I was so excited to find this beautiful English Wardrobe. And even more excited to fix it up and paint it. It’s a 1930 – 1940’s wardrobe that still had the sticker on it from before it was shipped to the United States. I looked it up and Swainbanks in Liverpool, England ships antiques to the United States. Not sure how long it has been in the US but no one has ever taken the sticker off. Can you blame them! 😉

When I picked this up it needed quite a bit of work. The wood was warped to the point that the opening for the door was about 1 1/2 inches too big. There were several cracks in the wood from the warping and the hings for the door had ripped out of the wood. There were several screws and nails and some kind of glue that had been used over the years to try to fix it. This also caused several of the cracks in the wood.

The mirror was thankfully in near perfect condition but it was going to need some handy man work overall. So I got the hubby to help! 😉 He’s much better at figuring this stuff out. It took some time and lots of nails and screws to fix much of the warping and get the shape back to where is was suppose to be. Well for the most part.  But even after that, the door had about a 1 inch gap when it was placed in the opening. So we added a piece of molding to one side. This solved 2 problems because the holes for the hinge screws were stripped.

All the original hardware was there (except the key) so we used it to hang the door where the new molding was. Once the wood putty was sanded and smooth it was time for paint. I choose Annie Sloan Old Ochre because I feel like this color fits with the time period of this piece.

Once it had 2 coats of paint on it I lightly distressed it, put a layer of clear wax and then added lots of dark wax to age it. Old Ochre is a great paint color for dark wax and I love the look of it. One fun thing about this wardrobe is it still has the original clothing rod and hooks.

The previous owner made 2 shelves so they also went back in. This will be one of those pieces I will be heart broken to see go. It is such a beautiful piece with amazing lines.

As you can see in the picture I left the sticker on the mirror so whoever buys it will know it came from Liverpool, England! 😉 I also was able to find a key that fit so the door locks. If it sits in my booth too long I may bring it back and find a place for it in my home! haha That’s the problem with buying furniture you love to paint and sell.

Let me know what you think of this amazing wardrobe. Where would you put it in your home? A bedroom, a living room? Maybe an entryway? I would love to hear your idea’s!

Thanks for taking a look

Cindy

Several months ago I found this amazing armoire on a Facebook yard sale site.

I wasn’t really sure how old it was but I was hoping it was something staight out of a medieval castle. Honestly it smelled old enough to be! But I was pretty sure they didn’t make plastic veneer during that time period so I figured it probably wasn’t. 😉 I did a little research and I think this was probably made in the 1970’s. The front was a hard plastic veneer but the rest of this was wood.

This piece needed some work. First I cleaned it top to bottom and left the doors open to air it out and get rid of the musty smell. One of the drawer slides was missing. This turned out to be a difficult fix. I couldn’t find an old one that matched (I searched everywhere but no luck) and so I ordered some. Unfortunately they didn’t work for the drawers, they sat too low. So I returned those and went with simple wood slides I found at Lowes. My helpful hubby spent some time making them the right height so the drawers would slide easily. Not sure I would have ever figured that out on my own. 😝 Then I sanded and used wood glue on parts that needed it. And it was ready for paint.

I wanted to paint it grey. I used French Linen but I wanted to change it up a little so I added a little Graphite and Pure White until I got the color I wanted. For the inside I chose Cocoa. To make the detail on the front stand out just a little I dry brushed those area’s with Old White and just a touch of Cocoa. You will laugh but I actually got the color idea for this from a Klenex box! Haha You never know where your inspiration will come from right!

I loved the hardware on this but one of the pulls on the bottom was missing so I went looking for something that would match it. I tried a few out before I found the one I liked.

Love how it turned out despite all the little problems I ran into. But it was a good learning experience. I always ask when I am buying somethings with drawers if the slides work. It may still be worth it but it’s best to know what you are getting into with each project.

I put this in my booth at Drab 2 Fab and it sold quickly. I was sad to see it go but glad someone else loved it. An old price of furniture doesn’t have to be all wood to make a beautiful up cycled piece. Fortunately chalk paint goes on everything. Let me know what you think of my 1970’s Armoire make over.

Cindy 😃

I love the old frame look to decorate a shelf or table top. With Annie Sloan dark wax you can take a modern frame and make it look old. I found several frames at the local thrift store that needed a make over. Here are a few.

The best frames to use for this are ones that have texture. Pick you paint color and paint the frame. Then give it a light distressing. I like to use the wet distress method because most modern frames are not wood and when you sand it down with sand paper you will uncover whatever material the frame is made of. This is often white in color. If you use a wet rag and rub the paint off in the area’s you want it distressed you are can just go to the finish on the surface of the frame.

