My Creative Blog [Search results for Annie Sloan] 

If you missed all the amazing projects in the first three weeks of CWTS, be sure to check them out below!
Round 1 Projects & Winners Round 2 Projects & Winners Ro und 3 Projects & Winners

We've loved seeing all the projects that have been linked up to play along with CWTS each week! This week we were thrilled to be introduced to Meesh and her blog I.Meesh.U I spent a long time on her blog last night and I just kept reading because her stream of consciousness writing style had me hooked! We picked this project because we felt that everyone deserved to know the secret of how to get that super-cool, Restoration Hardware finish!
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oh Restoration Hardware… how i love thee…

Restoration Hardware's Kenwood Bed
Big A is currently in his converted crib. Problem is that he's getting too big for us to comfortably snuggle and read books in the glider. and sitting on the floor to read to him isn't fun. so mamma started searching for a new bed on craigslist… and look what i found. a glossy white Pottery Barn-looking bed. the very nice fireman who sold it to me even delivered it for free.

here's the headboard in our garage. the pix are a bit dark, but you get the idea. glossy white paint on a well-constructed piece. the beauty about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is that you don't have to sand or strip any varnish before starting. you just paint. and the paint just sticks. and you're just happy. and yes, i've heard the complaints about how expensive ASCP is, but really, when you take into consideration the time you've saved sanding, stripping, and priming, it all works out. AND, with the 4 quarts i purchased almost two years ago, i've probably painted out 15-20 pieces of furniture. yes.

looks a little girly with the white glossy paint, huh? so here are my steps to achieve the ever elusive Restoration Hardware distressed and weathered wood furniture finish:

• using a 3" brush, paint out the pieces in Annie Sloan's Paris Grey. make sure you get in all the cracks and crevices. you'll note that this piece is similar to a bead board, so there are lots of nooks and crannies. let dry.

• using a mixture of MinWax water-based gray and dark Old English, brush on liberally on top of the Paris Gray. after a minute or so, wipe the mixture off with a rag, but don't wipe off 100% evenly. you want some of the pseudo-glaze to stick to the paint, creating some depth on the furniture. because this is a water-based stain, it's translucent and allows you to see the wood below it. the dark stain mixed in was intended to darken the color a bit.

in this experiment, i used about 1/4 cup MinWax, and 8 drops of the Old English. the above shot is taken without a flash and it looks more gray/brown. be sure you use the same mixture if you're remixing for additional pieces so that you achieve the same consistency and colors as you go.

in the above shot, i used the flash so that you could see that this glaze had more of a blue-ish gray hue.

• go over all the pieces using a 220 grit sandpaper…very lightly, with the grain. play around with the pressure. i was trying to achieve a pseudo wood grain look, so kept my pressure very light to accomplish the right look without removing too much of the chalk paint.

• then i brought out the Annie Sloan dark wax, my trusty gloves, and some soft rags. i generously applied the dark wax as i wanted a darker wood look.

what you'll notice about using the Annie Sloan dark wax is that you sometimes notice the brush marks. see in the above picture at the bottom center of the headboard? you see a dark area butted up against a lighter area. i've noticed this happens with AS wax… but never fear! the product is so malleable that you can buff it out and even out the look with some #0000 steel wool and elbow grease. that's right…get those arms in shape by buffing and making the wax more even across your piece.

see how i was able to get rid of the sharp contrast between the dark and light areas on the headboard? fancy.

i LOVE how this piece turned out.

thanks for reading!

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Thanks again Meesh! And make sure you check back tomorrow for the reveal of the Grand Prize Round Projects!! You're going to flip over them!!

We're all jazzed up about this week's Fab Find! Our friend Shaunna from Perfectly Imperfect Blog has become an Annie Sloan Stockist and she just launched her online store. Now before we get into chalk paint awesomeness, let me introduce Shaunna to you.

Shaunna is one of those people that you instantly love the moment you meet her. She's completely sweet and gentle and loving (basically my complete opposite- I'm the sassy, non-emotional one at blog conferences- lol). Beyond loving Jesus and her family, she's also insanely talented (talking magazine quality here, people).

Look at her kids playroom! The little table, chairs, the colors, it makes me swoon.
Shaunna's been using Annie Sloan paint for her amazing furniture pieces for ages and now she's become an Annie Sloan Stockist (that's the fancy term meaning she sells it now!)

A little while back she opened her storefront location and like everything she does, it looks amazing.

Yesterday was another huge milestone… She opened her online store! You can now order directly through her website. Jess already has a project started that she's going to show you next week (we pulled some strings to get some product early).

