Using Emperor's Silk~Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

Anytime I use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® and post about it, the interest in it is amazing!  We LOVE this paint and it has truly changed our business.  We have been selling it for a year now.  

The time that it takes to complete a piece is SO much faster than with any other paint we have ever used and with BETTER results.

Hmm... What color?

 Here are a few photos of using Emperor's Silk over an OK oak piece. A mini tutorial.

1.  Wipe your piece down to clean it.  NO SANDING OR PRIMING NEEDED.  

2.  Brush on paint.  One coat is usual enough especially if you are using a good Annie Sloan brush.

The paint has very low VOC's (no odor) so it is safe to paint inside.  It will be dry in an hour or less.

3.  Distress with a sanding block or piece of sandpaper along the edges or anywhere that you want to highlight the craftsmanship of the piece.

4.  Apply Clear Wax next using a wax brush. Gently set your brush in the wax to pick up a little on your brush.  Scrape on edge of can to evenly coat the head of the brush.   Start rubbing your brush over the paint.  Push it in.  The paint is very porous, so the wax will fill in to create one solid surface. Work in sections until you have covered the whole piece.  (a couple of very light coats are better than one heavy coat.)

*At this point you need to choose if you are going to add Dark Wax over the top of the Clear to richen your color and give the piece more patina.  If decide you like the way to looks:

5. Buff your piece with a buff brush or soft clean rag.

You are done!

If you choose to add the Dark Wax:

6.  Apply Dark Wax  OVER the Clear Wax.  Again, set your brush in the wax to pick up a little on your brush.  Scrape on edge of can to evenly coat the head of the brush.  Start rubbing your brush over the Clear Wax. If you like how dark it looks, leave it.  If it is a bit too dark, take a rag and wipe off some till you have the look you want.

7.  Buff your piece with a buff brush or soft clean rag.

Finished except for hardware.

Beautiful! 

And so simple and fast. (That is why there is a lack of photos, it's hard to stop to take them.) 

This is a very popular color.  So rich and the perfect red!

Any Questions?

We offer a paint class once a month.

Next class:

April 16, 11 - 1:30

2 - 4:30

$95.

Call to reserve your seat (916)663-4663

The Vintage Bricoleur

3750 Taylor Road 

Loomis, Ca. 95650

Inside the High Hand  fruit sheds.

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Tutorial - Hutch

This is a simple tutorial on how to use the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  

We sell the paint in our store and every day I am asked about this wonderful product.  We also offer a class once a month, the next one is to take place on

February 19, 2013

11:00 - 1:30

$95.

Call (916)663-4663 to reserve your seat.
(The January class is full.)

When we picked up this hutch at a little junk shop close by, and we knew that we would paint it.

This paint is great because there is no prep work that needs to be done before you paint. 

 NO priming,

 NO sanding,

 NO stripping.

We wiped it down with a clean rag to remove any dust and started painting.

We mixed the Antibes Green and the Aubusson Blue 50/50.

See? A shiny dark surface, no sanding.

Just paint it on.  It will dry fairly fast.

When the paint is dry, distress it by using a piece of sandpaper.  We like to hit the details of the piece, the edges and corners.

Put the Clear Wax on next with a wax brush.  Dab it into the wax and start pushing it into your paint by rubbing in circles or back and forth.  Whatever feels comfortable to you. Wipe off any excess with a clean rag.  Work in sections until your piece is covered completely.  The Clear Wax seals the piece and allows you to smooth the Dark Wax around.

Apply the Dark Wax next.  Work in sections, rub on with the wax brush, and wipe off any excess if it looks a little too dark for you.  The Dark Wax richens the color and gives the piece patina.

The final step is buffing the entire surface with a buff brush.  This is done by a fast high friction movement.  It will become very smooth and it shines it up a bit.

A close-up of the distressing details and patina.

Put the hardware back on.

The color mix turned out to be gorgeous!

