Sometimes I miss that imaginative outlet badly! Which is why I was fired up to find out about Annie Sloan’s Made It My Personal campaign. Produced It My Personal encourages men and women to place their spin on a piece of furniture or item of decor employing Annie Sloan goods then share their creation to help inspire others…and there are \$100’s in prizes up for grabs as well! Painters are encouraged to upload a pic of their finished operate immediately to Annie’s on-line gallery and to share socially using the hashtag #MadeItMyOwn. Yay, what an awesome excuse to get painting! Far more than that even though, I was super enthusiastic to actually try out Annie’s infamous products for the Extremely 1st time (#anniesloanvirgin). I received a little starter-pack in the mail and set myself the challenge of using every merchandise contained there-in to absolutely transform a really simple brand new item into anything authentically vintage. Right here’s how the total point went down.   Raw pine stage stool (\$20 from Bunnings)   Of course, you can pick any item of furnishings you like and any paint colours your heart desires. I also suggest a huge round paint brush though a normal flat brush will suffice.   one Sand and clean. Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan doesn’t get in touch with for a lot prep (in reality, none at all – yay!) even though some of the edges on my raw pine stool had killer splinter prospective and have been just plain messy so I gave the total factor a super swift sand. I also rounded off the square corners to give the piece a naturally worn seem. As soon as sanded, I wiped the stool down to make positive it was clean and dust free of charge.   two Paint colour 1. I was supplied with two little pots of Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan Chateau Grey and Graphite. I made a decision to make Chateau Grey my major colour. I gave the pot a genuinely great shake (this is important make positive your paint is properly combined) then commenced liberally slapping it on my stool. This was, really deliberately, the messiest paint work I have ever accomplished! Chalk Paint is very thick and can be utilized to produce texture. Hence, my intentional imperfection. I stippled, criss-crossed, dragged, dripped and dribbled. Don’t be also discouraged by the sloppy visual appeal. I know it seems rather crappy, and I had my doubts, although the subsequent methods carry almost everything collectively beautifully. Oh, and don’t be concerned about the unpainted or patchy bits these are just approach pics. Really a fussy painter ordinarily I found this haphazard procedure so liberating. How fun – an excuse not to care! I employed a standard flat brush because that’s what I had. It was fine though I do feel a huge-ish round brush would make a lot more random texture with higher ease. Once of the very best approaches I identified to make curiosity in the texture was to wait right up until the paint had dried just a little and then gently drag an nearly dry brush over the surface. This brought on any nonetheless damp paint to “tear” and produced really natural-hunting “cracks” (this detail can be witnessed in some of the close-up soon after pics). I applied two coats of paint for optimum coverage and to construct-up textural layers.   3 Paint colour two. As soon as my paint was fully dry (I utilised a hair-dryer to help pace up the approach – especially for the thick dribbles) I used a smaller brush to choose-out some of the edges in Graphite. After again, I wasn’t fussy with my paint work. Oh, and please excuse the cruddy tattered brush! The distinct green undertones in the Chateau Grey triggered the Graphite to throw a great deal of blue. Though they’re possibly not colors I would ordinarily pair together, I quickly considered the combo would be great for a boy’s room. And that’s just where this stool will most likely finish up residing in my minor boy’s bedroom.   4 Sand. Although I wished to retain as significantly texture as possible, I essential to knock back the far more obvious drips and any overt roughness. I also wanted to reveal some of the Chateau Grey beneath the Graphite and give the total stool a bit far more of a uniform look. I sanded quite lightly, paying out additional consideration to any thicker areas of paint, and the transformation was virtually immediate. What was searching unattractively crude grew to become, to me, very desirably rustic! A little smile curled my lips 🙂 Sanding helps soften and meld the general seem. I went back to raw wood in a couple of places even though only extremely sparingly.   5 Clear wax. Waxing isn’t a required stage. If you like the chalky matte physical appearance of your piece and don’t require a protective finish you can omit it. As talked about over, I set myself the challenge of making use of all of the merchandise I received so although I did like the way my stool was searching I determined to go for it – and I’m glad I did! Please excuse my multi-coloured fingers – it’s not from this venture even though from painting with the kiddies! I merely collected a small amount of Soft Wax (Clear) on my brush then went about working it into the paint (you could also use a lint-free cloth though I believe a goal round brush would be ideal). You will recognize right away how the paint gets to be a lot more vibrant and takes on a subtle sheen. I worked in sections (leading very first then each and every leg and so on), rubbing the Wax in with my brush before buffing it off once again with a cloth. It’s a quite quick and simple approach and I located there’s no require to be overly fussy.   6 Dark wax. Apparently this step scares a great deal of men and women! I was a small tentative myself simply because I was aware of maybe not liking the consequence and obtaining to commence my stool all above once again. But, meh correct? If that’s what happened, then that’s what occurred. Thankfully I LOVED the end result. I utilized my Soft Wax (Dark) using the identical approach as the Soft Wax (Clear) working in sections I rubbed some on then buffed it off again. I paid specific interest to any deep grooves (such as the staple holes) and areas of notable texture. Now, I’m not gonna lie. It was kinda daunting at first. The Wax not only invades all the nooks and crannies (which is the intention) however can also seem relatively patchy to get started with and it does alter the over-all tone of the paint. For me, what was initially really a soft sage green became decidedly a lot more olive. It took me a little whilst to perform out no matter whether I liked this “new” colour. Fortunately…yes! I really like the sags and dribbles the most! Following buffing the Wax could continue to be relatively tacky though must proceed to harden-up more than time. You may well be questioning why I clear waxed 1st. This just gives a required buffer, guaranteeing the underlying paint doesn’t get on also significantly Dark Wax (as it is essentially a stain). If you do discover your piece becoming overly dark, you can use some additional Clear Wax to tone-down the darkness in the course of the buffing procedure. Dark waxing was the most time-consuming aspect of this Chalk Paint make-over. Almost certainly due to the fact I had never ever done it prior to and was experimenting with the finish. I just stored rubbing Dark Wax on and buffing it off, sometimes making use of Clear Wax to mute factors down, right up until I was content with the result. And I am thrilled with it! It’s hard to feel this was a BRAND NEW raw pine stool at the starting of this process and that all this “new” grungy goodness can be attributed to some paint and wax alone! Though I have gone for a rustic, aged finish employing muted neutrals, Chalk Paint can also be used to produce sleek, present day results and is obtainable in 33 gorgeous shades. I’m genuinely hunting forward to making an attempt some different colours and making use of this approach on a bigger item of furnishings. I believe a fundamental dresser or hutch could be transformed into a absolutely wonderful attribute piece. Click here to find your nearest Annie Sloan stockist. This post was sponsored by Annie Sloan.
Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan (Chateau Grey)
Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan (Graphite)
Soft Wax by Annie Sloan (Clear)
Soft Wax by Annie Sloan (Dark)
Brush by Annie Sloan (Flat n. 38)
I enjoy the thought of making use of a tiny step stool like this for a quite tea and coffee station.
Super-duper close up detail! You can see just how random and interesting the surface is. Although it appears somewhat rough on quite shut inspection it is in fact smooth to the touch.
