Throughout the months of June & July on Facebook LIVES, Courtney has been creating this beautiful piece inspired by Tom Petty’s song “You Belong Among the Wildflowers”.
The chifferobe was once painted and waxed with Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan, but with Annie’s formula, you can paint directly over a previously waxed surface. Her paint and wax harmoniously together. However, we always recommend that prior to starting any project we doing a thorough cleaning of the entire piece followed by a fresh water rinse. We love using Krud Kutter for this process! Or, you can use some vinegar and water, depending on how dirty the piece is.
Step 1: We put Louis Blue Chalk Paint® on the top and Old White Chalk Paint® on the bottom. We love to keep our viewers interacting during our live videos and help us make some tough decisions to shape our piece. After a vote, it was decided to paint the inside of the chifferobe with Lem Lem Chalk Paint® for a pop of color! (CLICK here to watch the Live focused on this) Courtney used both Annie’s SMALL OVAL brush and her LARGE FLAT BRUSH while painting.
To create a smoother transition where the colors meet, Courtney used a stippling technique with Old White Chalk Paint® and then Annie Sloan Paisley Floral Garland Stencil, a Stencil Brush, and some Louis Blue Chalk Paint®. Stenciling brushes are round with short, stiff bristles. Use it in a quick up-and-down movement to dab paint onto your stencil. This helps prevent paint getting under the edges. Never apply in a circular motion. A sponge or small roller works well too, but we prefer the brush.
Using a densely packed design where two different colors meet is a fantastic option for someone who wants to blend colors but is a little too nervous to attempt smoother blends! It’s super simple and has a great effect! (CLICK here to watch the Live about this process!) Since the Stencil brush is natural bristled, using a soap with a natural conditioner like our Little White LYE will keep your brushes clean and soft for a long time. Speaking of cleaning, we love to use Scrubby Soap to clean everything from the stencils to your hands! They smell great and work even better than they smell!
Step 2: Next, it was time for the transfers! For this piece, we went with Wall Flower Decor Transfer Set by IOD, which really popped against the Old White Chalk Paint®. To make sure the transfer didn’t move during the application, once we like the placement of each transfer sheer, we used ShurRELEASE Paint Masking Tape to hold the individual sheets in place. (Click here to watch the Live about this process!)
Step 3: Now we are moving on to using the Iron Orchid Designs Butterflies Decor Stamps, Iron Orchid Designs Farmhand Decor Stamps, and Iron Orchid Designs Swoosh Decor Stamps. For this design, we went with the Iron Orchid Designs Decor Ink – Black 2 oz. There are a handful of techniques for applying ink onto a stamp, but one of our favorite techniques is using Ink Pads. Have you ever used stamps from when you were a kid? It works exactly the same! We just prefer to press the ink pad onto the stamp, it helps keep your fingers cleaner and makes it easier to make sure the entire stamp has even ink coverage. (CLICK here to watch the Live about this process!)
For the lettering on this piece, we utilized Thin Mounts by Iron Orchid Designs. They are perfect for making sure your letters are evenly spaced apart and you can even use multiple stamps at once! Thin Mounts were designed for stamping, so you don’t need any adhesive to attach the stamps, they stick phenomenally without! (Click here to watch part 1of the Live about this process, Click here to watch part 2 of this process)
Step 4: The Gold Leaf was our final step before adding a topcoat. We think it really brought the chifferobe to another level. Using Iron Orchid Designs Art Brayer, Courtney rolled a small layer of Annie Sloan Gold Size onto some of the Butterflies Decor Stamps we used previously. After stamping the size onto the small it’s important to let the size get TACKY but don’t let it completely dry down! Too dry and the Gold Leaf may not stick to the surface. Courtney laid enough leaf to completely cover the tacky size, let it sit on the surface for a few minutes before gently rubbing the surface in small circular motions with a Chip Brush, until all excess gold flakes off. (Click here to watch the Instagram video about this!)
Step 5: Our final step is sealing the entire piece with Annie Sloan Lacquer in a matte finish! There are two options when using the Lacquer; using a roller, or a brush. For brush usage, we like to pour some of our Annie Sloan Lacquer into a Mixing Bucket so we don’t dip our brush directly into the original container. It is EXTREMELY important that you don’t shake your matte lacquer, and instead stir. We used Chalk Paint® FLAT Brush- Small by Annie Sloan to apply the lacquer.
DO NOT SHAKE the container of Lacquer since this will cause bubbles to form in the varnish which you do not want to happen! It is best to gently mix the lacquer by rolling the containers around in your hands or pouring the contents into a bucket to stir. If Lacquer is not thoroughly stirred, the finish will be shinier due to the fact that the flattening agents weren’t completely mixed in. Note that the thick stuff at the bottom of the quart is the flattening agent, and that needs to be totally incorporated …So, be patient and mix it well….which if yours has settled, could take a good ten minutes. (Click here for a more in depth blog post about using lacquer)
Using an Annie Sloan Sponge Roller 4 1/2″ wide and a Paint Tray, we poured a small amount into the paint tray, completely coat the roller in an even amount of Annie Sloan Lacquer, and rolled it onto the surface. (Click here to watch the Live about this process!)
MATERIALS NEEDED:
Wall Flower Decor Transfer Set by IOD
Annie Sloan Paisley Floral Garland Stencil
Annie Sloan Paint Brush – SMALL OVAL
Little White LYE ~ Soap (that is)
ShurRELEASE Paint Masking Tape
Iron Orchid Designs Butterflies Decor Stamps
Iron Orchid Designs Decor Ink – Black 2 oz.
Iron Orchid Designs Farmhand Decor Stamps
Iron Orchid Designs Swoosh Decor Stamps
Thin Mounts – Iron Orchid Designs
Imitation Gold Leaf Foil (Brass Leaf) (100 pack)
Iron Orchid Designs Art Brayer
Annie Sloan Lacquer Matte Finish
Plastic Paint Mixing Bucket with Lid – 2.5 qt
Paint Tray ~ Arroworthy RM 40 Versa Tray
Chalk Paint® FLAT Brush- Small by Annie Sloan
Annie Sloan Sponge Roller 4 1/2″ wide
Annie Sloan Paint Brush – SMALL OVAL
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If you are interested in purchasing Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan or would like some help with a project- reach out to us! And….consider purchasing from us too, although we always encourage you to visit your local Chalk Paint® stockist if you have one …but if you are stuck at home and do not have anyone local… The Purple Painted Lady is here to help and can ship your order right to your front doorstep. Please just place your order online and we will ship it out ASAP! In fact, if you place an order- be confident in knowing that The Purple Painted Lady has everything in stock! What does this mean in the end? With the team we have in place- your order will get packed and picked up by FedX, UPS, or USPS. We pack up your order ship your order out our doors the same day you place it – Monday through Saturday. (note, however, this is as long as your order came in before 3pm EASTERN TIME because most of the carriers pick up our packages around 3 or 3:30pm)
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