Table painted with "Annie Sloan" chalk paint.

I love painting furniture and have recently discovered some fabulous paint!  

It's Annie Sloan chalk paint, and it can paint over anything without having to strip finishes or prime the piece of furniture first.

I did quite a bit of research on it through you tube and pinterest.

The paint is a little pricey but since it goes such a long way, I think that it is a good investment.

If you want to read about the paint, you can go to Annie Sloan's website here.

I bought a can of "Florence", it's a perfect shade of turquoise!

Whoops, I almost forgot to take a photo of my little table before I started painting it!

It's not an expensive piece of furniture, but I really like it's shape :)

I guess that since the sun was shining through the windows, the color showed up a little lighter than it really is.
This is a pretty color too!

I sanded the table a little in areas to give it a distressed look.

Then I waxed the table and waited 24 hours before I buffed it.

The color still looks lighter than it actually is.

The table will go beside my red couch.

This is the true color of the table, it will add a nice "pop" of color to the room.

I just put the vase of flowers on the table, I'm looking for a little lamp to go there instead.

A change of color

Years ago I bought this wood shelf/quilt hanger.  It was unfinished, I painted it black and finished the edges with sandpaper to give it a distressed look.  

I was tired of the black shelf next to the black table, so I decided to repaint it.  I love the color of this little green shelf, so I took one of the drawers to Walmart for a color match.

Yes, the color looks just like the color on my little shelf.

I lay my trusty drop cloth "brown paper" on the driveway (don't want to risk getting paint on the floor) and am ready to get started.

The green paint is not covering the paint very well.....

I decided not to be lazy and spray the black shelf with white primer.

The green paint looks so much better on the white.

A cheap paintbrush does a great job with this project.

I'm not very pleased with the results after the first coat of paint.

The second coat of paint looks really good.

I like a distressed look, so I asked the man in the paint department to put some black paint in the glaze.  He said that he wouldn't be able to put much in, because the can is so full of glaze.  That would be perfect, just the look I want!

I lightly brush the glaze where I want it, and wipe it off with a damp cloth or sponge.  

It looks a little blotchy, but definately distressed.

This was the first project that I used a paintbrush to paint the wood.  I have always used spray paint in the past.  I think I will use spray paint from now on, it has an even coverage, no brush strokes and I love the results.  The only drawback is that your finger gets sore from holding the nozzle!

I really like the results.  The shelf is quite high up on the wall, so no one can see the little imperfections.  I hope I have inspired you to paint a piece of furniture in your home :)

DIY Fireplace

We have been in our new home for less than a week.  There is a wood burning fireplace in the family room.  It was dirty looking from the smoke stains.  I thought it would look really clean and fresh if it were painted white.  Went to Lowe's and got some paint for stone, a white satin.  I never like flat paint, and gloss would be too shiny.  Satin was just right!  Like the three bears and their porridge....lol

Do you see how the stains make the paint look dirty?

The blue is tape.  I enjoy that part of the painting, taping out the areas you don't want painted.

The white fireplace will match the wood entertainment center that our TV doesn't fit into!

The white paint really makes the beige paint look dirty!

Finished!  I think it looks great!  It was really easy, the paint didn't soak into the stone.  The paint went over the existing color so easily.  A really simple and inexpensive way to spruce up a room.

I came home from teaching a quilt class and my husband had the mantle completely decorated :)