This Chalk Paint™ Makeover Shifts into High Gear

We hope all of our Canadian friends enjoyed Thanksgiving weekend!   

Apple Box Boutique had yesterday off to give thanks, which meant there wasn't a blog post and so no "Reimagined Monday" feature -- but since this is a favourite article for staff and followers alike, we have decided to roar into Tuesday with a reimagination that has to be seen to be believed. 

 Buckle up, everyone! This Chalk Paint™ makeover shifts into high gear! 

THIS:

... is a truck clearly made mostly of testosterone.

A scary camo-engulfed monstrosity owned by Jennifer of Metamorphose Upholstery and Furniture.  Even the bumper cover had abandoned the poor thing.

Not too many girls would venture out in such a beast.  In fact, that is exactly what Jennifer had named it.  But she is a brave gal, and a few days ago with the help of Rose of The Shabby Chicas, a wild and wonderful reimagination took place.

First, a little background -- Jennifer along with Melanie of The Hoity Toity Peacock came up with a scheme to make over "The Beast" with Chalk Paint™ by Annie Sloan.

I'm always talking about how it sticks to virtually everything, no prep required -- and I have bottles and plastics and metals and outdoor signs to show folks it's true!  But I have to say ... even the examples are bigger in Texas!  

It was decided the transformation would take place during The Original Round Top Antiques Fair last weekend.   What a great way to showcase Chalk Paint™!

For colour, Jennifer decided on 1 part Florence to 4 parts Old White.
 

On Saturday, without any real pomp or ceremony, she mixed two cans of Old White + half can of Florence with 1 can of water -- then, with the spirit of fun and determination driving them forward, Jennifer painted one side while Rose painted the other.

One and a half hours later and two coats painted completely with brushes (and a quart of paint to spare), the difference is stunning.

"The Beast"...

became "The Beauty"...

She needs a sturdy clear-coat and Jennifer's sister Michelle is going to bling up the bumper (I believe it was referred to as "Bedazzling"), but WOW... talk about Metamorphose!  It's no wonder that's the name of Jennifer's Houston shop.

For more on this fabulous makeover and to enter the contest to rename the new and improved 'beast', visit Metamorphose on Facebook.

Yes ma'am... that is definitely a Chalk Paint™ makeover that shifted into high gear!

♥,  
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:

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:

Reimagined Monday: Ahhhh, Florence!

Well, after several days of struggling with our blog... again (you may have noticed that the number of posts in the last week equals a big fat goose egg) we are back!

We'd knock on wood... but let's paint it instead! 

Today is...

Let's go back to July 6th at On The Apple Box when we announced the newest Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ colour, Florence.  The conversation about creating a sample for the blog went something like this:

Leanne:  "Here is my primitive 'computer sketch' of my ASCP Florence project."

        Us: "Really... don't you want to try it on something small first?"

        Cue Leanne's stare of disbelief and chirping crickets.

        Us: "Right.  Well, we'll take pics"

Here is Leanne's sketch:

and here is the Florence paint swatch, extended with ASCP Old White:

Based on Ciruelo Interiors PG swatch

This is the story of what happened next, in her very own words (you might want to make a sandwich and grab a soda... that girl can chat!)

 "Hello everyone and happy Monday!

When I saw the paint chip introducing Florence to all of us in North America, it was love at first sight.  I couldn't wait to get my hands on a can and get painting!  In a second and a half I had the cabinet I wanted to reimagine sitting in its new place in my parlour... Oh the anticipation!

I think I say this every time, but that is one of my favourite things about ASCP.  I paint indoors and 'on the spot' for myself, the boutique and clients.  No more heavy hauling or worries about time of year, rain or temperature... an especially HUGE plus in the winter when you live as far north as I do.  Even the reindeer wear parkas here.  Lately they've been carrying umbrellas, which somehow seems wrong.  (Get it?  Rain Deer?  Right, sorry about that. Moving on...)  

The lovelies at Apple Box Boutique -- that's what I used to call them before that smart remark that I talk a lot -- shared my computer sketch and the colour card with you.  This is the cabinet, pre-paint and pre-my-kindergarten-version of a computer drawing:

Picture by previous owner.  Thank you!

I was inspired by an image I found on the internet a while ago, and for the life of me I cannot seem to find it again.  If this is your photo and your work, thank you for posting it and please let me know who you are so I can credit you!

I don't know if this cabinet was painted with Annie Sloan's Florence, but it has the worn, chippy look I was after and the colour is what I was dreaming about -- a deep verdigris that is reminiscent of old world paintings and oxidized copper.  Then Annie Sloan posted this image of a facade in France that made my heart skip another beat:

Finally the paint was here and no time was wasted in getting out the brushes!

