Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Newbie

For those of you who missed my guest post a while back over at my friend Carol's The Answer is Chocolate, I thought I'd share with you here that same post of my first experience with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP).  The blog world has been abuzz with reviews of her paint for a while now, so why not get on the bandwagon too?


First off, let me say that I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to painting furniture.  But why should that stop me?  I've been itching to try ASCP for quite a while now but was hesitant to fork over the $$$$$cash.  I finally gave in and ordered it, using some hard-earned jewelry sale money.


I purchased Paris Grey.

Source

From the get-go I had an old chair in mind to experiment with.  It has sentimental value for me ~ it was my Mom and Dad's, and it graced their bedroom for many, many years before I inherited it.  It's at least 60-plus years old.

O.K., so it's definitely seen better days.


The cool thing is that it folds flat.  I thought that was pretty neat.


Sorry for the dark photo but it's all I've got.


I also had a seat cover in mind.

I picked this up at a local flea market after many months of searching.  It wasn't pristine by any means but hey, it's a grainsack for pete's sake.  It's what they call prairie c-h-a-r-m.


First I pulled out all the staples underneath the seat, removing the upholstery, such as it were.  I then used the very old floral fabric as a pattern for my grainsack.  Once this was done I moved on to the painting.


After discovering some cracks on the chair back, I made sure I glued them down with wood glue and clamped them overnight.

Here are the cracks after I glued and sanded.  And this is where I'm sure you're saying, "Cracks, what cracks?"


I need to confess here that I'm a pretty impatient DIYer, so I just jumped right in with the painting.  Luckily with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint you don't have to prime or sand before you paint!  I also only did one coat because some certain guest blog post had to be done by a certain date and I had a full weekend coming up that did not involve painting OR blogging! 


Sadly, I don't think the one coat did a good job covering the original finish, despite claims that this paint will cover almost anything in one coat.  I also don't think it looks very grey, more like white.

Clearly I sanded (yes it sands nicely, and look out cause there's a LOT of dust!) but I didn't use any wax.  SO.....who knows what two coats and some wax would have done for the overall appearance?  I think I really have to get used to looking at it.  I mean, my whole life I've been used to seeing this.

And now I have this.

Thoughts?

I'm sure there are a lot more ASCP experiments in my future.......I mean who knows?  I also have my parents' entire bedroom suite including a bedside table, 3 (!) dressers, a headboard and a huge, ornate, killer mirror. 

 {I'm doin' the happy dance!}    

Okay, so there you have it. 


Don't forget to join in Club G.W. with Charm Bracelet Diva's Party going on right now here.  Show us your junk!  (Or fabulous finds, if you will.)  And make sure to enter my Retro Home Decor Linens Giveaway here!  Deadline is this Friday, September 16th.


Finally, show me some Facebook love here.  I'm just gettin' started!

XOXO

I'll be linking up here:

Faded Charm
French Cupboard
Miss Mustard Seed