Sunday, June 26, 2011

All That Jazz Gets Invaded By Furniture!


 I FINALLY got this passel of furniture hauled to All That Jazz. It was beginning to look like a warehouse around here. I've never had this much to take up at one time. Usually when a piece is done it gets taken up right away but due to scheduling conflicts and just plain laziness on my part, it took forever. I hate hauling furniture around quite frankly.



It took two trips but after some finagling by my Mom and I, we got it all squeezed in.



Oops, we forgot to change that chalkboard! It's been that way since Mother's Day. Not that you shouldn't hug your Mother just because it's no longer Mother's Day!





(horrible picture alert)



I gave a sneak peek at this dresser last week on my Loveleigh Treasures blog...



Here's what she looked like after the paint, but before the distressing and wax process.



The finished product. I think this is one of my favorite pieces I've done so far.






Then there was this sweet french style nightstand from the Goodwill...



After. You can't really see the true color due to the horrible picture but it's the most beautiful blue. Annie Sloan's Louis Blue. I think it's my favorite color of Chalk Paint.









A vintage children's dresser, it's Louis Blue as well.


(horrible picture alert again)

And then we have this lonely little dresser. Sitting to the side. Watching all the action in the booth and not getting to join the fun. Why, you ask? Because it sold before we even got it in the space. It was just waiting on it's owner to finish shopping and come back and get it.


A few of you have asked me where I got my Chalk Paint. I don't live close enough to a stockist so I had to order it and have it delivered. I have placed 2 separate orders.

The first is the most local stockist to me, The Bella Bungalow, in Arlington Washington. They were very prompt with their order and I had absolutely no problems. However they only ship out on Thursdays so keep that in mind if you place an order. I think I ordered on a Friday and had to wait a whole extra week until Thursday rolled around and on top of that it was Memorial Day weekend. So I was waiting a while.

My second order was with Robyn Story Designs and Boutique.  I placed an order with them because they were having a free shipping special and I just couldn't pass that up right! I ordered 2 more cans of paint and 2 wax brushes that The Bella Bungalow didn't have in stock when I ordered. This order took almost a week but it had to come all the way from Tampa, Florida so I think it made pretty good time. I have learned Robyn Story Designs has their paint about $4 cheaper per can and they also don't have a handling fee so I believe that will give you more bang for your buck. They are both a great option. I didn't have any problems with either and would place an order with them both again.

I have been informed by Miss Michelle that she won't be posting here much any more so I guess it will be left to me to keep you up on all the Jazz business. Michelle said she will pop in when she gets her Etsy shop up and running.

For now I roll with the changes. Stay tuned later in the week when I share information about a local Antique Fest coming up on July 8, 9 and 10th. The whole Centralia downtown "Antique Row" turns out with great discounts and vendors line the streets. It's tremendous fun and you can find some great junk!

~Tara

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Little Crown


I love this little crown. This is how I made it:

  • I hand-drew a crown pattern, around 2" wide, on a piece of construction paper.
  • I traced it onto an old silver shopping bag and cut out several (to make a thicker one, try using tagboard.)
  • I spread Elmer's glue thickly all over the top of the crown.
  • I sprinkled on craft glitter (wish I used German glass glitter, it's much prettier!)
  • After the crown was dry I added the flower detail. The little fabric flower and rhinestones were picked up from a local craft/scrapbook store, they have a variety of color combinations!
  • I used Tacky glue to attach the flower and the rhinestone (even though the rhinestone was an adhesive.)
  • Glue the little crown together to close it up.
This is a simple craft children can do! These look great on top of vintage bottles, decorating tables at parties, inside glass trinket boxes, or just as special gifts! The one I featured was on top of Spanish moss, inside a cheese plate painted tourqoise. Magical!

~michelle~

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Chalkpaint...Makeovers and Thoughts


Now you all know my Chalk Paint came last week. I immediately got down and dirty.

*CAUTION~Long post ahead

 Louis Blue and Clear Wax


Here's my first project. A vintage child's dresser I found at Goodwill. I forgot the before picture, but just picture the usual reddish stain with candle wax stuck to the top and in the inside of the drawers and you get the basic idea. I actually primed this piece. Annie Sloan does say you don't have to prime when using this paint but it was a well used little piece with quite a few stains and I had to sand due to the wax. It was quite thick in some places but smelled good when I sanded! I could smell it through my mask. Maybe that means I need a new mask.


