Paris Gray by Annie Sloan {Asheville Furniture Painter}

Pretty little dresser decked out in Paris Gray and clear wax.

This piece is available to purchase.

French Linen China Cabinet {Asheville Furniture Painter}

Just finished this 1930's vintage mahogany china cabinet in French Linen with clear and dark wax.

I love to paint dark pieces of furniture, especially mahogany, because when you sand the chalk paint back there is such a contrast with the wood and paint.

The detailing of the furniture really shows through.

I have also learned to shellac these pieces because if you don't the red tannins will bleed through.

Every.

Single.

Time.

French Linen has  become a favorite of mine lately.

It does help that gray is a hot seller right not.

After sanding china cabinet for over an hour to get the surface really smooth I waxed with a mix of dark and clear wax.  

Even though I love working with Annie Sloan waxes and paint I am not a purist.  I have been using Johnson's Past Wax and mixing it with ASCP Dark Wax lately and I kinda like the results. The bonus is that it is not nearly as expensive.

Fortunately this piece had all the original hardware and the scroll work on the glass doors was in excellent condition. This is a good thing, because honestly,  the scroll work is a PAIN in the rear to paint.

To add more character to the finish I used a small paint brush to paint dark wax into all the corners and crevices.

Hope you enjoy it.
This piece is available for purchase.

Mid-Century Modern Dresser in Florence with Clear Wax by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (Asheville Furniture Painting)

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A fun dresser for a preteen girl,

A little funky and modern. Dog not included. Maybe. Depends on the day.

Love the original hardware. They look like drop earings.

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Florence and waxed with clear wax. Very light distressing.

Annie Sloan French Linen Chalk Paint and Maison Blanche Lime Wax {Before and After}

I found the multi use cabinet at an estate sale. A piece of furniture that you would think would be very common place but I had never seen before.

I wonder if it was used in the kitchen as a jelly cabinet or in a living room to store valuables? It does have a lock on it but of course I do not have the key.

 I had to seal the top with shellac prior to painting because of some scratches that went through the finish. This era of furniture is known for bleeding through the paint if it is not sealed before hand leaving orangish red blobs all over the paint.

 After using Shellac on the cabinet I painted it with Annie Sloan's French Linen Chalk paint.

After painting  I sanded the entire piece with a fine grit sanding block using a little more pressure on the edges to get the wood to show through.

I then used  Min wax Finishing Wax over the entire surface and buffed until smooth.

The final coat is a Lime Wax by Maison Blanche. By using this Lime Wax it gave the surface a lot more dimension and interest.

 This color in the past has never been a favorite of mine but I painted a secretary a few weeks ago using this same technique and I kinda fell in love with it.

 This paint is so smooth to the touch that I just love running my hands over the surface. So smooth without being shiny.

Here is the before photo,

And the after.  This piece is available for purchase.

Just a Reminder

Pure White Dresser, Changing Table or Bathroom Vanity (Asheville Furniture Painting)

A pure white dresser that is painted in Maison Blanche's Magnolia with clear wax.
I do not usually use this color because it is so finicky. It needs to me on the right piece because it is not very forgiving.
I have applied to to other pieces that I have painted and ended up redoing it with a color.  Maybe it is just because I like color on my furniture.
Who knows.

I had considered leaving the drawers in the natural wood because it was a pretty Birdseye maple.

And sure there are people who are shuddering at the fact that I painted it.
But they will get over it.

I do think that it would make a pretty changing table in a nursery.

I wish I had been into painting when I was decorating my nursery for my little ones, it would have been much easier and affordable.

But 17 years ago we were not doing fun stuff like this.  You had the traditional changing table and you would not have dreamed about using old furniture.  That would have been pure crazy.

And I do like the original hardware but if you wanted to glam it up for a little girl it would be easy to do.

When your little one is no longer in diapers and can be used as their dresser.
Who woulda thunk?

Annie Sloan's Country Grey Sideboard Before and After (Asheville Furniture Painting)

A Federal style  sideboard that has seen better days.
Not too terrible, just a lot of normal wear and a little missing veneer.
I guess if your between 70 and 80 years old you have earned the right to a little wear.

The first thing I did with this piece is to scrape off the loose veneer with a putty knife, but there was a section that was re glued and was proving to be too stubborn to peel off.  I used a hair dryer on high heat aimed directly at the section of veneer that I wanted to remove.  The heat softened the glue and allowed me to scrape off the last bit.
A little glue remained on the wood but with a little sandpaper it came right off.

After I paint a piece I always sand it smooth, I don't like a bumpy finish.  A lot of people do, I don't.

So when I sand the furniture I wanted other colors to come through and not just the color of the wood.

With this  piece I did a rough coat of Duck Egg Blue all over  and then added random spots of Coco and Pure White. These colors compliment Country Grey which I used as the top coat.

It doesn't look pretty and it is not completely covered but it does not need to be.

Some of the paint is thicker  and this will make it a little raised when I paint the final coat of Country Grey.

Below is the sideboard drying after I have completely covered it with Country Grey.  

The before.....

And the after.

And  the after with a dog that would not get out of the way.

Carrot, Egg or a Coffee Bean

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.  She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.  It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen.  She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil.  In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans, She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."

“Carrots, eggs and coffee," she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.  She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it.  After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrots went in strong hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however.  After they were in the boiling water, they changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? 

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying. It's easier to build a child than repair an adult.

May we all be COFFEE.

Cataloochee Tube World in Maggie Valley, NC

Our original plan was to go to Cataloochee Tube World on Christmas eve day. 

But it rained. 

And had a few thunderstorms for good measure.

We thought it best not to be outside, on the side of a mountain, with a thunderstorm going on.

I had purchased our tickets on line ahead of time because they sell out fast and I didn't want to experience a National Lampoon's Vacation moment. (For those not familiar with the movie Chevy Chase takes his family to Wally World and they are closed.)

Cataloochee was extremely nice and helpful allowing us to change our tickets beforehand to another day. We were not allowed to change the time but that was fine by us.

The tickets are $25.00 per person for an hour and forty five minutes.  It was the perfect amount of time.  To find out if tickets are available and to purchase on line click here .  You cannot purchase tickets on line the day of and I believe within 24 hours.

Tube world is not at the same location as Cataloochee Skiing.

Carter and I trying to get a picture but we kept getting photo bombed.  

My husband thinking he is being funny.



Sophia waiting in line for her turn. The lines went very fast.



My son Sam and his girlfriend Ella.

Lots of selfies going on. Still cannot believe I did not break my phone on the hill.

It was a great afternoon and the weather was unbelievable nice. Especially since it rained every day before and after we went.

We were way over dressed. The Minnesotan contingency would have been out in jeans and a t-shirt.

Thanks for visiting...

This is not a paid promotion for Cataloochee Tube World.