KEEP YOUR UNMBRELLA HANDY!
Rain today, but sunny skies are forecast for tomorrow!
Yes, please!
I'm sure you've all heard about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint by now.
No more prepping, stripping, or sanding!
(well maybe a little sanding!)
I've used it on furniture and it really is easy to work with.
So, when I read that you can paint fabric with it, I was a bit skeptical!
Wouldn't it dry hard and stiff? That didn't sound like a good thing to me!
However.....after getting an estimate of having a favorite chair of mine
reupholstered, and not wanting to tackle that job myself,
I decided to try painting it!
This is the chair.....
(I've got it up on my little work table!)
It's covered in a green striped ticking fabric, which I really liked, but it has faded
throughout the years and looking like it's seen better days! I tried different slipcovers on it, but couldn't find one that would fit well enough to look nice.
It's very cozy and comfortable! I can curl up in it for reading a book
or watching TV! It has a matching ottoman, too. Replacing it just wasn't an option
I wanted to persue!
This is how it looked after applying one coat of Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint. You can still
see the stripes, but I was impressed with how easy and quickly the process is! I let it dry
overnight and then I sanded it all over, which helped soften the fabric.
I did the same procedure with the second coat of paint.
Now I'm not a very patient person waiting for paint to dry, so it was good
that two coats was enough!
Then I applied one coat of the Annie Sloan clear wax. Not only
to protect the paint, but it helped soften the fabric, too.
After a good hand-buffing, the fabric had the look and
feel of a soft leather. I didn't know what to expect, but if you're
wanting your project to feel like fabric, it's probably not something
you want to try.
TA-DA!
Here's the finished product!
I used a burlap coffee bean bag to cover the seat cushion. For the pleated
skirting, I used a printed fabric of hand-written letters and
postcard pictures. It was from a bed sheet set that I had gotten
at a local thrift shop! I used the two pillow cases, which were
extra-long king sized!
This is a close up of the seat cushion cover.
Ha! The indent on the back is from using my knee to brace
the chair when I took it off of the work table!
Those pleats were tough to get painted inside the tight creases!
This is the chair with the ottoman.
The ottoman is great for stretching out your legs or to use for extra seating.
A butterfly landed on the top of the chair while I was taking pictures!
It kept flitting over the top, like it wanted to get a closer look!
Butterfly Approved!
There he is, again,
at the top left side of the picture!
While cleaning out behind my little garden bin. I found this small
patio table. It had been used as a plant stand and
sat out in the elements for a few years so it was pretty rusty. I was going to throw it out.
WHAT?
It's a perfect candidate for a paint job!
I scraped off as much of the crusty stuff as I could. Then gave it
a good covering of black spray paint. The table surface still looked
pitted with rusty pock marks! I remembered that I had some
decorative vinyl wall art with a wine theme that I could stick on the surface.
It helped to detract from the rusty pebble-y look of the top!
Now, it'll be useful in it's new life as a place to set your wine glass!
Garage Sale Find!
This is a very rustic wood table. It had to be sanded before I could paint it.
Sweet little heart cutout!
After the paint dried, I did a combination of sanding and damp cloth wipe-down
to distress the entire piece.
It would fit perfectly as a night stand or sitting next to your chair!
SWEET!
All this rain has been wonderful for the grass and gardens - or, depending how
you look at it, a lot more work! Everything is growing out of control, needs more attention,
weeding, or mowing!
I'll take the rain (as long as it's not excessive!) over the drought conditions
like some parts of the country are experiencing. Being able to have nice green and growing landscapes and farm fields is something we take for granted. Until we don't have it.
There are lots of fun events taking place all around this time of year! It's always
interesting to travel to areas you haven't been and check out some of their
festivities! You're sure to have a good time, wherever you go!
Next week will be the perfect time to check out other area fireworks!
HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY 4th!
ENJOY!
XXOO
