Painting fabric on chairs and random stuff

It just seems strange to paint fabric I admit~

but I have been thrilled with the results every time I try it.

 Here is the before and after of a french chair. Side by side this pair used to be the same. First thing I did was to paint the entire thing in a coat of Old White Chalk Paint®.  Then I did one more after it dried.

The upholstery was a quilted style heavy fabric in gold.

It really take more paint to cover fabric than it does wood.

You can water down the paint a bit, but not a lot.

After it dries sand it lightly with 500 grit paper so it feels 

soft and smooth.  Yes, it sands nicely and feels so soft!

Next step:  I waxed it with a mix I made out of Annies soft wax 

and mineral spirits.

Just making the wax a little easier to spread over the fabric

 I added about 1 part mineral spirits to two parts wax in a plastic cup. 

 It has the consistency of soft butter.

 This photo was after I used it...but this is how I applied the 

softened wax over the seat. Just like you would wax a dresser,

 rub it in and around and spread it nice and evenly. I did not

 have to remove any excess as I applied it carefully without globbing it!!!

After waxing it feels kind of like a soft leather! 

Its quite amazing...a little dark wax to the chair frame 

and this chair has a whole new look!

Pretty french chair in Old White!

 This is the cabinet I made for a shop display for the 

Pearl Plaster and all that other good stuff~

 Finishing up this mammoth brass chandelier~I keep working on

 it and working on it...it might never be done! Just kidding Melissa!

 This pretty vanity will be the next piece to get the 

Maison Decor treatment~what color do you think it should be?

 A faded blue mora clock heads out to her new home~

 on the heels of this cream colored mora!

I think the easter egg colors look so pretty on these clocks.

A student from Sunday's class fell in love with my Silvery Grey Sideboard.

She came in my shop today and bought it!

Its so exciting for me to see one of my creations go home with someone.

On another note~this sideboard was painted by one of my 

students, Eugenia! I think she did a fantastic job on it. I think she said

it was Olive, but it kind of looks like Chateau Grey....

Whatever it came out really cool.

Thats it from my little corner of the world~

hope you are getting a chance to flex your creative muscles~

'cause it feels sooooo good!

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Looking for Chalk Paint® and more?

 When you walk in the shop at Maison Decor Malden 

there is no mistake about it~

we sell Annie Sloan's famous bestest paint in the world~!

Chalk Paint®!

 It is now a REGISTERED TRADEMARKED paint~!

We are the ONLY paint that can be called Chalk Paint!!

Pretty darn cool~Annie worked awfully long and hard for the last twenty years

with this marvelous paint she invented~and now that it has found popularity

the wanna be pretenders are comin' out of the woodwork!!

So I am PROUD of Annie Sloan! And PROUD to sell her paint,

as she so fondly calls THE BEST PAINT IN THE WORLD

We sell it in Boston too at 524 Harrison Ave!

 Anyway~so when you walk through our Malden shop door you will 

always find different set ups due to the fact that 

we sell everything that isn't nailed down basically....

but at the moment I have a big sideboard that holds a

 ton of samples done in all kinds of colors and finishes.  

Many shoppers find this helpful to look through to find the

 finish they hope to recreate for their own projects.  

We have all the colors straight out of the can painted on 

wood samples so you don't have to just pick a color from 

a color chart.  If you want to go a little further you can select 

from samples that show things that have been antiqued and glazed and crackled too.

 Now that Annie Sloan has got the official registered trademark 

under her belt she has given us a new logo too. 

 Look for the circle with ANNIE SLOAN STOCKIST on it~

it comes in different colors, but the design is the same. 

 She thoughtfully made it available in different colors to

 fit different shop's decors.  I used some of Artisan Enhancements

 transfer gel to put in on this vintage frame~

 The other stuff in the shop is the latest projects we have using Annie's paint, 

like this fabric and cane backed french chair. I still haven't finished it, 

but it is at the point where it is ready for waxing and maybe something else. 

 The pretty dresser sold and will be headed out of the shop next 

Tuesday making space for new vintage pieces to display.

 While you might run across some home decor items in the Malden shop,

 we are mostly the go to place to see projects of all kinds, 

like painted chandeliers, painted furniture of course,

 and tons of things to inspire the DIYer who is looking for help, 

ideas and answers before they begin their own projects.

 One of the newer things we have added to this shop is the 

Artisan Enhancement line which works nicely with our beloved Chalk Paint®.  

 The Easy Crackle is my latest fav~and I have been 

cracking it up around here!! This is a sample board showing how the 

Easy Crackle reveals the under color of Old Ochre after

 it has been covered in Paris Grey.  I finished it off with 

Clear and Dark soft waxes by Annie Sloan to create an antiqued look. 

 The doors to this music cabinet were given the Easy Crackle treatment.

 They also got a dash of Pearl Plaster for that luminescent pearlized look.

You will get plenty of choices to pick from if you are looking 

to add a little extra character to your painted furniture. 

 Come look at our specialty samples to help you decide. 

That way you don't have to guess what it will look like! 

You can actually handle pieces of decorative wood moldings

 in all kinds of colors and specialty finishes like gilding waxes, 

pastes and the Artisan Enhancement line.

How about doing your closet doors with some Easy Crackle and Chalk Paint®?

I thought the basic white latex painted door would be a good foil for adding Easy Crackle

and then a layer of Duck Egg blue paint....look at the crackly finish!