To learn more about the awesome advantages of Chalk Paint (no, it's not chalkboard paint it's way cooler than that) head over to Shaunna's Blog. She's a wealth of information and if you're anything like me, you'll be on her site for hours (you've been warned).
You can go directly to the Chalk Paint Store (TM) using this link: http://www.perfectlyimperfectblog.com/shop-online
We hope you have a great weekend and we can't wait to show you next week what Jess is working on with her chalk paint!

I am totally sold on Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. Up until last week, I had read that people fall in love with this paint after trying it out, but we don't have stockist near us, and it never occurred to me to order some online. Then, our pal, Shaunna, opened up her shop and I knew it was time. (Yes, it was just that dramatic). Did you know that you can paint almost any surface with chalk paint (not chalkboard paint) without prepping? No sanding, no stripping, nothing. And it adheres to everything because it's magic. And awesome. And we're a match made in DIY heaven if I ever saw one. Paint that eliminates all the hard work? Yes, please. I thought I'd give it a whirl on my marble fireplace surround, because I'm crazy like that. I did not like this marble one bit. It was sort of dirty-looking and leaned toward the peach color family. Yuk. Like I said, it was time for an upgrade.

I also took this time to try out the new Purdy paint brush I received in my haven swag bag. We love these things so much!

I used the color Coco- it's kind of brownish, and kind of grayish, if that's possible. It's crazy at how easily the paint goes on…even on a marble surface! Notice that we didn't prime this marble at all!

I still need to buff and wax the paint so that it's all sealed nicely, but I'm happy with the small, but noticeable change. I originally was planning on painting stripes, but for now, I'm digging the simplicity of the matte color. Doesn't it look better? More serene and understated and classic.

I've been messing around with some of the ideas I learned from Layla about photo styling, and alas, I still have much to learn.: ( But it's still fun to try!

I brought a few of the pillows my mom made for the bench in my basement upstairs to our living room to add some color and a summertime feel. So fun!

Looks pretty darn nice with my target dollar bin mantel, if I do say so myself.

And now for the {very subtle} before and after shot:

I'm thrilled with the way the paint adhered to the marble and the coverage it gave. I can not WAIT to use Annie Sloan chalk paint on a few dining room projects I have in mind.

Have you guys tried chalk paint yet? What are your thoughts about it?

I don't know about you, but I'm itching to Fall-ify my home. You know that"let's get cozy, wear sweatshirts and bring out the pumpkins" feeling? Yeah, I have it. One of the major focal points for seasonal decor in our house is our fireplace and mantel, which I decided to give a little makeover before bringing out my Fall stuff. All it takes is chalk paint, a stencil and a lot of patience. I originally posted this project a few weeks ago over at Infarrantly Creative, but have been dying to share it with you! I can't believe how much I love my fireplace now, and I think you will too.

I'm not going to lie, this was not an easy project. In fact, it took me at least 6 hours of painting and stenciling, but it was so totally worth! Here'e what you need to do: 1. Prep your fireplace. Remember my peach marble tile fireplace surround that I hated? Yuk. I first painted it with Annie Sloan chalk paint that I got from Shaunna who writes Perfectly Imperfect and sells AS paint, but before I did that, I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove and dirt, dust and soot.

2. Choose your paint. I used Annie Sloan's chalk paint in Pure White and French Linen. Man, I am in love with this stuff! It adheres to any surface- even marble!- with no trouble. Just a quick word about fire safety: we don't use our fireplace, so I wasn't worried about whether or not it was flammable, but be sure to check your paint if you have an active fireplace.

3. Brush your base coat onto the surround. I used Pure White and it took 2 coats to get even coverage. I recruited my hubs to do this part, since, let's be honest, painting trim is not my strong suit and I'll take help when I can get it!

4. Place your stencil in the upper corner of the surround. Adjust the stencil sheet and check to make sure it's level, then tape it in place with painters tape. If you want to use a spray adhesive (which I didn't), spray it on the back of the stencil and place it down evenly. I highly recommend using the adhesive for this job, because it took me a loooong time to get clean lines without it. (We have an awesome tutorial on stenciling must-haves if you need help with this!)

5. Begin stenciling. The trick to stenciling without any bleeding is to off-load your brush properly. After dipping into the paint, dab it onto absorbant paper towels, or cardboard until it there is very little paint on the brush. Both my stencil (Beehive Furniture Stencil) and brush are from Royal Design Studio, and they are excellent quality, which makes the job go much smoother.

I had to do two to three coats for every stencil to get the coverage I was looking for. Words can not express the excitement of pulling back that very first stencil. Go ahead- try it and tell me that's not true.

