Revamped and reloved the Annie Sloan way!

Have you jumped aboard the chalk paint train yet?

Many people seem to be recycling furniture these days including me. Its a great way to save money whilst doing a bit for the environment.


When I heard about chalk paint I was amazed. When I read about the Annie Sloan brand of chalk paint I was aghast. If someone told you that you could paint a piece of furniture with no sanding, no prep, and with little chance of ruining it, what would you say? This is why I wanted to learn how this chalk paint worked.

I have always hated sanding and priming and the thought of never having to do this brought a huge smile to my face. I am also a bit of a messy painter so this technique seems to suit me fine. As you don't have to use tidy brush strokes, you can brush rather haphazardly. As the paint dries quickly, you need to just get the paint on the piece as quickly as possible.

We often get asked in the shop if our furniture is for sale, so I have decided to do something about it. I have been buying old furniture for many years as I love to bring them back to life by painting, stenciling or using decoupage. After all, old wood furniture is made so much better than the flat pack stuff of today. Why not turn them into loved pieces rather than items for the skip/landfill. As I am intending to sell some of the pieces in the shop, I thought I better learn some professional techniques, instead of slapping on some paint and giving it a quick rub down with sand paper. So I booked myself and my friend Jane, on to an 'Introduction to Furniture Painting with Annie Sloan Chalk paint' workshop at Bunting Queen in Chester.

I heard of Annie Sloan chalk paint a few years ago when I first started painting furniture, but never really used it as I thought it was expensive. However I didn't realise the qualities of the paint, the time it saves you and the amazing result it gives, also how far a small tin will go.Chalk Paint sticks to just about any surface... wood, concrete, metal, matt plastic, earthenware and much more, inside and outside the home. Great on old garden furniture needing a facelift as well. Its also a 'GREEN' paint so to speak , with virtually no smell and safe to use on childrens' furniture .

The lovely Lucy at Bunting Queen held the workshop, talking us through how she started the business and how they began to sell Annie Sloan chalk paint. Very similar to myself, she painted furniture and used it as display for her bunting. She would get asked if the furniture was for sale, and was it painted with Annie Sloan paint she had used. After research into the paint she contacted Annie and the rest is history. 18 months later she is taking commissions and selling pieces through her lovely little shop, as well as holding workshop above the shop.

After the introduction we were given a piece of wood to start our painting techniques. We learnt four techniques, using different colours, waxes and techniques to create four very different looks. You can work up quiet a sweat with the waxing, great for the bingo wings. Refreshments were well provided, we had plenty of cups of tea and some biscuits to keep the energy up.

My favourite had to be the crackle look, can't wait to put this one into practice.

Great ladder display, holding the great selection of Annie Sloan colours and waxes.

Annie Sloan colour wheel

Display of colours

This piece shows what a normal pine set of drawers can be transformed into using decoupage techniques.I love decoupage we have a bureau in the shop which I did last winter and we get lots of comments on it.

Fabric has been used in the panels on this dresser which is very effective.

Before

After

This is the wardrobe which Jane completed the day after the workshop. Showing you how quick it can be done. She used Emile underneath and Paris grey on top before waxing and sanding the edges to show the Emile(purple) underneath. Think you'll agree that it looks great !

If you fancy learning the Annie Sloan techniques check out 'Bunting Queen' web-site for their workshops http://www.buntingqueen.co.uk/ Its a great day out, the girls are all very friendly, and you don't feel under any pressure to create a master piece ! Or keep an eye out for new pieces in the shop.

This is my project, loads of lovely wooden framed mirrors. These will be for sale in the shop very soon.
The vintage corner in the shop will look fab with these revamped, re loved pieces. And at last we will be able to say to customers that " Yes, the furniture is for sale!"

Thanks for reading my blog, hope you feel inspired to have a go, you can't get it wrong. If you are not happy with end result, paint over it.