As you can see in the first picture I painted the frame, that had been a dark brown, in ASCP Old White. I started using the sand paper and quickly realized that under the finish the frame was white. So I used a wet rag to do the rest. Then I put a clear wax finish over the frame and then worked the dark wax in the crevices of the design on the frame. It brings out the design as well as making the frame look like an antique. When you are using dark wax remember that if you have an area on your project that is darker than you want it to be with the dark wax, use a little clear wax and rub it over the area that you want to lighten up and it will take some of the dark wax off. Once I was done with the dark wax I used a Gilders Paste Wax in German Silver to add another layer of antiquing.

The paste wax is easy to use. Just rub a finger over the wax and then rub your finger over the area’s you want the gold leaf look. It rubs of easily if you get it on a area you didn’t intend to. Here are a few of the frames I have finished using this method. Both of these were painted in ASCP Old Ochre.

Rather than spending hundreds of dollars on antique frames, buy a few from the thrift store and turn them into “antiques”. You can use different colors to get the look you want. Easy, quick and fun as always. Oh the possibilities Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and wax offers! I would love to hear about some of the projects you have done (or want to do) to turn a modern piece into an “antique’d treasure”. Leave a message and tell me about it.

Thanks for taking a look

Cindy

I must be in a grey and white mood because all of my most recent projects have been painted French Linen and Old White. 2 of my favorite colors and they go great together.

I needed something to add to my booth at Drab 2 Fab to display some things, and honestly to make my booth a little more appealing. My awesome and amazing friend Kristen gave me some wall shelves that her husband made, and that they weren’t using any more.

To update them a little I painted them French Linen, and then added a whitewash of Old White to give it a weathered look.

I love how the grain in the wood comes through. Then  little clear wax and just a hint of dark wax and some new hardware and they were ready to put up. Love the look of these!!

I loved this look so much I used it on my next project!

I just got this large blue milk can and wanted to give it a quick make over. So once again I painted it French Linen and then whitewashed it with Old White.

Once it was painted I distressed it with sandpaper so get down to the blue and then waxed it.

Perfectly weathered “old” milk can!! 🙂

On to my next project.

I have had this lovely bookshelf for a while and was trying to decided what colors to paint it. Hmmm….yup…French Linen and Old White! Can’t go wrong with this combo!

I added a little stencil to the bottom and distressed this to give it some character. I also added a little gold to the feet and along the top and bottom!

Some pieces that I put in my booth to sell are hard to part with, and this is one of them. I really do love this bookshelf! But I’m trying not to be a hoarder so I gotta let some go! 😉 I’m sure I will use this combo of colors again. Let me know what your favorite Annie Sloan paint color combo’s are! I would love some idea’s for my next project!!

Thanks as always for stopping by to take a look 🙂

Cindy

One of the things I love about ASCP (there are loads of things I love) is the ability to transform a piece of furniture and give it a unique look. I recently painted 2 different end tables to add to my booth at Drab 2 Fab Paint & Decor.

The first end table is painted in Annie Sloan Old White and the second in Annie Sloan Cocoa. The table in Old White I lightly distressed then gave it a coat of clear wax and she was done. I love this simple white table with the curved legs.

The table painted in Cocoa started out black.

I wanted to use what was already there so I left some of the black showing to give this piece more of a distress look and giving it a bit more character. Easy to do with the plank look on top and the carved legs. I used the wet distress method to show just the black and not what was under the black paint. And then I clear waxed over everything. Once that was done I added a thick layer of dark wax and then worked that in.

There really are so many possibilities with chalk paint and wax. Don’t be afraid to try different methods to get the look you want.

I have both of these in my booth at Drab 2 Fab Paint & Décor in Lehi if you are interested.

Tell me what you think of my 2 tables. I would love to hear your thoughts. And if you have any questions please leave them in the comments section.

Thanks again for stopping by to take a look!

Cindy

Happy New Year! Hope you had fun ringing in the new year! I am excited for 2016 and all it’s possibilities!

Today I am going to show you a beautiful vanity I painted Annie Sloan Emperor’s Silk.

I know white is all the rage right now and I love white furniture but sometimes you need a little pop of color and what better way to get it than red!! I found this vanity a little while ago but was having trouble deciding what color to paint it. Last week I decided it was time, and red was the color that kept coming to mind. I wasn’t 100% sure so I went back and forth but when a piece of furniture speaks to you, you go with it. So red it was! 😉

I love the legs and height of this vanity but when I bought it I knew there were a few things that needed to be fixed.

The most obvious problem was a missing drawer. The front of the drawer was taped on but the actual drawer was no where to be found. My first thought was, I will just glue it on and it will have to be a false drawer. But my handy hubby said, and I quote, “I can build that”! haha 🙂 He’s pretty handy (lucky for me) so I hired him! 😉 I started painting and he started building.

