Reimagined Monday: Giving Adoption Hope to Sad & Lonely Kitsch

Happy Reimagined Monday, everyone!

It's Leanne here, and I am very happy to be hosting Reimagined Monday today.

Why?  Because anyone who has talked to me about Chalk Paint™ by Annie Sloan knows that I am super-enthusiastic about it.  I have been since the day I first tried it, long before it landed in our little Boutique.  I love it for SO many reasons... its stress-freeness (hmmm... new entry in the lea-speak dictionary), its prep-free attributes, its look, its ability to stick to -- well, pretty much everything --

In fact, I haven't found anything yet that it doesn't adhere to and improve.  Which is one of my favourite things about Chalk Paint™ and the topic of today's blog entry... Giving adoption hope to those super-shiny, startlingly unappealing and outdated ornaments that are left sad and lonely on dollar store and thrift shop shelves across the nation.

Case in point... the great bunny makeover.  The lovely and always upbeat Janet of The Empty Nest has taken a pair of rather frightening, kitschy, over-lacquered rabbit types and transformed them into stunning little antiqued cottontails that anyone would be proud to display in a coveted spot on their mantlepiece.

Without further ado... Here are excerpts from Janet's blog post about her reimagined bunnies!

"Hello my friends!

Today I want to share a little painting project I worked on over the weekend.

Last week I bought two full size porcelain rabbits at a local thrift shop." 

"I mean really...look at this little guy.....way too shiny and a little scary looking.

Who's idea was it to dress this guy up with a funky blue ribbon???"

"He is just screaming out for some magical Chalk Paint™ decorative paint from Annie Sloan."

"Did you know Chalk Paint™ would adhere to glassy porcelain?

It absolutely does!"

"Here are my bunnies..yup, there were two ugly black mottled bunnies, after two coats of Old White."

"Ok...now I have found that the secret to painting on super slick surfaces like glassy porcelain is to not try too hard.

By that I mean don't try to get full coverage all in one coat. I painted one coat of Old White, not worrying about complete coverage. Don't overwork your brushstrokes. You need to apply a light coat quickly and leave it alone!!! Like overnight leave it alone."

"THEN apply a second coat and the same technique applies.

Lay on the second coat and leave it alone to dry..don't mess with it!

The above rabbits have two full coats of Old White, over the span of two days.

DON'T RUSH THE PROCESS!!!!"

"Here are two lovely rabbits  with two coats of Old White and a coat of Step 1 of

 Annie Sloan's wonderful 

Craqueleur  Varnish Crackle.

Have I told you how much I LOVE this product??

Yeah..I pretty much LOVE IT!!!"

"Step two is now applied and depending how thickly I apply it, will determine how bigs the cracks are.

Liberally apply dark wax all over the piece and rub it into the cracks.

Voila!"

"Pick up some clear wax and wipe all over your piece 

to clean off all the residue dark wax on your piece"

This is what the final effect will be.

Beautiful crackly, crazed and antiqued gorgeousness.

Can you say 

YUM!!

"The lovely thing about Annie's crackle medium is that it doen't touch the paint, but crackles the varnish."

"So cool!

You are able to achieve an antiqued old world varnish crackle."

"Hands down my favorite product!

You can get lovely looks with this product and try to attend a local workshop for some real fun."

"Until next time....be kind and stay creative."

                                                               

Thanks Janet!

I can say that I have successfully painted fabric, plastic, metal, enamel, laminate, and more... even those weird and unknown finishes that are slicker than a greased weasel!

But for many people it has to be seen to be believed, and Janet's bunny project is a wonderful example of how loveliness can be found in all things.  Sometimes it just takes a little reimagination!

♥,  
Leanne & Apple Box Boutique
 

Here is how to share your reimagined paint project at On the Apple Box:

Send us a description of how you used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ to get from your vision to the reimagined piece, before and after pictures, pictures of your project in progress or a couple of it in its finished state, and you may be highlighted on our blog!

_______________________________________

We'd LOVE it if you shared our blog:

Annie Sloan Paint Class: How Do You Like Them Apples?

Apples are good for you.

They are a healthy, happy, feel good food that crunch when you bite them and have all sorts of health benefits.

