Annie Sloan Duck Egg Chalk Paint Experience

I broke down and purchased some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I wanted to see if the homemade chalk paint that I had been using could be topped. This whole repurposing thingy is new to me and I wanted to make sure that it was not just a blip in my already busy schedule. I am totally hooked and don't see it coming to an end any time soon, as a matter of fact I found a new job for my wonderful husband who is about to retire. He is getting into the action too, although he is not too sure about this distressing thingy. Just wait I will sway him to my side soon! The side effect of having a very special relationship after all these years, a lot of work but we are both reaping the benefits of it.

I bought this table for $4.00 at one of my favorite thrift stores. It was full of missing chunks of wood on the edges, looks like someone loved to vacuum rather quickly. I sanded down the sides to make the table useful.Here is the table after the paint, gold leaf wax and paste wax job. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the table prior to the excitement of trying my new paint.

I really love the gold leaf wax on the upper edge of the table. Gives the table a very "French" look. I have to say that I am in love with this paint and I probably will not go back to my homemade paint, even though it worked great, as well. I used less than 1/4 of the Annie Sloan quart, even with two coats. It distresses really easily, my homemade paint did not.

I loved this paint so much that I went back to the store the following day and bought two more quarts (different colors, of course). This store is not close - about an hour and a quarter drive. If you are hesitating to try this paint because of the price - sell one of your masterpieces with the goal in mind of using the proceeds to try Annie Sloan chalk paint. I believe that you will not be disappointed!

I am linking this project to:

Paris Apartment Shabby Chic Tiered Side Table

Table prior to makeover (side view above and view from front below). As you can see, dark and drab! Surely not something I would have in my house. It is however, a solid piece of maple furniture. Couldn't pass it up, as the store had priced it at $4.00. Even if my project was a complete failure, I did not have much to lose.

I wanted to try my hand at repurposing furniture. This is my first attempt. I spent many hours trying to figure out what I was going to do and how to do it. I love shabby chic and wanted to create that look. I happened across chalkpaint and even a recipe for chalkpaint using powdered calcium carbonate. Spent an afternoon going from one health food store to another, you have to understand that I live in a pretty rural area, so I traveled quite some distance just to get to one store, let alone three other stores. Fortunately two stores were in close proximity of each other and then the last two stores were also in close proximity to each other. Came up short in all four places. Just happened to go to Walgreens as I was leaving the second town to go home, defeated. I happened to pass Tums and stopped dead in my track with a light going off in my brain. Tums is calcium ..... I wonder what other ingredients are in Tums. Can you believe - it was calcium carbonate. Oh my goodness! Now I was in a quandry, as I needed powder and also Tums are flavored and colored. My mind went into high gear and I decided to buy the peppermint Tums, as they were white. I thought that I could put the Tums in a plastic bag and smash with a hammer to create a powder. A few minutes later I thought about my Cuisinart food processor, after all it could probably powder the Tums in no time!

Viola! The final product. Two coats of homemade chalkpaint and a freezer paper French label (thanks to Graphics Fairy, LLC) transfer burnished on the bottom tier. Does not even look like the same table,my husband doesn't believe me that the before picture is the same table. Not bad for a first project and an unbelievable cost of under $10.00.

I am visiting and posting to these blog parties. Won't you please join me?

Rest in Peace Sweet Emily

Sad last 24 hours. My dear 18 yo niece passed away on February 5. She suffered a fatal asthma attack. Her life was short and oh so hard. The last time I saw her she was lovingly doting on and caring for her dying grandma, as we all sat together in the hospice house where my mom spent her last week of life. You see, my mom and aunt were the primary caretakers for my niece and her brother becuase their mom and dad were struggling with their own mental health issues. They were in the picture, but had a difficult time parenting full-time.

I know that Emily is in a better place, back with her grandma that she so greatly loved, with her maternal grandfather that she never met, as he died from cancer 16 years prior to her birth and her paternal grandfather that passed away when she was a toddler.

It is never easy when a young person passes before they have a chance to enjoy their adult years. However, she was a child of innonence and struggled after her grandmother passed. Highly intelligent, she was bored by school and flunked because she refused to turn in her homework, though she would pass her tests with percents in the high 90's or even 100. She asked me one day why it was so important to turn in homework, if she could pass the test without studying. And with that I could only answer that it was about the rules, because logically she was right.

Fly, fly away with the angels sweet, Emily!