Red School Desk

I met a man at our local thrift shop and he told me he was selling off his mom's estate and that I could come shop before the sale.  I brought Nancy with me the next day and we bought a truckload of stuff.  He had two matching desks that he said we could have for free!  

I decided to paint my desk with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Emperor's Silk.  I wanted to transform this plain desk into a little red school desk.

I am not usually drawn to red, but Emperor's Silk is a pretty, vibrant color.  The desk has open grain and after one coat of Emperor's Silk I liked how I could still see the wood grains through it.  It looked like it already had dark wax over it, so after one coat of paint and some Annie Sloan clear wax, I was finished.  

I pictured the desk with some kind of bin pulls and I found a listing for thirteen, vintage, gold bin pulls on Etsy.  They were a great deal, so I ordered them and spray painted them oil rubbed bronze.  

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Louis Blue and Graphite Buffet

Nancy and I purchased this buffet from one of our friends.  She knew it would be gorgeous when it was painted, but she did not have time to do it herself.  

We had this buffet for sale at Loot for a while just as it was because it was pretty without paint too.  It did not sell, so we gave it a Chalk Paint makeover.

Nancy chose the colors: Graphite for the top and Louis Blue for the bottom.  I also added a little Old White for the trim and waxed the entire piece with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

I removed the door pulls, that were not original to the piece and looked a bit awkward, covering part of the carved inset on the doors. I patched the holes where the pulls were and I think it is fine to use the key when the doors need to be opened.  

Our original plan was to use a colored wax over the Louis Blue, but when I saw it painted, against the Graphite, I really liked the contrast between the bright blue and dark top.  I left the hardware with the aged brass patina.

We brought the buffet to Goat Hill and received a lot of compliments on it.  We staged it on the front porch with my Louis Blue mirror and two very special lamps I will share with you soon.

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Goat Hill Weekend

We survived Goat Hill Fair this past weekend!  We were talking about making t-shirts that said that after the school bus carrying a load of people to Goat Hill tipped over on Sunday.  Luckily, the bus driver was just turning around and was going very slowly when the tires sunk into the mud and the bus tipped gently on its side.   

It was a gorgeous view across a golden meadow, complete with a herd of goats set against a backdrop of redwoods.

I loved the turquoise and red, vintage trailer with furniture painted to match.

As I walked around the fair, I recognized many Annie Sloan Chalk Painted pieces, including this lovely cabinet in Coco and Old White.

I wanted to buy this authentic, vintage, zebra rug!

The tiniest Goat Hill shopper.  What a cutie!

Follow me to the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Booth!

It was a hot weekend and we really appreciated being one of the few spaces in full shade all day.  We were located on the front porch of the farmhouse and around the front yard, under generous, shade trees.

We had a steady flow of people coming through our booth all day and even the men were inquiring about the Chalk Paint (I think they wanted to hang out in the shade).

Nancy and I got to bring some of our Chalk Painted pieces of furniture from Loot to Goat Hill and stage them on the front porch.  I was so busy getting ready for the fair, that I did not have time to share the before and after pictures of most of the pieces I brought to Goat Hill.  I will be sharing those with you soon...

Vicki, Our Annie Sloan Chalk Paint stockist, drove all the way up from Clovis an set up a beautiful Chalk Paint display and helped us sell the paint.

Many people coming through our booth thought that Chalk Paint is only used for making chalk boards.  We had to explain that, while all the colors can be used as chalk boards, there are many unique finishes that can be created with the Amazing, Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

Chalk paint can even be used on fabrics.  Nancy had four of these vintage, folding, industrial stools that were covered in old, white canvas.  She painted them in stripes of French Linen and Paris Gray.  Then she used my stencil, I had cut out so long ago for this galvanized bucket.  These darling stools sold right away and later, I saw two of them for sale in another vendor's booth.  

Vicki did a Chalk Paint demo in our booth with this awesome, Union Jack table painted with Coco, Old White and Paris Gray.

I brought an ornate, gold frame that I rescued from a dumpster at my local thrift shop.  

I painted the base coat with Graphite and then dry brushed Emile over that.  Then I clear and dark waxed the frame.  For the final touch, I used some of Vicki's gold, gilding wax to highlight the raised details.  

Goat Hill Fair

When Vicki, from 3 Oaks Studio, invited Nancy and I to help her with the Chalk Paint at Goat Hill Fair this weekend, we were thrilled! The fair is this Saturday and Sunday, so if you live within driving distance to Santa Cruz mountains, you do not want to miss this fabulous event!  It is only put on twice a year and the first Goat Hill Fair was last September.  Nancy and I missed it because we were so busy with our new shop.  We heard so many wonderful things about this antique/vintage, artisan fair and we are delighted to be a part of it this time.

First of all, it is located in my favorite place: on Old San Jose Rd.  This is where I recently lived in a little cabin for the past two years. It is the most beautiful, country road that winds through majestic redwoods.

It looks amazing up there with redwoods as the backdrop to the charming fair!

Nancy and I are bringing our Chalk Painted furniture and accessories from Loot to sell too.  We are heading out in about an hour to take a truck load up the road and help set up our space.  We are going to be located on and around the front porch of the farmhouse.  If you make it to the fair, please stop in and say hello!

Goat Hill Fair

Unique Antiques and Artisan Fair

Yoder’s Goat Farm

24915 Soquel/Old San Jose Highway

Los Gatos, CA 95033

Saturday, May 19th 10-5

Sunday, May 20th 11-4

See you there!!

French Linen Coffee Table

Recently, I found this amazing, vintage coffee table at a yard sale and it sold the day I bought it and dropped it off at Loot. The woman who bought it, wanted it painted with French Linen Chalk Paint.  

The shape and narrowness of this petite, coffee table are what make it so unique.  The lines are gorgeous on this piece too and I especially like the tiny compartments underneath.

Look at the fabulous carving detail on the top of the table.

Two coats of paint and wax and it looks like a new table ready for a new home.

This is what the coffee table looked like with just French Linen paint.  The details are barely noticeable.

A little Annie Sloan dark wax makes all the difference!

I really worked the dark wax into all the crevasses, so the carving would be accentuated.

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Louis Blue Mirror

I found this shapely, vintage mirror at my local thrift shop and I knew it would be beautiful once it was painted.

I love the shape of this mirror and I especially love the metal applique attached at the top. The speckled, dated finish was the only thing I did not like about this mirror.

before

after

I painted the mirror with Louis Blue Chalk paint first.  Then, I painted some of the trim and the metal applique with Old White.  I wanted the finish to look old and I also wanted to tone down the Louis Blue a bit, so I used Coco as a wash over the entire frame.  To make the wash, I mixed the Coco paint 50/50 with water, brushed it on with a paint brush and wiped it back with a clean rag.

I like the way the Coco wash muted and subtly aged the Louis Blue paint, while being less obvious than the dark wax would have been.

After the mirror dried I applied a thin layer of Annie Sloan clear wax.

Now the mirror looks perfectly aged with its new finish.

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