Wow! What a difference!!!

We painted the inside of the top in Old White.

This photo is a little bright, but I had to share it with you to show you how great the hutch stores and holds things.  This piece would work great for a kitchen or dining room.

~Before~

~After~

And yes, this project was all done in the living room! 

 This paint is very low VOC.  This was done with 1 coat of paint and used about a 3rd of the quart of paint.

Clean up: We use warm water and dish soap to clean our paint brushes and a small cup of mineral spirits to clean our wax brushes.  Water and soap can be used on the wax brushes also. 

So do YOU have an ugly hutch, cabinet, desk, chair, dresser, or table that needs some TLC? Come on in to our store and get your paint!  There are 30 beautiful colors to choose from, and you can create your own colors by mixing a couple together.  It is an easy process.

What color will you choose?

The Vintage Bricoleur

3750 Taylor Road

Loomis, Ca 95650

Inside the High Hand  fruit sheds.

This post is linked up to French Country Cottage, Feathered Nest Friday.  Thank You Courtney!

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)

Some Before/After Projects with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

We have been using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for a year now and have been selling it in our store for about 5 months.

 

We are hooked.

This paint is so easy to use and the projects turn out so beautiful.

 

BEFORE

This big chest had such great lines and was not TOO bad the way it was, but it was pretty dirty looking and just needed a new look.

 

We had beautiful details to work with.

 

AFTER

All fresh and ready to go with a fresh coat of

 Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - Coco with Clear and Dark Wax.

I love the patina that the Dark Wax gives.

 

BEFORE

 

AFTER

We finished this lady off with

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - Antoinette with Clear and Dark Wax.

 

BEFORE

 

AFTER

Transformed with

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - French Linen with Clear and Dark Wax.

 

BEFORE

AFTER

Fresh and new with

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - Aubusson Blue with Clear Wax.

 

BEFORE

 

 

 AFTER

Beautiful with

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - Provence with Clear Wax.

 

BEFORE

 

 

 AFTER

So cute and bright with

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - Florence with Clear Wax.

 

And of course we can't forget the famous photo of these pieces that were finished in just 1 day!

Aren't they pretty?

Old White, Emperor's Silk, Old Violet, Florence, Versailles

 

 

Every single one of these makeovers was done with NO sanding, priming or stripping beforehand.

 

Come visit us to get your paint.

 

 The Vintage Bricoleur

3750 Traylor Road

Loomis Ca, 95650

Inside the High Hand fruit sheds.

 

*Follow/Like us on Facebook*

 

 

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)

 

 

 

 

 

 



Sharing a Bit of My Home ~ Part 1

On this blog I usually share

show pics,

store pics,

 workshop pics,

 you get the idea.  It is not a lot of personal stuff.  Anyway, I thought I would dedicate a few posts to my home.  I think it is important for you to "see" a bit of my personal space. 

I have shared pics of my mantle before, it is one of the only places that I can decorate, because I don't have a lot of wall space.  This 97 year old house is instead "blessed" with many windows and doorways.

This is how my mantle looked in the winter in early evening. 

We love this big old fireplace.

This is the mantle last summer.

(Yeah it hasn't been changed in a while.)

This is how it looked the other day with the morning sun streaming through the windows.

(No fires right now, just a coal bucket full of pinecones.)

Simple, just the way I like it,

but it has been a while since there was any change.

So...

**********************

I changed things up a bit.

I used the same pitchers.  And candle.

And salvage architectural pieces.

But I added the big graprevine wreath and preserved boxwoods. 

I LOVE the boxwoods!

My favorite pic, one more time.

See the antique bayonet?  It makes a great conversational piece....

Coming up next, my Poppy room

Sharing a Bit of My Home ~ Part 2

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't forget about the Blog Luncheon that I am hosting with French Country Cottage this coming Friday June 29th.  If you are interested please email me terry@thevintagebricoleur.com.  We have some great Giveaways!!!

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)