I painted with the primer first and let it dry for about an hour. I was indoors so it dried fast. So I was soon able to add the Louis Blue. I think it actually worked quite well and don't think you can tell it's a primer underneath. Primer actually has a flatter texture like the Chalk Paint so I thought they gelled pretty well. I am also trying to save my Old White paint since it's so spendy, I want to use it on "better" pieces. This paint does dry really fast which can be good and bad. I'll explain later. I only added one coat of the blue and let it dry overnight. I distressed the next day but waited to add the wax until I had several pieces to do at once.


I also had to take the time to prime and paint (using regular latex paint) the inside of the drawers, thanks to the candle wax and other mystery stains. It just helped freshen the whole piece. No pricey Chalk Paint on the inside I am afraid!



Project  #1 down!



On to project #2


Aubusson and Clear Wax

Alright. Now I know I told you primer wasn't necessary, however, when working with pressboard, that has some swelling and needs some serious sanding, I decided once again to bring out the sander and primer. I wish all my pieces could be top grade wood with no issues, but alas, it's not to be. So, I sanded, I primed and I added 2 coats of Aubusson Blue. I have read this paint is supposed to stretch really far but I had to use 1/3 of the can on this baby. It had a lot of sides and nooks and crannies to it and it just seemed an endless job.

*please excuse the cardboard and miscellaneous bits and pieces in the background! A girl has to work where she can and doesn't always have a pretty display place available. Not to mention who wants to haul this stuff around unless they have to. As for the flowers, things just look better when staged with a pretty jug of pink blooms!


But I thought it turned out pretty well, all things considered. I actually distressed after the first coat to see what it would look like but didn't like it on this particular piece. I did 2 coats of wax since it's a desk and it's possible it could see heavy use. I still need to find some new knobs before it's finished. It came fully furnished with eagle knobs. NOT my thing. I'm thinking clear glass/crystal.



Project #3


Old White undercoating, Duck Egg on top, Clear Wax, Dark Wax

This time, NO PRIMER! Just a bit of minor sanding on a couple scratches that were bugging me. I straightaway slapped on a coat of my Old White. Once again, it dried fairly quickly. I was outside this time but it was warm out. By the time I finished with the white, the first pieces were dry and I was able to paint right over it with the Duck Egg blue. I LOVE this aspect of the Chalk Paint since I can be a wee bit impatient.



The next day I added the clear wax. It dried fast again because it was warm and breezy out. I buffed it out and added the dark wax. Problem. I should have done more research before I did this step. Once it's on. It's on. I guess you're supposed to apply the clear wax, then the dark, wiping away any dark you don't want left on. Then letting it dry before buffing it out. I buffed after each wax instead of applying both waxes and only buffing once. Live and learn. I hadn't intended to make it look so heavily antiqued but am liking the look more and more as the paint settles.






Yep, I think I'm loving it.



Project #4

A WIP
Work in progress

No primer, straight paint on wood. You can see I once again had the sander working out some scratches.



Duck Egg

I'll add another coat to the legs and I'm thinking about doing the top in Old White, I haven't decided yet.
The whole thing will get distressed though and I'll probably try the dark wax again, more carefully.

Now to the nitty gritty...

The PAINT

1. The Chalk Paint went on great. It covered well and and was creamy and easy to use

2. It had NO odor. I didn't realize how great this was until I went back to the regular latex paint to cover the inside of some drawers. The stink made it apparent how nice it was not to be breathing those fumes while using the Chalk Paint

3. I read this paint doesn't leave brush strokes. It did for me. Especially when painting large surfaces like the dresser sides and top. I normally use a 1 1/2 inch angled brush and with a brush that small, it's really hard to create an even surface when the paint dries so fast. So I used the small brush for the Old White, sanded after it dried on the top and sides then when it came time to add the blue I used a big 4 inch brush. It covered much better and I will probably do that from now on. I might use the bigger brush with regular paint too from now on. I have to say I don;t actually mind the brush strokes anyway, I'm used to them and like the shabby handpainted look they give to furniture.

4. The paint does thicken if you leave the lid off, so if you're painting a lot of pieces try to keep the lid on as much as possible. It's nice that you can just add water if you need to "unthicken" it.

5. Distressing. I ran into an issue here. Annie Sloan says to wax and then distress. I don't recommend this. It is SO MUCH easier to distress BEFORE you add the wax. The paint comes off really easy, in a powder form and is easy to control. If you add the wax and then distress, it makes it harder to get the paint off. It's mostly wax that comes off on your sandpaper and you go through a LOT of it. I went through a sheet and a half on the dresser. Not fun. Another lesson learned. Distress first. Wax second.