Emperor’s Silk is a beautiful bright red. I put 3 coats on because the finish on this vanity was kinda slick and the dark finish was showing through on a few places after 2 coats. I didn’t do any distressing on this piece but I did want it to have an antique look so I uses A LOT of dark wax on this.

After applying a clear coat of wax to each area I immediately applied the dark wax generously and then worked it in. I have seen people apply dark wax right to the paint and then clear wax over that, but I like that the clear wax lets me work more easily to distribute the dark wax where I want it and take it away from the places I don’t want it. If you don’t clear wax your paint first you will need to paint over the dark wax if you don’t like it. But applying dark wax before the clear wax will give you a deeper and more noticeable dark wax look. Sometimes you may want that. I left a lot of dark wax in the crevices and I when I was brushing the dark wax on and rubbing the extra off I made sure to always go in the same direction – side to side – to get a uniform look. You can see from the pictures that the dark wax changes the depth of the color. I love it on Emperor’s Silk. I did a chair in the same color and didn’t add any dark wax. You can see that post here:  http://thecindyproject.com/?p=39 Either way you can’t go wrong with this red.

About the same time I finished painting the vanity my amazing “Bob the Builder” husband finished the drawer.

So now instead of 2 drawers I have 3 working drawers. Thanks Jamie! 🙂 I painted it and put the hardware back on and here she is!

Loving the effect of the dark wax. Antique’d but not distressed to give it a beautiful elegant look. Perfect for an entry way or anywhere you want that “pop” of red!

Let me know what you think of Annie Sloan’s Emperor’s Silk. Do you like the dark wax? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Here’s to a great start of 2016!! Thanks again for stopping by!

Cindy

I love painting furniture with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. You probably noticed! 😉 So when an opportunity came around to place some of my ASCP painted pieces in a consignment shop I jumped at the chance to be a part of it. For the last few months I have been hording furniture in my home and garage (to my families frustration) and painting whenever I get the chance. The store I will be selling some of my upcycled furniture from is called Drab 2 Fab Paint, Furniture & Decor and is opening in January in a brand new location in Lehi, Utah! This is the store I buy all my paint from so I am really excited to be a part of the new Warehouse location.

And today was MOVING DAY!! Yay!

There it is – my horde (okay that’s only a small part of it :P) . And today I finally got to move it to the warehouse. Woohoo! It was an exciting day and I am looking forward to opening day next week. I will tell you more about it over the next 2 weeks. This is a new experience for me so I am learning as I go. I am still coming up with idea’s on staging my area of the warehouse. Any advice is encouraged and welcome so leave me comments and I will be very grateful! 🙂 And wish me luck on my new adventure!

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Cindy 🙂

It’s Christmas time and there is red and green everywhere! Annie Sloan has a green paint that is perfect for the season. Really for any season. It’s called Antibes Green and it is lovely. I recently painted 2 tables in Antibes Green and they both turned out beautiful. In today’s post I wanted to show you how you can use the same color paint but by using different techniques with dark wax, get a different look.

I found this lovely little table at a local thrift shop for $10.

It’s been beat up a little over the years. I think it was a telephone table back in it’s glory days. And although small, it has a ton of character and I knew a little paint would bring this table back to life. So after a little sanding and wood putty i decided on Antibes Green and Old white. I painted the legs and side panels white. I had to do a little shellacking to keep the stain from coming through and then I taped off so I could paint the green.

Not gonna lie, I hate taping. It always takes forever and with all the grooves on these legs it took even longer. I started taking the tape off before I took the picture or you would have seen all the tiny pieces of tape I had to put around the lets. But once it was done I was happy I did. Then I distressed it and put a coat of clear wax on. You can see the difference the clear wax makes here.

I love how smooth the paint is once the clear wax it on. Yet another reason I LOVE ASCP!! With this piece I wanted to add a little bit of an aging effect with the dark wax but not enough to change the colors. Here is the end result!

I love the white and green together. Wish I had an old rotary phone to put on it! 🙂

So now to the sofa table. Again this table has a ton of character. I love pieces like this because it give so many options when painting. The top of the table had a few holes that needed to be filled. (Not sure what was there before.) And there where also places that had been glued. You can see the glue in between the wood slats. So another table that has seen better days, but nothing a little ASCP won’t fix right! 😉

I started by painting the whole table in AS Graphite. Then I painted the table Antibes Green being careful to leave the Graphite showing in all the many cracks and crevices. I wet distressed this in some areas instead of using sand paper so just the black would show through. In other places I sanded it down to the wood. I added a coat of clear wax and then I went to town on this piece with the dark wax. It darkens up the green and adds lots of dimension to this table. This piece is going to be sold but I may cry a little on that day because I absolutely love the way this turned out.

