Gilding waxes~add luxe to your pieces

 Today I spent a little time making some samples to show off the different types of 

gilding waxes that I will soon have in the shop.  Gilding waxes

are easier to use than real gilt, and it is a way for you to elevate your 

painted piece with just a touch of your finger~

the Midas touch!

 This sample of French Linen Chalk Paint® is dressed up with King Gold Gilding Wax.

 Here you can see the 4 different gilding waxes available~

Renaissance Gold, Silver, Empire Gold, and King Gold.

 They are wonderful to add to Chalk Paint® finishes for a special look.

 They are wonderful when added to Milk Paint too! I guess so, 

since this Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint table in Shutter Grey 

sold today! I added little swipes of King Gold to it and it changed 

the look from country to Shabby Chateau!

 A soft touch goes a long way in my book~here there is a touch 

of King Gold added on a French Linen Chalk Paint Armoire door.

 Can you tell I like the color Gold? I used to be all in love with Silver, 

but now its Gold Gold Gold baby!! My pretty gold phone is NFS 

(not for sale) so don't even ask (or beg) because I had a dear retired 

friend fix it so it works perfectly~
but for now it is a prop on my pretty desk.

 Its in the front window today because I sold the vintage patio set

 I had sitting there! Today was a big day for sales in both paint and furniture.

 This desk might be getting a touch of King Gold next!! 

And then it just might fly out the door too.

 So goodbye to my little Parisian coffee table~

 Anytime I sell something I get to move alot of the furniture around, 

which I LOVE to do!

My house furniture has never sat in the same place this long...

and its because I am doing this now.

There is the Chateau Gray mora clock I am custom painting~

and another white mora is next...

For now its all about the Gilding waxes~

kind of similar to rub n buff products, 

but I consider it a cut above.
I will be adding it to both my physical store as well 
as shopmaisondecor.com
So look for it soon~!

Add a little glitz and glamour to your pieces~

maybe even your shoes!!

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Settee in pastel colored Chalk Paint™ and dark wax!

 Pastels are my favorite shades to use in decorating.

 I love the variety of soft colors in the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ line~

and I decided to do a Chippendale style settee in the pastels

 to take away the formality of the piece.

 First step was two coats of Old Ochre Chalk Paint™.  

No sanding, no priming~just painting.

 My new favorite neutral~

 Painting things with legs is tricky. Its nice to get it up off the

 floor and be able to turn it in different positions to 

make sure you have everything covered.

 After the base coats were applied, I brushed all the leaves with Versailles. 

This color with Old Ochre was a great combination~I considered stopping there..

.but I really had a vision in my head, so I kept to plan.

 Next I added Antoinette and a color that I mixed up for

 my Tiffany chairs~closest to Duck Egg blue. 

I brushed them on as I went using a little bit of this here, and a 

little bit of that there~

 Until I ended up with this~a mix of soft pink, blue and green on a creamy base. 

After I was finished with all the pastel detail painting, I covered it in clear wax. 

 The dark wax would be following, as I wanted this to feel more sophisticated 

and not so little girlish~and that is what the dark wax 

does to the Annie Sloan™ pastels.

 Here is the leg detail with just Old Ochre~

 Here it is with the  pastels, now  getting some dark wax.  

 I brush it on so it goes in all the crevices and on top of the surface~

 It looks like a big scary mess~

 Covering all the pretty pastels in the dark brown wax~

 I do section at a time and then rub off the dark wax 

and am left with a beautiful result~

So don't be afraid to use the dark wax~

 Its still pretty, just not so sugary.

 The store is really full with  new pieces, so it was hard to find a spot to take its picture!

 This morning I moved it again so I could look at it from my desk...'cuz I love it!!!

 And see that brown coffee table?

 Its going to look fabulous all done up frenchy style

 in the Chalk Paint™ by Annie Sloan™.

 So many things to paint....so little time in my day! 

 I will be hosting another Annie Sloan™ Introductory Workshop 

on Sunday~2 spots are left, so its not too late to sign up and join in! 

Oh and this pretty antique chandy is going in my online store today too!
linking to
Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Friday 

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Annika's Attic~ A Swedish Antiques Shop in NH

Note to Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint shoppers~
I restocked the store, after selling out of several colors,
so please try again if you were unable to get the color you wanted.
Shop here for Milk Paint

 I thought I'd get your attention with these Swedish clocks~

I visited a Swedish antiques shop

while vacationing in New Hampshire, and I was excited

 to see if there were any Mora clocks.

 Look at that pretty face~under the beautiful metal hand

 you can just see the name Mora~

 Handpainted on a metal clock face are the numbers and the words~

the paint is all crackled up and chipping off a bit, 

a testament to the passage of time.

 But lets start at the beginning~this is Annika's Attic~!

 Just opened this spring in Northwood, New Hampshire.

 The shop is in the barn and the owners live in the rest

 of the house which is attached to the barn on the left.

 The first thing I saw was a lineup on the back wall~do you see them?

 Like pretty soldiers, they are all lined up awaiting my inspection.

 I normally think of Swedish clocks and antiques being all washed 

out and pale colored. Here I found out

that the Swedes do use a lot of bolder colors like

the Scandanavian Reds and pinks and blues.

 The clocks have doors on their tummys that you can open to see the pendulums.

  The owner of the shop, Laurie and her husband are repairing the

 clocks so they will all be in working order, so the guts of the

 clocks are not seen when the door is opened.

 Interesting to see the dark blue inside with a painted date of 1836.

 All of the clock faces appear to have this very cool handwritten font~

 I think Laurie said the faces of the clocks are made by one

 family while the cases may be made by another family.  

Wealthy families buy the clocks and then hire a carpenter to build the case!

 Handpainted decoration in red and green~

 Mora

 Mora~I asked Laurie to hold the hand aside from my favorite clock~the one below.

 Its pale blue paint was discovered and unearthed by Laurie and she is still restoring it.

 Pretty blue baby!! 

Darling country clock from Sweden

This shop has many antiques shipped over from Sweden

 like this dining room table and chairs

and the Gustavian cabinet in the background.

Pretty pretty pretty!~original upholstery too~

 And a darn good price!

 Really old furniture like this painted chair was so neat to see.

 Its a child with an angel and the little troll~I can't remember what 

Laurie called him, but he is part of the Swedish folklore. 

 And there I am in all my vacationing glory~! 

With the big hat and the camera~I loved this dresser,

even though Laurie said it wasn't Swedish.  I just loved it~

 Such a charming folksy paintjob in my favorite pastels.

Pretty isn't it? And priced to sell at $175~

 A knockout piece was this slant top desk!

 She had a few handpainted antique trunks too~

 And benches with Swedish pillows~

 The corner cabinet in Gustavian Grey~

Yes, this is a shop that rang my bells~be sure to

 look for it on Route 4 in Northwood NH.

And tell Laurie that Amy sent you!

Laurie will be getting a website very soon~

I will link this post to it when its up and running!

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