Maison Blanche's Wrought Iron on a Repurposed Map Desk

This little jewel received a new home today.

It started out as a very rough and abused map desk that has found it's way to being a TV stand in a guest bedroom.

The before picture shows it fresh out of the Goodwill.

The front drawer looked as though it had seen better days. Reattached a few times I am sure.

Everything that I have painted has been with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I really like it, have zero complaints.

But Maison Blanche Paint has come out with a chalk paint called La Craie and they have a black called Wrought Iron. It is much darker than ASCP before it is waxed.

You still have to wax the paint to get the depth of the paint to come out but I waxed in clear instead of dark. The difference is a much more even color, not as many variations in the shading of the black. 

When you have a piece to paint that has spots that make it very difficult to wax it is nice. 

Clear as mud,  I know.  Sorry.

 

The wood on the desk was stained with a red hue so that when it was distressed and waxed  that color came through and it really looks nice next to the black.

 

 

 

The inside of the drawers were painted with a mixture of ASCP Old White and Country Gray. I had a little bit of both so I mixed it up.

 

Worked pretty well.

 

 

Love the color of the wood coming through on the knobs.

 

 

 

I really like the unique look of this piece also.

 

I do wish there was an easy way to date these pieces though. I would love to  know the year it was born.

 

 I really liked using this paint for the color. The consistency is different that ASCP. Thicker than what I was used to but I just added water to thin it out.

 

 

Unfortunately I had to order it and have it shipped to the tune of   $97.00 for 2 quarts of paint.

 

Yup, you read that right.

 

That is a lot of money.

 

Cannot do it again unless I can pick it up directly and no one in Western North Carolina carries it.

 

**update** I now have a supplier in Asheville...WOOHOO!













How to Get Rid of Bingo Wings

I have figured out exactly how to get rid of BINGO WINGS.

You know what I am talking about.

These beautiful horrible things. UGH!

They tend to show up around 40 when everything starts to go to hell in a hand basket.

So if you are 39, guess what you have to look forward to.

Not kidding.

Anyway...this is the answer.

Gather your husband, leave the kids at home and jump in the truck.

Jump in the truck and head to the nearest Estate Sale, Thrift Store or Goodwill.

That is my husband.

He keeps asking why I didn't pick up a "lighter" hobby like tatting lace or something weird like that.

So to get back on track.

You have your husband, you have a truck load of furniture and you have one of these.....

With a can of this...

And after sanding the rough and bumpy spots, no cheating by using an electric sander.

You start to paint.

Back and forth with the brush.

Back and forth, feel the burn.

Once it is dry and looking wonderful you are going to make it even more wonderful by grabbing one of these.....

A SANDING BLOCK.

Again, sand every surface of the paint you have just applied.  

Heavier in some areas.

Make it smooth.

Are you starting to feel the burn?

Switch arms every so often to spread the joy.

You are heading to the home stretch....

Grab your wax and round brush..



and rub that wax all over the entire surface of the dresser, small sections at a time.

Then take your rag and rub the entire surface AGAIN.

Seeing a pattern here?

Bet you look like this now don't you....

I am telling you....gets rid of Bingo Wings.

That is what was running through my head as I was finishing this piece.

There is a lot of surface to cover on this baby.

The Coco Dresser with its Old Ochre on the drawers.

Isn't she pretty?

With her original hardware,

and her swivel mirror.

Just beautiful.

The before....

The after.

And now she needs a home.

Her job is done, she got rid of my Bingo Wings!

Country Sideboard in Emperor's Silk with Medium wax by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

 

This is a country server or sideboard or buffet or.... not really sure what to name it.

But let me tell you this, it is a beautiful piece of furniture. 

You know the ones that when you are working on it you are fitting it into every little spot in your home.

It would go perfect here.

With this sitting on top of it.

Oh, and at Christmas with the red I could do this....

Can you tell I would really like to keep this one?

LOVE IT!



 

 And of course it is in the Emperor's Silk that I love.
This time instead of doing the dark wax all over it I mixed the clear and dark and covered it in one coat.
It really seemed to go on much smoother and  a lot more even.

 The wood is maple and maple is just so nice to paint over.
So smooth.
Yummy, just love it.

 I really do think I need to keep this one.
Unless of course, until the next piece.
I am kind of addicted to this.

This is the before shot.
I found it at an estate sale, it had a price of $799.00 on it.
NO, I did not pay that much.
Lord, my husband would have killed me.



Sweet Baby Henry

 Little Baby Henry...
They don't get any cuter than this.
Five days old, can you not just smell that wonderful new baby smell.
Makes every mom weak in the knees.

 You just want to stare at him all day long.

Savannah Waterfront for the Day

 Bob and I are on vacation in Tybee Island, GA for the week which is about 15 minutes from Savannah. 
A week without the kid. Feels kind of strange not having them around. Have to say I am missing them.
Did I just say that out loud? Shhh, don't tell anyone.

We took the day and went into Savannah to play tourist by taking a carriage ride through the historic sites.

Do you recognize the church steeple above? Can you name the movie?
How about the pub below?

 The trees in the area are so prehistoric looking.
 Living Oaks.
What is kind of creepy about it also is that so much of Savannah is built on top on cemeteries.
Eeewww, I know.
I guess the reason is that the mass graves for from the plague and they were concerned about unearthing the disease.
That would explain the ghost tours they give at 11pm.
I will pass, thanks.

The waterfront was very cool.
Very cool is that they allow you to stroll with travelers. They have to be in a plastic cup, but who cares.
 Wet Willies gives you frozen libation in a plastic cup.
20oz plastic cups, thank you very much.
Martha also enjoyed the attention she was receiving but just could not understand as to why we would not let her jump in the river...silly dog.

Probably because there were HUGE ships going through?

Any hoo, we had a great day.
Martha was exhausted and so were we.

I am curious to see who gets the trivia question.
No cheating!

Antibes Green with Wax

 This was my first time using Antibes Green by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.
 I really like the bright color of the green, it is a change of pace from the subdued colors I have been using.

These end tables were originally a vanity that had been cut down. The vanity top was removed, leaving just the drawers.

It needed a light sanding on the top because it had old furniture crud on it and I wanted a smoother finish.

Other than that all I did was give it two coats of Antibes Green.

I used a sanding block over the entire surface after I painted it and used a heavier hand on the edges to remove the paint down to the original surface.

When you read suggestions from the Annie Sloan web site about sanding it suggest sanding after you apply wax. This does work but what I have found is that it mucks up my sanding block and the sanding blocks can get expensive if you have to throw them away after one use. So I sand before I wax. It does generate a lot of dust so I do this outside in the driveway.

The wax I used this time was different from what I normally use. I used two parts clear wax and one part dark wax and combined with a stir stick. The difference is that is gave it a little color without overtaking the green. It also brought out the distressed edges.

The wheels are original but the drawer pulls are new. I tried using a brushed nickle finish but it did not look right. It needed the dark knobs to bring out the distressing.



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