Cutest Little Red Shelf

This shelf is solid wood and was in my store and then garage for years.  When I discovered Annie Sloan Chalk paint I knew I wanted to paint this shelf a red color.  I could see it in a little boys bedroom or playroom. Mostly because of its size.  It is not very tall, about 5' high.
I picked Emporers Silk and added just a little bit of dark wax over the edges and other parts.  I didn't want it to really look aged, just painted on purpose with a shadow look.

Here's how it looked before.  Once again I got too excited and thought about the picture after I had started applying the paint.  Will I ever get it right?  Yes I will.

 

 

And with the red applied so you can see a larger view of the piece before.

 

I finsihed it with 2 coats of the Annie Sloan paint.  Since it was solid wood without any sealer on it I didn't have to sand or add a bonding agent.  I let it cure a few days before adding my own dark wax.  I haven't taken the plunge into purchasing Annie Sloan's wax yet.  I do have one of her wax brushes and love it!  I buffed and buffed with a cloth until I got the shine I was looking for. 

I hung a "care tag" because like my fellow bloggers I like to feel the paint is part of the wood.  I got the idea from "The Purple Painted Lady" who is an awesome painter and blogger and a great source for tutorials.  That perfect hard finish takes a lot of time, almost a month, especially in this hot, humid southern weather.
I have nicknamed it "Cowboy Shelf" because it has an authentic western feel to it,  Even painted.

 

  With a Flash   No flash

 

   No flash

 

I hope you can tell how nicely it came out.  My camera needs an upgrade! 

In case you want to see my care tag, here is a picture of the front and back or you can fold it where ther instructions are on the inside depending on what template from Publisher you pick.

Our DIY Milk Paint Formula, Color Tinting and Milk and Chalk Paint are Good for the Environment!!

First of all let me tell you I am a closet scientist but not a very good baker.  Since embarking on making my own milk paint from scratch I have found you might do better if you like to bake.  There are measuring and mixing options galore.  It can seem overwhelming at first but once you get focused and see how it is working, making milk paint becomes a whole lot of fun very quickly.

Our formula was very simple.  After researching and reading other DIYer's experiences with milk paint I found that a simple formula below works really well:

4 parts dry milk from the grocery store
1 part borax from the grocery store
1 part color pigment from online pigment stores (I shop from Earth Pigments mostly)
6 parts water (you can tweek the water, less or more depending on the finish you are trying to achieve.  A watery wash to a thick paint that is almost as thick as a latex paint.)
I let it sit for about 10 minutes before painting.  Keep mixing in your cup, bowl or can as your painting since the solids separate and sink to the bottom.  I just do this with my brush as I go along.

 whisk and bowl

 

  Sifted - O feel like I'm baking a cake!

 

 

The color and the paint will be used on my next project......a basket tray with a particle board bottom.

 

~The most important thing I found to create quality homemade milk paint is to sift the dry milk first into a bowl into as fine a powder as you can get.
~The next most important thing is to mix the pigment and borax completely into the powder milk by smooshing the borax as fine as possible. 
~The next important thing is to make sure and mix all the powders over and over until the tint is thoroughly through and through.  You'll see what I mean when you start mixing.  I do not use a blender but I have used a whisk.
~Then you can add the water and voila.  You have a great looking paint that covers well and doesn't have any clumps.

You will always need to do 2 coats but the paint dries so fast you don't have to wait long before you can apply the second coat.

RECYCLING WITH THE PAINT WE ARE USING! HOW AWESOME..............No more adding kitty litter to cans and cans of paint and hoping you aren't hurting the water table with your paint waste because so many of us are now opting for milk and chalk paint at this time.
 Milk paint and chalk paint are non toxic and good for the environment.  In this environmentally "green" time we live in it is nice to know we are doing our part by creating for generations a finish that will not hurt them or their world.  The Earth Pigments Company also uses Non Toxic ingredients for their tints.  It's Very Cool!!

Tired Old Stool ReInvented

Every time I look at my old stool I think "Oh you poor stool, I really need to give you some lovin".
I absolutely loved the fact that this stool was sturdy with clean lines and a crazy fabric that looked like it came out of the late 50's early 60's.  I would definitely call it "MOD".  But the colors were dull and the paint was worn and gray. 

 

 

So I got to work.  Instead of sanding I primed the base with a basic white primer.  Then painted it with a semi-gloss white water based paint I had laying around.  I don't think it had a name just the numbers on top of the can from "Home Depot".



Looking better already.

 

 

What really motivated me to actually get to work on this little baby was that my mom and I found some great fabric while out hunting one day.  Her house is very colorful and full of primitive antiques from Pennsylvania where she lived for most of her life.  She has the good stuff!  But she also has a funkiness about her and loves, yellows and reds.  She is always reupholstering her chairs and buying new curtains.  Her kitchen is yellow and her chairs are red and surround a 1700 bench table.  I'll post pictures of her kitchen when we redo her chairs with her new fabric.  But one of the fabrics she was going to incorporate with another on the chairs was not going to work.  It had gray dots and I didn't think they would look nice with the rest of the colors and fabrics in the room so I inherited the fabric and thought it would be perfect for my stool.

 

 



I think it turned out Gorgeous!!  Thanks Mom.

This baby sold in a flash!

Anice