The WAX

1. The wax was harder for me to use. I ordered the Annie Sloan Waxes in the clear and the dark. They have brushes they sell and recommend you use with their waxes. I think I agree that you should. Or buy something similar. My Stockist was out so I couldn't get one. I used a rag and I had a lot of waste with the clear wax. A LOT of waste. I used nearly half the can on 3 pieces. I am sure I coated it too heavily since I used the rag and it should have stretched much much farther.

2. I actually didn't notice much difference in the way the Annie Sloan Wax worked and the regular Johnson's Paste Wax I have used previously. I will be sticking with the Johnson's from Home Depot when the Annie Sloan Wax runs out. I can't see putting out the extra $20 plus for something I hardly notice a difference with.

3. The dark wax was trickier. I've never used it before and will have to play with it some more. I need to get a brush of some sort though. I think you have much better control of where the wax goes. This wax went much further and will last me a long long time I think. I barely broke the surface.

4. All the pieces do need to be sealed with wax or the paint will scratch up and rub right off. This does add a bit of extra time and if you don't like waxing, this may not be the paint for you. But then again, who DOES like waxing?

5.. Annie Sloan also recommends you let your wax dry overnight. I know I told you my wax dried right away but it was pretty warm outside and I was able to buff it right away. When I added my second coat to the desk it was colder and took longer but I still didn't wait overnight because my bigger pieces sit under a carport and get covered  at night. I was worried the cover might mess up the wax, so I buffed it out.


Overall, I really enjoyed using this paint. It was fun to try something new and it was a breeze to use. I will probably save it for "better" pieces or things I want to heavily distress since it's expensive but it distresses so nicely.  I need to make sure I can recoup the expense on my pieces I sell before I order any more. I do have my eye on a gorgeous green however and those brushes I was telling you about are mighty tempting!

I am no paint expert, just a novice, so I have a lot to learn and there are a lot of great painters out there sharing their techniques. One is Miss Mustard Seed. You can find a great wax tutorial here. Another is Shaunna from Perfectly Imperfect. She has 2 great Chalkpaint tutorial videos here. I would definitely recommend trying the Chalk Paint if you can afford the splurge!

I think it's really neat everyone is so willing to share information and tips. I hope you weren't thoroughly bored! I'm assuming if you weren't interested, you tuned out long ago.

I hope you found this helpful, or just plain entertaining. Have a wonderful week. I may take tomorrow off before I pick up another paintbrush and then... Wax on wax off.  Wax on wax off...

~Tara

Sunday, June 5, 2011

To The Beach We Go!


Jazz is gettin' beachy! I went in about 2 weeks ago and added some new things to Jazz that gave it a definite beach flair. I had plans to do a whole centerpiece in the middle but as I walked into the shop...


I discovered I had a customer in the process of buying these two beauties, I had planned to center my whole beach theme around them. Out the door they went and adjustments had to be made but my Mom and I managed to work the beach in anyway, just not in the way I had envisioned.
























Things are looking a little bare around the edges, I have been working on furniture like crazy this last week and will have a bunch of new pieces to bring in, most likely in a couple weeks. Michelle mentioned I bought some fancy schmanchy paint... It's Annie Sloan Chalkpaint. I've been using it on my latest projects and plan to do a post on it this week. Not only the before and afters, but my thoughts on the paint and wax itself. I will probably post it sometime tomorrow on my Loveleigh Treasures blog and then repost it here Wednesday or Thursday if you're interested.

Hope you all have a terrific week!
~Tara



Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Wildflowers

Spring wildflowers are gorgeous.

I came home on Friday to see that my Farmboy had picked me a small vase of wildflowers and even stuck them in a cute little green jar which he must have known I'd love!


There was balsam root (yellow) and wild lupine (purple.) I have never seen lupine before! There were several others I still have to learn the names of. So pretty! It was the perfect surprise to start of my Memorial Day weekend.

It is hard to believe that it is June. It is still feeling a bit like March around these parts. I am ready to get out the flip-flops permanently! Next weekend, I hope to get my flower pots re-planted. My lavender plants survived the winter but I do not see them attempting to sprout stems or bloom yet. I want to plant basil and chives and more lavender. And maybe some tomatoes and colorful flowers for the porch. 
I hope you are all having a great week! Stay tuned, Tara got some of that fancy smancy chalk paint and will be starting some new painting projects soon, hopefully she'll stop by and share them with us!


~michelle~