Vintage Tool Box - mixing new colours using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

Yesterday I had a bit of a play with mixing the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint colours I was given - Antibes Green and Old White.

As you know if you've been reading here for a while, I have a bit of an obsession for that perfect shade of 'vintage' green and I hoped I could make it with Chalk Paint™.

This was in fact my deciding factor for choosing the colours that I did...the fact that I loved the Antibes Green as is was a complete surprise... and bonus!

This was the piece I decided to practice on...a cute vintage tool box...

It was a bit mucky inside so I gave it a sand down to remove the ring and the crayon mark.  A wipe down and a blow with my air compressor got rid of the rest.

I mixed six parts Old White with one part Antibes Green and got this...

Lots lighter than what I started with...my Mum said it looked like spearmint milkshake :)

Here it is on the tool box, I did two coats then clear waxed and dark waxed to give it a bit of grunge factor.

I forgot to take a photo of it before I waxed it, but did take this one mid-waxing to show you how the colour changes once clear wax is applied:

See how the colour deepens, and it also brings out the timber tones where I have distressed it.

As I've mentioned before I am not a good photographer (actually I probably don't need to spell that out, lol!) and I had a hard time capturing the true colour of this piece, which is why you see about 10 different shades of green in my photos! You'll have to trust me that it is lovely, exactly what I wanted, and my perfect 'vintage green'.  A couple that have won my heart in the past are Porter's Paints 'Glossodia' and 'Palm Green'.  But this mix is better :)

I chose not to dark wax the inside, I thought it was more 'authentic' that way.

I love the sheen you can see on the handle in the above photo.  Annie Sloan wax is the best wax I've ever used, I love how quickly it dries and if buffs up beautifully.

Here's a close up of the side.  Using dark wax to 'antique' a painted piece can take a bit of practice to get right, but as I've said on here before, as long as you use it over the top of clear wax, mistakes can be 'rubbed out'.  

(You just rub more clear wax over the top of any excess dark wax and it comes off).

Here are a couple of my favourite 'dark-wax-antiqued' pieces:

(French Country Sideboard 2012)

(Union Jack-inspired Glory Box 2011)

I saved the best for last...this photo is the truest representation of the actual colour.

I'm happy with how this turned out and ready to give it a crack on my corner hutch now!

Retro Numbers Chair in Antibes Green

In my last post I showed you this chair which I painted using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Antibes Green.

I told you I was going on a fabric buying mission the following morning, which was successful (eventually!)

I am pairing the chair up with this desk

and I see them ending up in a kids' room.  I wanted to use a fabric that worked with the retro style of the desk and chair, and I wanted it be be unisex, and tie in with the green. Easy, right?  

Well, I looked and looked and went round in circles, and nearly gave in and got a fabric with apples on it, which was cute, but just didn't quite cut it.  Then I saw THE ONE...you know how it is when you are looking for something, anything, and you're not finding quite the right thing?  

And how good it is when you do find it! Yeah, that!

I had kept the old upholstery intact when I removed it from the chair, and used it to make a pattern for the new covers.  I ripped into the chair before taking a photo but it was very boring and very brown, and it's not now...

Here's a little peek of the desk with its new paintjob.  The green needs distressing and the planked top needs constructing. 

Hopefully I'll get to that over the next few days.

The desk and chair will be for sale as a set when all finished.

Details:
Chair - local charity shop
Paint - ASCP in Antibes green (given to me)
Fabric - Spotlight

Restyled Vintage tries Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

I am SO excited to have finally tried Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for myself after hearing about it and seeing amazing transformations online, for what seems like ever!

  My friend Catherine of Paisley Vintage kindly shared some details with me that enabled me to be included in a lineup of bloggers here in Australia to have a chance to be given some of this amazing paint to try, courtesy of Annie Sloan Unfolded.  

You need to check out Catherine's blog...she makes amazing ottomans out of coffee tables and she finds the BEST things on the side of the road, and she totally cracks me up at what she manages to fit in her car ;)  She also has a facebook page here.

I decided upon Old White and Antibes Green.  

I was like a kid on Christmas Eve waiting for them to arrive...it was excrutiating!

