Thursday, July 31, 2014

The Painting Fool

First of all, I have got poison ivy...bad.  Somehow I got in a fight with it and didn't even know it.  I do believe it was while I was mowing the lawn last week.  It is all over my left leg and on the left side of my face.  I am telling you because my family is OVER it and I still need sympathy.  See...


Thank you in advance for your kind words.

*****

I have somehow unleashed an addiction.

It all started innocently enough.  I was sitting in my bed when I realized I didn't like my bedroom anymore.  I wanted a bit of a change.  I reassured Hunter that he would not be replaced but I wanted to bring in my favorite color.

"Brown?"
"No, blue."
"Why are you nesting again?  Emily isn't even gone yet."

This is not going well for him.

I have a brown bed, brown leather chair, brown desk, brown lamps, beige walls, beige carpet and this:


Hmmm.  Wouldn't it be pretty if it looked kinda like this:

Ralph Lauren Home
But that is quite a risk. Maybe I just need new accessories.

I bought these lamps from Pottery Barn






And this throw

Pom Pom Hand Crochet Throw


A bit more blue with these from Pier One

Images

Aqua Frosted Bottles
They are more blue than green

























These Mirrors from Wisteria

They are beautiful.  Wisteria is always having some kind of promotion.



I want these accent pillows for my bed but they are on backorder until mid October.  WTF?

Chair Pillow


Nope, still want to paint it.

We shall experiment first.  Much research later I discovered Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint.  
I made Emily go three times to store with me.

We shall test on smaller objects first.  I painted two pots, and a Ball canning jar.  
Then I painted the chair in front of the little desk in my bedroom.


I first did the chair on the right but our store did not have the Annie Sloan Wax in stock so 
I got another kind from another store.  It came out better than expected but I didn't want THAT chair to be blue.  So...hey, I'm a women, I am allowed to change my mind...I wanted it black and the other one blue.


Louis Blue

The blue painter's tape I think I have had for over ten years.  
It was a bitch just to get eight pieces off the roll.  
Almost caused me to give up but I'm no quitter.


One coat...needs another


Just a tip for those that may not know...If you are going to use your brush or roller that same day or the next place it in plastic and stick in the fridge instead of cleaning.


Two coats of paint.  Each coat takes roughly 20 minutes to dry.  One coat of soft clear wax.  Dark wax administered artfully.


Yeah, I know, my back door looks really rough.




And there it is!

This is the other chair with one coat of paint.


Finished with two coats of paint and one coat of dark wax.  If you use the clear wax it's not as black.

Charcoal

FINE.  I will NOT paint the piece in my bedroom.

I'm gonna paint this instead..


I shall be using Duck Egg Blue mixed 1:1 with Pure White.  Can't wait!

Did I mention, this is an expensive habit. 
The paint is not cheap but I am very happy with the results.  

I may also do my dining chairs, Emily's dresser.  OMG!!!!

I am now known as the painting fool.

25 comments:

  1. I would repaint constantly except in real life I can't be bothered to do it. Hence pinterest.

    I think the chair turned out nice though. Is the paint fume free and relatively non toxic? Please be careful with all the fumes it lets off for months after it is dried. Especially with the poison ivy. Dear me. I don't know what it looks like so wouldn't know what to avoid. I got done by nettles last summer but I thought it was a bit mentholy and not too bad. HOpe you get better soon xx

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    1. I actually wasn't allergic to poison ivy until I hit 40. I must have mowed over a patch and it spattered...didn't see but boy do I now feel it. No fumes for the paint and it dries so quickly. The waxing is a bit finicky though.

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  2. This is up my alley, I would paint with you. Can I take a pass on the poison Ivy though?

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    1. I am quite pleased with my little chairs. Still a bit intimidated with the bookcase but it's old, kinda cheap, and has been gnawed on by several past pets. And yes, you can pass on the poison ivy :)

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  3. I've never seen poison ivy before, you are my very own medical text book come to life.
    Don't you hate how quickly loved ones are to be 'over' things? Sympathy for ailments lasts exactly one day here.

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    1. This terrible itching has been going on for three full days. Nobody wants to get too close either. Feel like a leper.

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  4. I have a natural aversion to everything 'RL' so will wish you luck on getting everything painted in a shade everybody is happy (or can live) with.

    An allergy to poison ivy/oak is serious business. My brother got a bad case on his face when we were kids and his face swelled his eyes shut and then the sores came.

