Since my first re-finishing project with Chalk Paint™ I am hooked and currently have a number of projects on the go. I haven't used Chalk Paint™ for any decorative painting yet, so I decided to try a quick project with a dark wooden tray. The tray was made by a young friend of my mothers who started a business some years ago creating kitchen products out of recycled timber, I didn't want to part with the tray as I know it was special to mum, however I wanted to lighten it up. My inspiration for this project comes from the Mediterranean style house & garden I featured recently and the laden olive tree in the garden. Using an olive branch as inspiration I had a fair idea of what I wanted to achieve.
The before, a perfectly good tray but just not the look I wanted
I apologise to those of you who love dark wood and also apologise to my mothers friend for painting over their lovely logo
Chalk Paint™ in Pure White, you could use 'Old White' but this does tend to be a little creamy, I wanted a clean, fresh white and 'Pure White' I knew was perfect.
Tools:
- Annie Sloan Paint brush
- Artists paint brush, preferably a decorative brush, synthetic with lots of bounce to the tip. I used a No.10 for the leaves and olives and a long, thin rigger brush for the branches
- Chalk Paint™ Pure white
- Paint for olive branch: Old White, French Linen, Graphite, Paris Grey (test pots are sufficient)
- Annie Sloan Clear Wax
- Annie Sloan Dark Wax
Above: I used three coats of 'Pure white' paint allowing an hour drying time between 2 coats and overnight between the last coat. As the paint was very thick, I used disposable wooden chopsticks to stir it really well, they are perfect little tools. I have been told that 'Pure White' doesn't cover as well as old white, hence the extra coat of paint but this is only in cases where you are covering a very dark colour underneath.
My tray & inspiration, waiting for the next step...
My paint colours:
- French linen was a perfect colour for my branches, I added just the tiniest touch of Graphite to darken it a little
- I mixed a tiny touch of graphite into some French Linen for leaves, adding a little sap green acrylic paint from a tube (the reason being, I had no green chalk paint)
- I mixed half Graphite and half French linen for nice ripe olives
Above: I first painted my main branches, then added the little off shoot branches my leaves would come off. The longer off shoots would have an olive at the end. I used the 'rigger' brush for this
Above: My completed olive branch which is a little off centre on the tray but I actually quite like it, I could have added another branch to balance it but feel it is fine as is. I forgot to take a before photo so this one is after sanding which I will explain below:
- After completing my olive branch, I decided to sand before I waxed, this is quite messy and you get drifts of what appears like chalk dust settling on and around your tray, usually you would wax first but as this was a small item I wanted to experiment with an idea.
- I took some fine grade sandpaper and sanded gently along some of the edges of the tray, missing some parts to give it an antique appearance. I also sanded parts of the sides and bottom of tray to show some of the original dark wood (as seen above).
- As I sanded the dry paint, chalk powder drifted across my tray. Using a 'damp' not 'wet' cloth to wipe away the excess chalk, I wiped the excess from the inside edges of the tray then wiped it across the top of the olive branch. This gave a translucent white wash effect to the painted branch, which looked great.
- I allowed it to dry then brushed the whole tray over with a coat of clear wax allowing it to dry for around 15 minutes. I then buffed it up in a circular motion until it started to shine. I allowed it time to dry and then gave it another coat of clear wax and a buff (this seals the paint and helps protect the tray).
- I used a very small amount of dark wax which I applied to a cloth and wiped across random areas, wiping off gently but immediately to leave a little showing.
- I allowed it time to dry then applied a final, thin coat of clear wax and gave it a really good polish using a soft muslin cloth, working again in circular motions.
I am pleased with my results which gave my tray a completely fresh new look. I am already working on my next project, a piano stool I am re-finishing for my bedroom. If you have attempted any projects yourself using Annie's paint, I would love to hear about them, especially if your in New Zealand as the product hasn't been here very long and we are still all learning about is amazing uses.
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