So as you can see AS dark wax gives you loads of options when you are finishing you furniture projects. I will keep trying out different techniques and will continue to share them with you. Let me know what you think of my green tables. Hope you love them as much as I do!!

And thanks again for stopping by,

Cindy

I found this cute little table with fun curves and accents. It’s very small and when I got it it was very white.

Cute but needed a little color. I decided to go with blue. I love Annie Sloan Napoleonic Blue but I wanted it to be a shade or 2 lighter so I added a little Pure White until I got the shade I wanted. I painted the body and legs blue and then painted the top, the cut out of the bottom shelf and the flower accents Pure White.

Once it was all painted I distressed it to give it a shabby chic look and then waxed it with a coat of Annie Sloan clear wax. Then added just a touch of dark wax to give it that slightly aged look. Love the accents on this table.

I love the original colors that Annie Sloan offers but it is really easy to mix paint and come up with the color you want. One of may favorite things about painting furniture is seeing the end result. Chalk paint offers so many possibilities!

Thanks for taking a look!

Cindy

After seeing all the cute pieces of furniture on Pinterest with fun images and wording added to them I decided to do a little research and see if I could figure this out. I had this white table that needed a paint job and decided to try it out.

First I painted the legs Annie Sloan Napoleonic Blue and the top Old White. I waited to wax it until the image was on. When I got this table it had been painted white and the paint was thick and uneven in places, so it did require a little sanding to even it out. Once it was painted with ASCP and lightly distressed I went looking for an image to put on it.  Thegraphicsfairy.com has tons of really cute images so it was just a matter of deciding which one would look best. Then it was time to try the different methods of transferring.

There are several transfer methods listed on the Graphics Fairy website but I read a few things on line as well as on Pinterest and decided the one that sounded easiest was the wax paper method. I needed the image to be bigger than 8.5 x 11 so I found a website called blockposters.com that will break the image up depending on the size you want and print it onto regular size paper. I found that reversing the image on my computer before importing it into Block Posters worked best. I cut wax paper the size of copy paper and tried sending it through my HP Officejet Pro. My printer ate the paper and got stuck. So I cut another piece and taped it to a piece of card stock. That went through my printer without getting stuck but I guess because wax paper is slippery the image had spaces where there shouldn’t have been. I think as the printer was feeding the wax paper through it would slip a little so the image wasn’t perfect. Wax paper did not work for me.

Next I tried the freezer paper method. Freezer paper also does not go through my printer. 🙁 So once again I taped it to card stock and this time it came through and the image was perfect. Once I had the image printed out on several different pieces of freezer paper I cut it and fit it together. You will print the image on the shiny side of the freezer paper so be careful as you do this as to not smudge the image. I lightly wet the top of the table where I would be putting the image. Too much water will make the image run so it should be just damp. Then I laid the image where I wanted it and carefully rubbed it with a straight edge, something like a credit card. Be careful not to move the paper because getting it back just right is probably impossible. 😉 I rubbed for a while but when I removed the freezer paper I was not happy with the image. It was there but very light. If you wanted to trace over an image with an ink pen or marker or paint over the image with a thin brush this would be a good method. Wish I had, but I didn’t take a picture of this. I just painted over it and tried something else.

My first thought was to go with the mod podge method but I was hoping the wax paper and freezer paper would work better. So this time I went with the mod podge. I found a post on Pinterest that was a little different then the one on Graphics Fairy. I printed the reverse image on regular printer paper and once again cut it out and taped it together. Then I put a thin layer of mod podge over the entire image using a sponge brush. Try not to go over the image to many times because again it will smear. Then I put the image where I wanted it on the top of the table. Measure before so you know where you want it. Then I lightly smoothed the paper down on the table removing any air bubbles that where under the paper. Let this dry for several hours. I left mine over night.

Once it is completely dry use a spray bottle to wet the paper. You don’t want it soaking wet but the paper should be wet through.

Then starting in the middle of the image use your finger to rub the paper. It will start to roll up and come off but the image will stay.

You can see the the paper just breaks up but the ink remains. Pretty cool huh!

As you can see in a few places the ink came up with the paper but I think it adds to the vintage look so I was ok with it. Then it was time to put a coat of clear wax on it and just a little dark wax. I put the hardware back on. BTW I painted the original hardware from this table with ASCP and then waxed it –  it turned out great. Here is the finished piece!

Now that I have figured out how to add fun images to my furniture I will definitely be doing more of this! Hope this post was helpful and thanks for stopping by!

Cindy