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    1. Hunter once got in his eyes and nose. Had to see the doctor. I am just suffering not so silently :)

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    2. You have my sympathies on that poison ivy! Do you wake up at night scratching it? I grew up in Minnesota and ran into it a few times. Now I live on the West Coast and poison oak is the dreaded one. I got into it during my field work sometimes and had a terrible time. It scarred for a while and was a seepy, itchy mess. I know what you mean about being treated like a leper!

      Love the painted chairs. They look really great!

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    3. Yes I do wake up itching. I can not wait to get in the shower with my loofah brush and just scrub scrub scrub. Hurts so good.

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  5. So sorry to hear about your poison ivy! Great job with the painting, though, I really like the results.

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    1. Me too...on both accounts. Hopefully the bookcase turns out great.

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  6. Love the pieces you bought, the lamp is a stunnah (and sorry about the poison ivy, we don't get so much of that here in Ca, it looks blimin panful) - would your husband hate me if i suggest you paint all your walls duck eggs blue?

    Funnily enough, I've been looking for a throw to enliven our living room for that elusive "pop ' color" I keep reading about, but no luck, I like these ones you have sorted. Well done you!

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    1. The Pom poms sold me on the throw and I love the lamps. Told Hunter we were getting new lamps and he tried, he really did...are these the new lamps? No honey, they haven't come yet. Those are the ones we have had forever.

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  7. Yes and forgot to say, love that color you have on the chairs and would look brill with duck egg walls (again trying to stay on right side of your hubstar)

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    1. He picked the duck egg for the bookcase...not sure I could do the walls.

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  8. Poor you. I can't even deal with mosquito bites. I hope you heal quickly. Love the chair. That's a great colour. Love the idea of painting things but am colossally lazy when it comes to the physical world. Kudos for simply getting 'er done, as they say.

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    1. Yes I am also the person in a room of 1000 that the mosquito will seek out and find.

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  9. Hmm, just ran off to check out the paints and Blogger ate my comment.

    Hate poison ivy, it's endemic out here and I find myself hoping that over-entitled hipsters will pick it by mistake, since they probably weren't raised with "Leaves of three, let it be." On the other hand, I got it regularly when I was a kid after my immunity wore off. One year I got it walking through the smoke from a neighbor's fire - he was burning lawn clippings. Something called Rhuligel helped. Feel better.

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    1. This year is especially bad and I just didn't see it coming. I have been applying Ivarest which works great but I have so much surface area to cover I think I have over medicated...so tired. Inhaling through smoke can be very scary and has put many in the hospital. I am feeling better just look bumpy.

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  10. I can't believe they are not offering sympathy! It's common knowledge that sympathy must last the length of the affliction plus one extra day for recovery. Have you tried a limp?
    You did a great job on the chair. I havent tried her paints but its something I've been considering. About to do my bedroom also but it will be more finish carpentry than painting, alas!
    Obviously, you can't mow the lawn anymore.....

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    1. I have informed the lawn master I will be making a wider swath between the woods and me when I do feel like mowing. It's funny because I made three passes and then got the mower stuck and he finished later anyway. Sigh. If I limp they will insist on amputation. I am quite taken with the paints...just expensive with the paint, the waxes, the brushes. But a little really goes a long way.

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  11. This is weedwaker distribution poison ivy and is indeed a medical emergency-- take it from a professional--requiring breakfast in bed and all. This dermatitis comes out for TWO weeks after one exposure (so people think it spreads-- no). Horribly itching, so sorry.

    Have you tried Shaker milk paints? Those are pretty and subtle; I like your color choice.

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    1. Never heard oh Shaker milk paints...you evil woman...I shall now go explore them :)

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  12. Hello,

    Oh dear, this does look very itchy and, we imagine, painful. A great idea from darling Bebe to invent a limp if the amount of support is not as forthcoming as you would wish for. If further lengths are required, perhaps you could sport an eye patch? They can look stylish as well as, surely, managing to elicit sympathy from even the hardest of hearts!

    As for painting everything in sight, well, we do admire your energy. We often consider such courses of action but then lethargy overwhelms us and everything stays as it is. Your chairs look to be artistic triumphs and so you should definitely carry on and paint!

    We have always used Farrow and Ball paints. The depth of colour we have found never to be equalled in other paints and the chalky finish we adore...just a thought!

    Get well soon!

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