Chalk Paint and Goodwill, a Most Convenient Marriage

Hello World!  It's my first post on The Dedicated House.  Before I get started, there are several persons I must thank for inspiring me.  I had never been a blog reader until Christmas 2010.  It started in November as I was trying to decorate my staircase.  To tell you the truth, it looked pretty bad.  So, I thought, "why not look on the internet for help?"  There it was at Creations from my Heart. Sherry's staircase was so dreamy.  It took me 8 hours, no lie, to decorate one flippin' staircase.  However, the Dedicated Husband and the Dedicated Daughter thought is was magnificent!  What could be better than hearing your loved ones ooh and ahh over something you made? The professional decorating world may have thought it was not up to snuff, but who cares when your family is in awe.  That one little visit to Sherry's blog opened up a whole new world for me.  I fell in love with Max, Susan's sweet kitty at Between Naps on the Porch and of course her porch!  One day, I will have a MASSIVE porch!!  And, then there is John and Sherry at Young House Love.  Holy cow, do they make me laugh.  And, the Dedicated Daughter love, love, loves watching videos of little Clara who she calls "that cute little baby with the dog."  Then there's Janet at The Empty Nest who can sew like no other!  I am in awe of her skills as I am of my Mother who can make just about make any sewing machine submit! I on the other hand, must practice, practice, practice.

Now, onto the matter at hand.  For the first post, I thought I should talk about my non-professional use of the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  Thank God for Miss Mustard Seed!!!  Marian is absolutely amazing!  I've saved just about every video she's posted in the last 6 months. Anyhoo, it started out with a trip to Goodwill.  I came away with this darling little cherry pedestal table that had a big watermark on top and a wobbly leg for $2.99.  I figured if I messed it up, I was only out $2.99.  Big whoop.  So, into the vehicle she went.  All furniture for me is feminine.  Have no idea why.   For a teaser here is how she looked after she was spruced up.   I shall call her Peggy the Pedestal Table.

Got her home and the Dedicated Husband fixed the wobbly leg for me with a handy screwdriver.  Here is a picture of what she looked like before I got started.

There she is.  Isn't she cute?  Please ignore the green leather couch close to the blue, beige and white wall.  My house has multiple colors disorder right now.  I started out with the Napoleon Blue of the Annie Sloan chalk paint.  Here are some pictures after one coat of the Napoleon Blue.

    

Next came a coat of Old White which I'm in love with!

Now onto waxing.  I used both the clear and the brown wax.  I rubbed and rubbed and rubbed.  E-mailed Marian (Miss Mustard Seed) because I got scared that I did something wrong.  The top of the table didn't feel right.  It wasn't quite tacky, but not quite the feel one would want for a table.  This was my first time using wax ever!  

The Dedicated Husband kept telling me to keep rubbing.  Well, he was right.  That was exactly what Marian said.  Well, he's a guy.  I'm sure he's waxed a car somewhere in his time on this earth.  Kinda funny, huh?  Here is what she looked like after the wax was applied and my arm almost fell off from rubbing.  Maybe I should workout more....ha, maybe I should just workout.  Okay, that in itself is a whole other world that we could talk about for a few days.  Here she is.

There she is in all her teeny glory.  I love the shine that the wax brings out.  Her new home is in the entryway with a plant sitting on top of her.  Don't you just love her pretty little leg?  Not bad for $2.99 and some chalk paint.  Miss Mustard Seed I am not.  But, the only way to get there is to keep painting and waxing and keep working at it.  Practice, practice, practice.

Well, that's it for my first post.  I hope you have enjoyed taking this little trip with me discovering what the chalk paint can do.  Trust me, I will have more to show you.  Found some other things at Goodwill that will be making an appearance on the blog.  So, for now, enjoy your day and remember to be kind to one another.

Toodles,