.S., let alone Idaho. I did a search for how to make my own chalk paint. There were many recipes for making it. I did the one with ingredients I have here in the house. Some recommended non-sanded grout and others recommended Plaster of Paris. Hubs has a lot of Plaster of Paris. My recipe is:
2 cups of latex paint. I used WM semi-gloss white.
5 Tblsp. of Plaster of Paris
3 Tblsp. of water

I followed directions exactly and it came out beautiful. However, the finish was not semi-gloss, but a chalky-type look. Fine and dandy with me. It also said it dries fast and it did. There was also a warning about the paint recipe drying fast in the small containers you should use instead of using the whole gallon of paint. It didn't dry out at all for me, but if you try it, be careful. I used a Cool-Whip container for the 2 cups.

I put on one coat, covered the container with plastic wrap, sat down reading a book while the first coast dried, which is pretty fast. Then I did a second coat. I set the whole day aside for this so that necessitated sandwiches from Subway for lunch and my usual Friday night dinner out. But it only took a few hours to do everything that needed to be done. Of course, I did 3 or so coats since the wood was a dark oak. NO sanding, NO paint or varnish remover. My kind of endeavor! I was very careful with watching the paint in the container not drying out, but with only 2 cups of paint for a 42" x 42" table with 4 claw foot legs, I'd say that's a heck of an accomplishment with so little paint. I didn't do the leaves because we rarely use them and when we do, a tablecloth covers the them.

Just let me say, this was one of the easiest projects I've ever done. I loved using that paint! I shall find some of Annie Sloan's soft wax and put that on and then shabby it up just a little bit.

Just giving it the first coat.

Almost finished. Two legs in back had to be painted.

Looking good so far.

This is the end result. I am also looking for a new rug for the dining area. I'm leaning towards a white shag, mainly because this is such a dark house with the main areas facing north/south. We'll see what I can find. Having been through the shag period in the 60s, I didn't think I'd want to go it again. But I'm starting to like homes in magazines I've seen with gorgeous shag. It will lighten up this area I think.

This is the first chair. I started it early in the morning and then a friend came over and I got sidetracked for a few hours. The chair was harder by far than the table. It took the better part of the day to get into all the nooks and crannies so I'm doing the other chair tomorrow. Then I'll put the wax on when it comes and do the shabby-ing up with a very fine sandpaper on the table and the chairs. I'm so excited about seeing the end results.

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This pink girly room is just adorable to me. I love everything about it.

See. More chairs and a table painted white with pretty pink fabric on a chair and other fabric on the others.

A bathroom that looks like it's overlooking water.

I love wearing cuffs and this one is very fancy.

Cute adornment.

More painted furniture.

Bright flowers, vases and furniture.

A very serene dining area in the back yard. Lovin' it!

More pretty homes in Europe with love roofs and pots of flowers.

Aren't these candles in these glasses pretty? I like how the homeowner did them. Very clever.

A vintage white table in a room that could be an office, library, dining or living room. Very gorgeous.

A charming patio with all the accoutrements for relaxing.

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Tidbit:
Russian scientists have developed a new drug that prolongs drunkenness and enhances intoxication. My question is "WHY"?!
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Linking up with Ivy & Elephants & Open House Party & SSS and at Transformed Tuesday.  

I Love Bookstores

I thought I'd share the ottoman I've refurbished since I've ironed it. Looks great to me. I am very pleased with it now.

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A sweet fellow blogger, Claudia, did a post on bookstores recently. She and I are avid readers. I'd bet I read more than she reads though. But I read so much and am rarely without a book to read. Once I get down to 2 books left, I start visiting the local used bookstores or order on Amazon. Claudia was extolling the virtues of small or individually owned bookstores as opposed to the giants that dot our cities now. Frankly, I'll buy a book wherever I can find it, but I do love the 3 we have in our town that I visit. But since I may have read all the ones I'm interested in here in town I have to order online. But I love perusing bookstores and getting recommendations from the knowledgeable owners. It has opened my mind to a lot of books I may never have read had it not been for their recommendations. For instance, Janet Evanovich.

I had never read or heard of her until a man at Bent Corners Used Books mentioned her. The first book had me hooked. I went back and bought every single book of hers he had in stock. She is one of the funniest writers I've ever read. I laughed myself silly reading about Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, and her sidekick, a former...uh...woman of the night. Hilarious!

I love Jeffrey Archer and have read every single book he's written so far. To me, he is the best writer alive who writes about different things. Most authors stick to one subject. Not him. He is a fantastic author.

Then there's David Baldacci, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben, James Patterson, Daniel Silva and a few more. But these are my favorites and I buy everything they write. But I digress.