It adds character to wherever you add it~

I have some clients who are doing  over a set of builder basic hollow core

closet doors in their bedroom right now.  The plan is to make them look like aged

antique paneled doors.  They will be doing Graphite base 

with Paris Grey and Easy Crackle just like my Music Cabinet doors.  

So stop by our shop~its more like a furniture art studio!

This Sunday I will be having an Advanced Techniques class in washes and glazes

with ten ladies~we SOLD OUT in record time....that tells me you guys are looking

to do more with what you have~and its just so easy to do 

with all of these great products and a little know how!

Our next Advance Techniques class will be using the Artisan Enhancements line.

I'll be headed out to Colorado at the end of the month for some one on one

with one of the founders of the company for some hands on learning~more on that later!!

And to wrap it up if you have an extra minute head over to my son Justin's blog,

The Brush and Pail~

he wrote about his dear old mom today. 

*blush*

For workshop information and registration go here

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This and that and Advanced Workshop schedule

 Our Boston store has a new display in the window.  Justin channeled a bit of Ralph Lauren for this one...while I was in the auction house he texted me his idea and so I shopped for a few items to add to his display.  All of these items are for sale of course.  I love coming into the Boston shop to see what's new as I rarely get to spend any time in here.  Last Saturday when the Malden shop closed, Colin and I took a ride into Boston with a few new items to add to Justin's inventory.  I couldn't resist snapping a few pics to share them with you.

 Gothic gilded mirror leaning against a great painted dresser with fab knobs.

                           A low chest perfect for a flat screen console~

 Some hand painted mugs~

Justin makes the coolest little signs and 

he displays them in white piglets.  Love his hand lettered font.

 While I am just snapping away Colin sat with Sylvia, Justin's schnoodle. She is our Boston mascot and is just a little puppy with a darling disposition.  Justin was at the gym next door working out after hours when Colin and I popped into the store late Saturday afternoon.  Little Syl was just sitting on her tiny dog bed and was so sweet! Colin scooped her up while I ran around the store grabbing a few photos.

 

Colin and Sylvia

 When we got back home Colin showered and got ready to go out with his friends~I had never seen his shirt before...it had the breast cancer pink ribbon thing on the button placket. I asked him where he got it~he told me he ordered it from a fancy shirt company and said that 20% went to breast cancer research. His friends thought it was pretty cool and they got the black polo shirts too.  The girls they meet at the nightclubs think its pretty sensitive of a guy to care about breast cancer.  Colin is just a handsome young man who actually does think about such things. I don't know how we got so lucky with him! He is a pleasure~ok, enough bragging on him...

 I finally got the Maison Decor Advance Workshop schedule started and I have decided to do it in a monthly series. One special workshop per month will be offered.  I added a Glazes and Washes class for February 17 and an Artisan Technique class for March 24 which will be all about the Pearl Plaster and other products.  At the end of this month I am headed to Colorado to spend  5 days with one of the creators of the product and I will get some one on one training time from the master of these wonderful and exciting products!  Of course I will still have my Annie Sloan Introductory workshops, two times every month. March 10 has SOLD OUT and March 17 has only 5 spots left.  Please sign up if you are considering it, as they will be gone probably by the end of the week.

 This table leg bears a smokey wash and a gilded wash...

And last but not least~

Thats my mom on the right in 1969.  She looks pretty chic in her tight bob and cats eye glasses and empire waisted shift!  She is standing next to my Nana, and then next to Nana is my aunt Cynthia, my mom's youngest sister and my Uncle Arthur. They have 2 boys and 2 girls.  Very sadly Aunt Cynthia died of melanoma when she was only 49 years of age. We miss her.  I think everybody agreed she was the prettiest out of the 5 daughters and had a matching personality to boot!  Uncle Arthur is one of my favorite uncles~he is that dashing kind of guy, tall and handsome and got charisma in spades.  When he walked in a room, he just lit it up!  Now he is plagued with an undiagnosed condition and the doctors are busy trying to figure it all out and find out how to treat him.  So if you are inclined, please add him to your prayer list. 

Hang in there Uncle Art! We love you and are pulling for you.

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Painting a Brass Chandelier!

                                                                                                                                                             

 A vintage brass chandelier had seen better days...

I had a little plan to makeover this light fixture.

It involved some painting with Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan in Graphite...

 The Chalk Paint® sticks nicely to the brass without any prepwork. 

After doing one coat over the chandy I moved to the next step....

 I wisked some French Linen Chalk Paint® across most of the Graphite.

 Then I used my magic potion...Pearl Plaster!

 I brushed the Pearl Plaster over the painted finish and

 made it heavy and crusty in some areas and sheer in others.

Finished up with a little dark wax and now it has a a whole new look!

Something kind of hand forged looking....

Some black candle covers and this baby is good to go!

So consider Chalk Paint® for your brass pieces and add

a little Pearl Plaster for that shimmery but not sparkly look.

On a side note, Colin has been coming home on the weekends to help

out at the store~here he is painting a cottage dresser in Old White.

I have been getting lots of  compliments on him and how well

he is doing when I have to step out of the shop. 

So thank you to those who have let me know he is a pleasure and is 

so helpful and full of information.

Hope to see you in the shop!

We are located at 

150 Main Street Reading Mass

781-942-7400

Shop online for Chalk Paint® and Pearl Plaster here.

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