What's New?

I wanted to share some of the new things we have at the shop this month.

Starting with the newest issue of Jeanne D'Arc Living magazine.  We have the July issue here, as well as some May left also. 

Ready for the Red, White and Blue?

Isn't this perfect for some Red, White and Blue flare?  Very Captin America if you ask me....hint..hint.

Mom has made more sail boats.  These are perfect for summer decorating. 

We have plenty of old oars to choose from.

These are authentic New England Lobster floats.  They look adorable grouped together.

I believe Stacey from A Sort of Fairy Tale is brining out more pillows and hankie banners this week.

These vintage table cloths are perfect for the casual summer table.

This adorable little desk is painted in Louis Blue and Old White Chalk paint. It has been lightly tattered.

Loooove this!  This cool piece is perfect as a tv stand and would even work as a kitchen island.  Anne has dibs if it doesn't sell.  It is one of the coolest pieces we've seen.  It is the most perfect blue/grey color!

This is a great little cabinet as well.  It has glass doors for the front which we have kept off for now.

Not new, but worthy of more attention.

 
As you can see, its "time" to stop by the shop if you haven't been in a while.  Hope to see you this weekend.  We're open!

 

Paint Classes!

We have finally put together our paint classes! Come learn the basics of working with chalk-based paint! Our classes will be 3 hours long and will teach you the basics of working with this amazing paint, as well as a couple techniques you can use to get the look you love!

We will be offering a couple classes each month. Classes are $85 a person.

April classes will be:

Tuesday, April 24th, 9:30AM-12:30PM

Wednesday, April 25th, 6:00PM-9:00PM

If you are interested in taking a class with us, please email us and let us know which class you are interested in. Classes will need to be paid for in advance to hold your spot. Please visit our "Paint Class" page on our website for more info.

 

A day with Annie Sloan

Last Saturday, mom and I attended the Annie Sloan Tour workshops in Oak Brook. It was great to meet Annie and to listen to her give the history on her company, and product. We listened to Annie for 2 hours and then we broke for lunch, and then went on to our workshops, which were led by local stockist. It was so nice to get some questions answered, as well as learn more techniques. It's always fun and informative to attend these kinds of gatherings.

 

Here are the little paint pots that will be available soon. They are perfect for trying to decide witch color you will need for your projects.(Forgive me for the bad picture quality...taken on my phone)

 This is the Annie Sloan display. She now has a fabric line, which includes toiles, florals, and ticking stripes.

 

 And here is Annie Sloan herself, during her presentation. I have to say that she was one of the most charming adorable women I ever had the pleasure of listening too. She was very personable and quite funny too. I (Julie) am so, so pleased that we got to spend the day with her and all her talented stockist. 

 We are in the process of getting our basic paint classes together this week, so stay tuned. Our next post should have our paint class information for you.

 

 

 

Mixing It Up

I've been looking for the perfect piece to use two colors on. I love when people mix Annie Sloan's Louis Blue with Old White. I love the Louis Blue, but sometimes it can seem a little too blue for my taste. I do however love this color with dark wax on it, but I didn't want to dark wax this piece. So, I decided to tone down the Louis blue. I just added a little Paris Grey to it. The exact recipe was 3/4 Louis and 1/4 Paris Grey.

I think the color turned out perfect, and with a light tatter here and there, she definately makes a statement.

Beautiful!

This is her before shot. She actually was very pretty without paint, but dare I say...a little boring?

Now she looks like she's all dolled up and ready to go! Speaking of ready to go...she was for sale this week, but has sold already. YEAH! She went home with a very nice lady who is going to turn her into a sink vanity......LOVE that!

We are open this weekend, and we have tons of other adorable painted pieces. Come take a look!

Linking up here:

Louis Blue

We recently picked up this old radio cabinet.  After taking the old radio parts out, putting some Annie Sloan Chalk paint to it, and adding a cute basket, we ended up with a sweet little cabinet.  Meet Louis. We chose to paint him in Louis Blue, and add dark wax to the finish.  He turned out so cute!  Take a look.

Wouldn't this look great in a bath room, or as a tv cabinet?  How about a nice cheerful kitchen island?

We gave him a light tatter, and just a tad of dark wax. 

 I was a little hesitant in using the light blue color on a piece of furniture such as this, but I just love the results!  I never tire of recycleing old, uninteresting, abandoned furniture into newly loved ones. 

Have a great weekend everyone!  I hope you can make it out this weekend or next.  The shop is bursting with treasures!

 

Linking up at:

 

A Passion for Painting

My mom(Nancy) and I have been buying and selling Antiques for over 12 years now.  Anne has quite a few years under her belt as well.  It's amazing how excited we still get after we transform an ugly, or tired, unnoticed piece of antique furniture to something that is so adorable and loved once again.  It never gets old. We love to paint old furniture, but always give a beautful old antique a chance before we paint it. I was in the shop today, marking the furniture tags with the ASCP colors.  As I was walking around, I was remembering how ugly and tired most of the pieces looked. I thought I should share. 

Bad, really Bad! Dark, dingy, and ignored.

Until now. Look at her smile.

 Painted in Annie Sloan's French Linen, she shines, with her little crystal knobs, and light tatter.  Adorable, and so much more usable now! 

It's remarkable what new life paint can give an old piece of furniture.  This piece would be perfect as a night stand, tv stand, or extra storage in a bathroom. 

This dresser has seen better days.  She's been neglected and unappreciated for too long!

This by far is one of my favorite little dresser's we've had.  I don't know if it's all the jewelry she has now, which makes her look dressed up, but she's so cute. 

She is painted in Annie Sloan's Old White.  Dressed to the max in big and little crystal knobs, she's perfect for a bedroom, bath, or kitchen (hint, hint).

Boring!

Fun and fresh now.

This secretary is painted in Old White, with a light tatter, and hand painted numbers to give it a fresh new take on vintage. 

Last but not least, a tired old desk.  We've had lots of requests for desks and this weekend this one is making it's debut. 

Great for a bedroom, living room or office, this desk is ready.  She's painted in Country Grey, and carries her original knobs with a light tatter to her edges.  This desk, along with all the other pieces shown here are still available. 

 I hope we have inspired you to breath new life into an old worn forgotten piece of the past.  Thanks to all our customer's today who braved our first midwest winter storm! Have a great weekend everybody!