To begin, hubby and I removed the top of the two-part cabinet and I set to work taking off the hardware.  I don't always do that, but the handles and pulls are lovely and I decided not to paint them.  It is much easier to paint cabinet doors while they are still on the piece so they stayed put and I worked around the hinges.

When I opened the can of Florence, it made me pause for a moment... it is so bold and bright that it could make a lot of people stop right there, but having experienced that with other ASCP colours (Emperor's Silk starts off with a big breath in as well!) I knew to be fearless and forge ahead!

I decided to start with the buffet section, painting it first with Florence then the trim and details in Old White.  When it was dry I started rubbing away some of the paint to give it a 'been around the block' look.

(Woops... messy Leanne reveal. I didn't have any felt for the feet so used beach towels to keep the cabinet from damaging the floor and a couple of garbage bags to protect from my 'Joie de Vivre' style of painting.  Others might call it wreckless abandon, but that's a story for another day.)

After a couple of hours of painting and a whole lot of second-guessing myself, I decided to really go for it with the distressing.  When it looked suitably worn out, I finished it with clear wax, then added dark wax to give it a lovely aged patina.

Here are the bits:

Flashback to the before:

... my sketch:

And this is what I ended up with, towels, bags and all:

Now to decide what to put in it!  I'll start with the precious crystal Mama just handed down to me, and then the world is my oyster!  Look out thrift stores... here I come!"

xo, Leanne

Everyone at the boutique already adores Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and now we all have BIG love for  Florence.

What do you think?  Are you loving it too?

♥,

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 Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint or 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:

Reimagined Monday: Distressing... But In A Good Way!

Anyone who knows the folks at Apple Box Boutique also knows we LUV us a good laugh... even a cheap, slapstick, falling down on the job chortle will suffice but rest assured, laughing is a priority.  If you feel that way too, then you will love reading Dream Home DIY, a blog written by Michelle about her and her husband Justin's home reno trials and tribulations.

They are wacky and fun, and manage to make do-overs feel okay as they DIY their way to their vision for their newish abode.  Following is Michelle's first attempt at painting with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, and Justin's reaction to said project.  Enjoy!

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Transformations

"Annie Sloan chalk paint is literally EVERYWHERE right now;

So naturally Ive been dying to try my hand at it.

No priming, no prep sanding, limitless color mixing options, amazing distressing ability, low VOCs, easy cleanup...

And it can be used on furniture, floors, cabinets, walls...
Applied both indoors and outdoors...
On metal, wood, brick, concrete...

Are you serious?  Where have you been all my life?? 

Just stop for a second and imagine the possibilities.

Well, a few weeks ago we spoke with Miss Patty Seaman from Classic Wall Finishes to get a bit more info on the product and after chatting with her, we knew it was a perfect fit for our home.
She is a HUGE wealth of knowledge and was oh so excited to talk about the paint.  I really loved that.  Not to mention she used to live in Virgina, so of course I immediately felt a bond with her.
Paris Gray, Louis Blue and Old White seemed like wonderful colors for us to start with so that's what we got.


Now Ive had an idea for a display piece on our new stenciled walls swirling around in my head for a bit.
Enter our $6.75 Goodwill find
(and some rough cut lumber.  But more on that later)

Because the look we were striving for was a layered, weathered over time vibe
I painted a first coat of Paris Gray right over the dark stained mirror.

Next, a coat of Old White was applied directly on top.
I was able to do this within 20 minutes as the first coat had already dried.
Uh.Mazing.

A thin application of the Annie Sloan wax (allow to completely dry) and a bit of distressing with fine grit sandpaper...
We're in love.
In fact, Justin walked through the door and Mr. I Never Get Excited stated:
"Holy beep.  That paint is the beep"
Yeah.  It's that good

When distressing traditional latex paints, they tend to roll off.
Chalk paint wears off.
And that makes a huge difference.

Now to flank either side of the mirror, we wanted a distressed piece of white washed old lumber and I thought this would be the perfect time to try out another technique.
White washing

Note- This was "new" rough cut lumber when we received it. 
We set them out in the driveway for about 3-4 months.
Mother Nature did the rest.

Dilute a bit of paint with a small amount of water and lightly drag your brush along the grain of your lumber.

Next, with a bit of patience, we hung everything in place on our pretty stenciled wall...

Voila!"

Update - The fork and spoon were purchased from Pier 1

We think it turned out (as Michelle puts it) Uh.Mazing.  Thanks for sharing your ASCP projects, Michelle!

♥,

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: