My first Annie Sloan™ Workshop!

I hosted my first painting workshop at Maison Decor! 

The class was Introductory Techniques for Chalk Paint™ decorative paint 

created by the one and only~Annie Sloan!

That's me looking over Betsy Speert's shoulder 

and making sure she is doing things

properly....if you know Betsy then you know

 I had to keep an eye on her!

She writes Betsy Speert's Blog which is loaded 

with first rate decorating information and a heavy dose of humor.

Although I was busy teaching I was lucky to have my son Colin

assisting with the needful and taking a few photos as well~

 The workshop was set up with each attendant getting a selection 

of  wood moldings to paint with different

techniques, as well as a piece of the plastic faux tin tile used 

for ceilings and back splashes.  A folder held a 

summary of each technique for future reference. 

 The workshop was really fun, it lasted 4 hours and the ladies

 were quite absorbed in making their sample boards.

 We took a lunch break~I never 

took any pics of the buffet station,

 but I think Betsy Speert might have~

many of the paint techniques have two or more steps,

 so the lunch break is the perfect time for  the base coats to dry.

 Back at it again~look at my busy beavers!! 

 I had 4 Annie Sloan™ virgins and 3 with Chalk Paint™ experience!

 It was a first for Betsy and if she said it once she said it a million times,

 "I think my board is the BEST!!!!" yada yada yada..

.luckily most of the girls have seen glimpses of Betsy's humor 

on my blog, with the exception of poor Marilyn at the other end of the table....

You can see a sample next to Judy in the floral shirt...its the tin tile~

How cool is this?  

Create a verdigris look with Duck Egg blue 

to those metallic ceiling tiles and make it your own~

also gorgeous in Old White.

Paint it on, dry and then rub some off...

finish with waxes to create more patina and to seal.

I will be having my next class on June 24th~

bring a small piece of furniture to the class

and you will get proper instruction on paint and wax 

application, as well as learn some decorative techniques.

Call the store for more details or click on my store link.

 Terry is holding a paint brush loaded with Emperor's Silk~

a shocking candy apple red! We were going to use dark wax 

directly onto the red to create a leather look, which seemed 

to be a favorite with the class. Bridget, seated to my left, 

is the owner of Rustique, the shop in New Hampshire 

where I buy a lot of my home furnishings with that frenchy flavor!

 She also writes a blog called the Rehab Boutique!

 At the end of the class many students buy Chalk Paint™ supplies~

Betsy bought oodles of the paint and waxes~I was so happy 

she likes the paint and wants to use it in her furniture restorations!  

She has high standards~and this being the first time she 

experienced the joys of Chalk Paint™~well,  apparently it won her over!! 

That and my wonderful teaching skills of course! 

Colin posed dutifully~he likes Betsy a lot!~

 I grabbed a quick blurry shot of them too...

 At the end of the day I felt wonderfully tired~

kind of like Mr. Dillon here.  

I had the next day off and planned to luxuriate in my down time....

 And here I am the next day...yes this is what my lovely

 dining room looks like lately...a pile of papers, bills, my laptop...

its command central when I am not at 50 Summer Street!

Betsy called me to tell me she thought I did a great job at the workshop.

I really appreciate her support with my store and her friendship has been one of

the many blessings from my blog~thanks again Betsy!! 

My day off Monday included checking in on my Facebook, 

while checking my iPhone messages, while wolfing down 

a sandwich, so I could get out to the yard and do

 some gardening...its called REAL LIFE,

 its not perfect~but its Grand!