They also get you a discount

Sign up for the May or June Annie Sloan Paint Class and at check-out use the coupon code "APPLE".  You'll save the GST on the class and get a credit* for 10% off all the accessories you need to get started on your project.

How does it work?

       1)   Your class discount will be applied automatically at the time of check-out.  

       2)   Visit this blog post to tell us which class you used the coupon code to
              register for and a 10% in-store credit will be waiting at the boutique for
              you after your class**.

What's in the Apple Box?
 

 We carry Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, Clear and Dark Wax, Lacquer plus all the extras... books, chalk paint brushes, wax brushes, hardware, cheesecloth, paint pour lids and more at Apple Box Boutique.

Sign up today... and don't forget to use the coupon code!

APPLE

Click here to get started!

♥,

Apple Box Boutique

The Fine Print 
* In-store credit is valid for 10 days following the class

** Be sure to let us know your name on the blog or via email so we can confirm your attendance and hold your credit for you: info@appleboxboutique.com.  Credit is valid for purchase of paint accessories and has no cash value.

Project Personality: Cheesy Good Chalk Paint Tutorial

Project Personality

with Apple Box Boutique founder Leanne Playter Korsos

Hello!  I`m happy you made it!

Today a semi-confession: I have a close personal relationship with cheese.  I love it equally as a food and a sense of humour.  I love it in movies, books, sauces and fashion.  And it is well known amongst my friends and family that after a lifetime of indulging, I believe I am mostly made of it.

So it only stands to reason that I like cheesy, kitschy (+ inexpensive) household stuff and this post is about how I manage to mix that adoration with my love for beautiful interior décor.

Enter the 1960s/70s plasticy, cheesy wall hanging.  They were everywhere. Plastic arrived in home style magazines as a must-have and people couldn`t get enough of it.

There were these fruity, lattice thingys,

scary bird plaques

and fab flowery whatchamacallits.

There is a teeming overabundance of molded polysomethings that sit unloved in second-hand stores across the nation.  Most current decoraters wouldn`t touch them with a 10 foot pole unless their client was all retro-loving and insistent.  Ahhh, but not I!  These are the things I covet because I know "the secret".

Not the secret that made author Rhonda Byrne famous.  If that were the case, I`d be rich and would hire someone else to make over my plasticy, cheesy wall hangings.  No, this is a secret that some believe is, well, wierdish and that I am far too willing to share.  So, here goes... tutorial time!

During a visit to Value Village, I saw this poor little spoon-hanger-planter in the "no one wants me" pile.

Of course I snapped it up immediately.  The brownish-black bronzy-copperish colouring is seriously dated (and defies explanation) but I liked the detail.

Off to the cash counter with my $4.99 prize and then to the boutique where the most difficult decision of the project was choosing which Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP) to use.

Part of my secret weaponry, ASCP paints onto practically everything without primer and I use it on glass, plastic, metal, crafts... anything requiring a little pizazz.

After some mulling, Duck Egg Blue was selected.  I really wanted to bring out the best in this... planspoo?...plangsploon?... splanter! by giving it an old-world patina.

Because it is an uncooperative shape I took it apart to make it more manageable, dusted it off and got started.  No surface prep required.  Just the paint, a chalk paint brush and a little newspaper.

I gave it two light coats of paint and found something to do for a few minutes while it dried.

Hello Willow...

Oooo... nice candelabra arrangement by my broomy Leslie (that`s short for business roomate... yup, more cheese):

 Gratuitous shot of my new Annie Sloan sample board:

AND... time to wax. 

These are the finishing tools of the trade: ASCP Clear Wax, ASCP Dark Wax, my favourite wax brush and good quality lint-free cheesecloth (what else!).

I brushed on then rubbed off one coat of the clear wax and buffed through in areas I felt would be naturally distressed to give it "life".   Once the clear wax was no longer tacky to the touch, I brushed on a smattering of dark wax to bring out all that ornate loveliness. The waxes have the consistency of room-temperature butter and I used the cheesecloth to wipe away the excess until I liked the look.  

I`ll take a close up.  

That`s better!

Once that was set, I gave it a quick buff with clean piece of the cloth, and Voila!

The painted splanter was in the boutique for a few days and we were asked so many times about it that a tutorial seemed to be the thing to do!

That and squirreling it away to take home with me.

 What do you think?  Moldy Oldy or Cheesy Good?