A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked if I would paint a piece of furniture for her. I, of course, said yes! She and her husband had an old vintage record player that had been in the family for many years and they wanted to give it an updated look.

They chose Old White and then wanted a distressed look. So after giving it a coat of clear wax I added the dark wax.

The hardware was painted and distressed as well. I love the character that the speakers give this piece. It was fun to paint a piece for a friend and I was happy to hear they liked it. 🙂

Tell me what you think of this great piece. I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for taking a look

Cindy 🙂

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