My package of paint, wax and a brush turned up in the middle of some very stormy weather last Thursday afternoon as my Mum and I were painting my kitchen cabinets (a BIG job, nowhere near finished yet!)  Of course I HAD to get some chalk paint on something, so I attacked this chair with the Antibes Green.

The vibrancy of the colour is amazing, the texture and coverage are amazing.  The speed at which it dries (even on a wet and stormy night in Autumn) is amazing.  The ease at which this distresses is amazing.  The wax is so easy and beautiful to apply and the finished piece has the most beautiful smooth feel the instant the wax is applied (even before buffing).

I did two coats of paint on this chair.

This chair has an upholstered seat and back centre column and I am off to Spotlight in the morning to (hopefully!) find the perfect fabric to set off the green.  I've just got an email to say they have 20-60% off all fabrics tomorrow...I'd call that good timing ;)

I also painted this little shelf today...I picked it up yesterday on a day trip down to Forster.

It might be hard to tell but this is only little, maybe about 500mm high.  I painted it with two coats of Old White, distressed then waxed it.  My daughter has claimed it as hers and quickly staged it for the 'after' shot ;)

Today I also painted a tea trolley in Old White (still need to distress and wax it), and painted this little desk in Old White and Antibes Green.  It is looking pretty cute and will hopefully be finished soon...I have an assignment and First Aid Course getting in my way this week though!

My original vision for this involved me putting an oilcloth top on it but when the one I wanted was out of stock I changed my plans...it is now getting an aged planked top.  I think it will make a great set with the green chair above :)

My BIG project for the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is this corner hutch which I am putting in my kitchen.

I'm planning on playing around with the Old White and Antibes Green to make a lighter green.  It will have some Old White on it too.

I'll be back with details when I get it underway!

So, in summary, my first experience with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint has been very positive.  The only thing I didn't love was that the brush smells a bit like a wet animal, but that would be only because it is made of natural bristle and the actual brush is wonderful for applying the paint.  I'll be buying more to use to apply wax with (so far I've just used a cloth which works fine, but for the grooves on the back of the bookcase, or for an ornate carved detailed piece I wanted to age, such as this sideboard I did last year, you really need a brush to work the wax in well).

You can now buy Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Australia and New Zealand, you can find a stockist close to you here.  

Happy Painting!

Restyled Vintage in Romantic Homes Magazine

Good morning!  I had some exciting news last night, my blog and a couple of my furniture projects got a mention in the June 2013 issue of an American publication, Romantic Homes Magazine.

I was contacted by the magazine a few months back and asked to supply some pictures.  Beth Livesay from the magazine told me that the pictures would be in the June issue, which of course is Spring in the US, so she asked if I could send pictures of projects that had a Spring feel.  My signature style is pretty, bright, fresh and happy which fits with a Springtime theme, so that was easy enough.  Narrowing down my favourite projects was tricky though!  The following pictures are the ones I sent:

 Before and After- Vintage Green Sideboard

 Before and After - Shabby Chic White Sideboard

 Before and After - Shabby Chic Dressing Table

 Before and After - French Country Hall Table

 Before and After - Vintage Green Kitchen Dresser

Before and After - Gelato Colours Bedside Cabinets

 

 Before and After - Beachy Bookcases

 Before and After - Shabby Chic Standard Lamp

 Before and After - Pastel Blue Kitchen Cabinet

 Before and After - Cute Painted Shelving Unit

And following is what was published in the magazine.  I wasn't expecting all my photos to be published, and was thrilled to even get a mention to be honest, but it is interesting to see which ones made the cut.  I am happy with the ones she selected as I think they give a good indication of my style.

 Below is a closer view of the text.  I had to laugh (and shudder!) about being called Australian. 

 (An Australian wouldn't like to be called a New Zealander, either!)

I am very happy and fortunate to live in Australia but that is as close as this proud Kiwi will ever get to being Australian...I couldn't even sound like an Australian if my life depended on it ;)

These pictures are as close as I can get to the magazine, which I can't buy locally.  I'd like to thank my friend Kim, of the gorgeous blog Savvy Southern Style for sending these pictures to me.

I'm headed to my workshop to paint something. Catch you later!