There is nothing like going in to the one downtown here called Yesteryear Book Store. It looks like it may have been an old department store at one time because there are 2 levels. Actually, it's more of a mezzanine but it has books all over the place. There must be hundreds of thousands of books in there. So many that there are stacks on the floor even. I love going in there and the books are pretty cheap also. But I'll always read books I can hold in my hand to feel the paper. I doubt I'll ever succumb to e-books; I just love holding the book too much.

My go-to bookstore. Not very big but I can usually find 10 or 12 books in there to buy.

This one is in the basement of an old church but the books cost a bit more and it's hard to navigate around in there as you can see. I have a friend that works in there a few days a week and she helps me locate books, but I'd spend more money in that one than Bent Corners, which is very, very cheap.

This truly is the biggest supply of books I've ever seen. Our local library doesn't even come close to it in size or number of books. Actually, our town library is rather pathetic and there is parking for a very few cars only, just not worth the time going there.

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Now on to the beautiful photos.

 Apparently, a lot of people, me included, loved this fabric enough to make tea towels out of it.

It's pink, what can I say?!

Roses and laundry hanging on the line. My favorites. ;-)

Beautifully photographed close-up of a flower.

Pretty pin.

One of the most beautiful entry staircases I've ever seen.

Mexican foliage. Beautiful.

They're even doing these craft folded roses on haute couture now. Lovin' it!

Benches with pillows instead of chairs.

Prettily made up vignette.

Nice night for a picnic. :-)

And your favorite: French chateaux.

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Tidbit:
The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem-quality diamond ever discovered. Found in 1905, the original 3,100 carats were cut to make jewels for the British Crown Jewels and the British Royal Family's collection.
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The World's Ugliest Ottoman Transformed!

You get an extra post this week. Isn't that exciting? LOL Anyway, Happy Valentines Day to everyone and hope your sweetheart makes you as happy as mine makes me.
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This is the world's ugliest ottoman and I am almost ashamed to admit I bought it in 1973. Yes, I did! But the upside to this is that as ugly as it is, it's been used every single day since we bought it and hasn't lost its foamy-ness (just try to figure out how to spell that since there isn't a word) or its usefulness or its cushiness. It was well worth the price. The chair it came with is long gone. I just couldn't stand it anymore. Gone to chair heaven with all the other hideous stuff I've bought over the years. Remember, when hubs was a Marine, we took hand-me-downs and whatever we found cheap at garage sales. This was the sixties so you can imagine what we had. This ottoman and its matching chair I actually picked out myself new. Bleecchhhh!! Must have been cheap because I wouldn't even consider it today. That's why I gave it a new cover. This is what I made for it a couple of years ago. It's in the forefront here.

Here it is uncovered, ready for a new fresh cover.

I used a $20 drop cloth from Home Depot and had some left. Now, here's the story.

I used the old cover as a pattern so that worked out well. But when I put the skirt on the two seams were inside out. Now, I did this over a couple of weeks to not get frustrated and hurried and make mistakes. Sigh. Mistakes happened anyway. I ruffled the skirt and them sewed it to the border around the middle with the seam showing on the outside. Hubs told me to just take it apart at the two seams and turn them. I started doing it for then I realized I not only sewed a straight seam but I also sewed a overcast seam and that wouldn't come out as easily. So I thought I'd be creative, leave the seam inside out and add a feather stitch up the seam. Turned out fine. I simply didn't want to take it completely off and turn it around after sewing it on and overcasting all the edges.

This is the top with a ruffle of rose and cream stripe. I still need to iron the whole thing and hem it. But it's pretty much what I wanted to do.

Here is the seam if you look closely. Just a cute embellishment, I must say and there are only 2 seams so that's a bit of luck.

A fence with a plethora of roses on it.

I thought this wintry snow-covered road was beautiful.

Look at those darling little crocheted shoes for a little baby. And those little legs? Adorable!

Just a beautiful look at fall foliage.

Another look at a European village and the beautiful homes and walkways.

A lovely study in blue.

Just can't get enough of these thatched cottages and will display them as long as I can. They are so serene-looking.

And I love looking at dining chairs now that I am on another quest to find 2 more chairs for my dining room.

I love this setting but I think it's more than one tablecloth. I could do this and think I shall when I get some time. First come the dining room table and 2 French chairs, painting them with some chalk paint. This may take a while though. I'll be looking for some old cotton sheets for making the 2 cloths.

I thought this was one of the cheeriest 2 rooms I've ever seen. Just so bright and cute.

This has also given me an idea. I have a chandelier just like this over my dining table but done in pink. But I am going to add some little roses to the lower arms like this. Truly, I can't get enough roses! :-)

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Tidbit:
Worldwide, Norwegians drink the most coffee and have the highest rate of anxiety disorders.
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Linking up with Inspire Me Monday.