Cow Print for Client

Recently a very special client of mine (who I can tell you more about at the end of this month) came to me to ask me to paint a few different pieces of furniture for her which she will deliver to me in the near future... She had a few ideas and for one particular piece (a big dresser) she has asked me to paint in cow print! 

This stunned me at first as it is a little out of my comfort zone as although I can paint I cannot draw to save my life so my freehand is sketchy to say the least! And to be perfectly honest I couldn't see how I could do this without it ending up looking tacky. 

SO I put my thinking-cap on and decided to give this a trial run on some spare wood so that when my client comes with the furniture then she can have a better idea of what her piece will look like. I used some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White for a quick base, and then realised that I didn't have any black paint left! So I sneaked borrowed used a little of my dad's artist paint in black and it did the job nicely!

What do you all think? 

Tacky or not?

Chalk Paint Success!

Yay! This is my favourite redo out of all that I have done, well it still isn't completely finished yet as I have to do something with the manky insides of the drawers but I couldn't resist posting early.

I found her at an auction in the winter and got her for next to nothing.

 Don't you just love a bargain? 

The top was quite heavy marked, as were the drawers so I sanded it down with the electric sander and then gave it a wipe. Because I had used chalk paint before, and had a not-so-good experience.. I had the benefit of knowing that this paint dries super quick meaning that it is hard to get an opaque and even coverage. With this in mind, I bought some gold craft paint and sprayed the piece, concentrating on the edges, legs and top with the happy knowledge that this chalk paint can go on top of any surface below.

This dried really quickly, so I was able to paint over it on the SAME DAY! Amaaazing! I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Henrietta. It is has lovely lilac tones to it but overall I think it is more pink. It really is such a beautiful colour on! I had heard along my relentless research on how best to use this paint that using a foam roller gave good results so I gave this a shot and it worked brilliantly! I also made sure to put the lid right back on securely after I poured it each time onto the tray as this stuff thickens up really quickly. Normally I would have to use a brush to get into the nooks and crannies, but with the gold shining up from below I wasn't that fussy and just went with it.
I just used my regular Colron clear finishing wax to protect it and to secure the chalk paint to the furniture.

I left little bits of gold peaking through;

At first I was going to get new knobs for the piece, possibly crystal, but decided against it when it was all painted. So I just gave the old ones a good scrub and here they are in all their glory

Such pretty legs! I love old furniture, the quality of the wood, the fine detailing and all the skill that went into making it, this piece even has beautiful dove tail joins on the drawers!

Oh la la she is pretty :) 

My favourite piece so far.

NeW bLoGgY sTylE

Hello all, I have been playing around with a different look for my blog, something which I think is more personal to my brand. It is hard to know as the old look was very colourful which I thought reflected my furniture, but my style has been changing recently.

(Ok..so it is very much still a work in progress BUT)

What do you all think??

With thanks to the Background fairy

and shabbyblogs.com

who are both fantastic, completely free and I now love them!

How cute is this below!! :)

Chalk Paint DISASTER

Oh dear. I am so annoyed I could cry! Ok so here is my story so far... Firstly, I bought this table at an auction a few months ago;

It's quite nice, right? So I sanded it down by hand, filled in the surface and primed it with 1-2-3 waterbased and decided that I would HAVE to try this Annie Sloan Chalk Paint that everybody is raving about.  So I ordered some 'Old White' from an ebay supplier and got cracking....literally - the paint looks so uneven, liney and cracked on that I could just cry...but instead I thought that I would keep a cool head and lightly sand it down to see if it would smooth. (It didn't). Then I thought that the problem may lie with my less-than-average attempt and filling in the surface;

 so I asked my kind daddy for help and he put a nice layer of filler on, which then turned into this mess

Yup. 'Electric sander' I hear you say?! My thoughts exactly, so I got it out and sanded til my heart was content - look how lovely and smooth it was;

So I tried my chalk paint all over again, and the same thing happened all over again. AHH! It looks grainy, uneven, gathered and I just don't know what to do with it next.

The texture is the same all over the legs and everywhere. Maybe this is the way it is meant to look? Maybe it is just not my style? Maybe I have done something wrong? I have tried it thick, then thinned with water, I have used big brushes and then small brushes, long strokes and short strokes and even a roller to no avail.
Is there anybody who can give me advice on where to go with it next, or even anybody who has had a bit of trouble with this paint too?
In short, Help!

Electric Sanders

I love electric sanders!! That is all.

(What did I do without it before??!)

Damsel in Distress Dresser

Well, as the title may hint, this piece has caused me a little bit of distress. Not because of any major problems - structurally it was fantastic, the drawers run like a dream, the mirror is intact, it was a bargain at auction and everything did run smoothly. What did bother me about this piece was that I bought it in the depths of the winter, and started sanding and working on this about two months ago, so I feel it has been dragging on and on and I hate that! Anyway, it is finished now :) and it looks mighty cute!

I used an electric sander, primed it with 1-2-3 water based, and used a creamy white oil-based paint with a roller that I could just chuck out after. Happy Days! Then I gave it a little worn in feel by lightly distressing it. I kept the original handles because I thought they were cute and very 'french', so I just gave them a clean and sprayed them with Rustoleum oil-rubbed bronze paint. Then I lined the drawers with gold and cream Laura Ashely paper. After this I gave a couple of coats of clear wax just to protect from future make-up stains and the like...

So it is up for auction on ebay, just follow the link, and is currently sitting in the van waiting to be taken to the shop tomorrow (Homemakers Discounts Coleraine).

Hope you like :)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Cream-Dressing-Table-Mirror-/260808677337?pt=UK_Home_Garden_LivingRoomFurniture_EH&hash=item3cb96897d9

Sell, Sell, Sell

Things have been quiet for me recently, I suppose it is hard for everybody trying to sell in this economic climate. However I hope my low prices and quirky features will be enough to draw everybody in! So, lets get this show on the road - here are a few pieces for sale on ebay, just follow the links and have a browse :)

For the cute vintage set of single wardrobe and mirrored dressing table ;

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Single-Wardrobe-and-Dressing-Table-/260768578803?pt=UK_Bedroom_Furniture&hash=item3cb704bcf3

For the snazzy Drinks Cabinet (I'm dying to put cocktail glasses in here!);

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Distressed-Black-Display-Drinks-Cabinet-/260767650638?pt=UK_Home_Garden_LivingRoomFurniture_EH&hash=item3cb6f6934e

And finally the Cube Cabinet

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Slate-Grey-Locker-/260768579678?pt=UK_Home_Garden_LivingRoomFurniture_EH&hash=item3cb704c05e