My first problem was just getting the paint to try. I checked out a variety of stocklists and found one with a pretty good package deal. Let's face it, this stuff is expensive. Now I could have started with just a can of paint, but I wanted to see how the products worked together. The stocklist kept sending mass emails to all us waiting for orders explaining a variety of problems and many shipment dates came and went along the way. And because they wanted to send the complete order in one package, I ended up waiting over six weeks for my order to finally arrive. That's a long time to wait for paint!
I bet you knew I was going to start with Louis Blue. It is a yummy color. And I couldn't wait to start!
I had this piece waiting patiently in the wings. I thought is was a perfect candidate for chalk paint. And after waiting so long, I wanted to jump right in with a big piece!
The entire dresser got two coats of the Louis Blue and I highlighted the details with Old White. I thought the paint was a little stiff to apply and hard to smooth out, especially on the second coat. I even tried adding a bit of water as suggested. And two coats were just barely enough coverage. I considered a third coat, but hated to use up so much paint on one project.
I will say that the chalk paint is very easy to distress with a soft sanding sponge. As the name implies, it comes off just like powdery chalk.
Then I went over the entire piece with the clear wax. I liked the soft consistency of the wax and the brush made the application a breeze. But this can of wax will not go nearly as far as what I'm used to with the Minwax Clear Paste Finishing Wax.
Next I wanted to try the dark wax. The Annie Sloan book suggested mixing a bit of the dark wax right in with the clear. They don't really explain how to do this, but I scooped out some of each with a plastic spoon and mixed them together on a plastic plate. You can experiment with this to find the right combination for the look you are trying to achieve.
I liked the way just using the clear wax enriched the color. Here is a before on the left and an after on the right. The clear wax definitely toned down the brightness of the blue. And if the dark wax seems a little heavy for you, you can ease it off with more clear wax. It's fun to play, but remember you're using up a good bit of wax in the process. And according to the Annie Sloan book, if you don't use a coat of clear wax first, the dark wax will permanently stain the paint and you can't work it back out.
And here she is all pretty and finished!
I kept most of the original hardware, but some of the pulls on the middle drawers were broken, so they had to be replaced. But I really like the way the colors in the knobs bring out the white paint and the dark wax.
I really like the look I achieved with the Annie Sloan products. But I'm still a bit unsure. And this morning when my husband helped me move the dresser out of the garage to take the after pictures, he thought it felt waxy. And I applied the wax days ago. I haven't really been able to buff it out properly yet. It grabs the cloth and feels tacky. Again, it's definitely not the finish I'm used to. Maybe it needs a little more time. So, I don't know. I'm still experimenting. My next several posts will all be chalk paint projects. We'll see...
And yes, we're still celebrating our first birthday here at Elizabeth & Co.! You could win a fabulous personalized sign from Andrea at Signs by Andrea. She is also offering a discount to Elizabeth & Co. followers if you'd like to order a sign right away!
And what's a party without cupcakes? There will be seven winners! Be sure to check out all the details and enter here!
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