Once the paint is dry, realign the stencil, level it and keep on moving! You might want to turn on some music, because you'll be doing this for a while.: )

At the end of the first night, here's what I had accomplished. Ugh. I saved the hard parts for last. Yippee!

6, Cut your stencil to fit the corners and edges. Oh, this part is so hard, because as I was cutting my stencil, I was envisioning all the projects I could do with it go right down the drain. But, it's absolutely crucial to cut the stencil if you want clean, crisp lines all the way around.

7. Touch up any paint bleeds with a small fine-tipped paint brush…or toothpick, in my case. No matter how good you are at stenciling, there will always be some bleeding. It's easy to touch it up with the base paint color and a steady hand. No one will be the wiser!

8. Finally, wax it and you're done! You'll want to add some kind of protective finish, and I used Annie Sloan soft wax, which was formulated to work with chalk paint. After all that hard work, you'll want a force field surrounding this thing, but wax will have to do.

Step back, grab a drink and enjoy your pretty new fireplace surround!

I love love love it, and am already planning a room makeover based on this fireplace!

If you want a cheap project that will instantly give your room a facelift, this one is for you. Showstopping material, folks!
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In other news, if you follow us on facebook (if you don't, you totally should) you know that I finally entered the year 2012 and have a new HTC OneX smartphone. This thing is amazing and I can't wait to share with you how it has made my life soooo much easier, but for now I'm totally loving Instagram, and would be thrilled if you decided to follow me!

Monica has been on Instagram for quite a while now, but if you don't already follow her, add her to your list too!

We'll give you lots of sneak peeks at our current projects, as well as fun insights into our daily lives and what makes us tick. We promise.: )

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So, is your fireplace screaming for a makeover?
Would you ever paint it??
Linking up to: Tutorials & Tips

Before we get into today's post, we want to announce the winner of the Mother's Day Giveaway from Salvatori Photography…

Congrats Holly! We know your session pics are going to be amazing! If you missed it, Wednesday I shared the awesome story session pics Salvatori Photography did for my family. Check it out here. Even if you didn't win, Stacy would love to take pics for you! Contact her before her schedule for late spring/summer is full! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't play the piano… well, that's not entirely true, I took lessons for about two years, so there are about 3 songs I can pluck out- Ode to Joy, Hey Jude (talk about random!), and one nameless song that is kind of my signature song. Long story short, I stink! Eric however, is an amazing pianist. I absolutely love listening to him play. Our kids have names for all the different songs,"The Angry Song" is a fast song and the kids run around our house like crazy people when he plays it. I love watching him play and it reminds me how crazy talented (in so many areas) my hubs is.
As much as I love the sound, I have never been a fan of the look of the oak piano. It's just so dated and not me…

Because the piano was so blah, I let two years go by with our front living room looking pretty much like this… no style, Eric's choice of colonial blue on the walls, and just an overall hot mess.

My living room is attached to my dining room, so the difference between the two rooms was pretty stark…

We finally decided to take the plunge and paint the piano! I knew I was going to for ages, but I didn't know what color, so I wanted until I was positive!

I decided on Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Antibes Green. I'm sure you know all about ASCP, but if you don't it's one of the coolest paint products out there! It is a chalk paint, but not chalkboard paint. Basically it adheres to all kinds of surfaces and wait for it… you don't have to sand!! Boyah!

Since I didn't have to waste time sanding, I got right to taping. I needed to make sure that I was super careful and no paint would damage the piano since the hubs actually uses it.

The prep work took me about 5 minutes and then it was time to paint. Eric was working on painting stripes on the ceiling for me (post coming on those soon) and we just put"Hit List" on Fios and got our painting groove on.

Yeah, I don't look too thrilled, but I promise I was…

How's that for a comparison… bye bye nasty oak!

I did two coats, but after the first I knew I was in love!

Chalk paint looks really uneven when it's drying, but have no fear- it looks nice and smooth once it's fully dry.

I used Annie Sloan dark wax to seal the piano and give it the darker, rich color I wanted. I'm not going to give you any tips on that part because I completely did it wrong! Apparently I was supposed to wax with clear wax and then dark… I just tell people, I was going for a more imperfect look! Ha!

The bench got ASCP on the legs, but to add a little awesomeness, I upholstered it with this fabric from Spoonflower.

Ahh! I love the fabric with the green!

So what do you think of the before and after? I hear so many people say,"but you can't paint it- it's REAL wood!" and I want to go on the record saying,"It can be REAL wood and still be REALLY ugly!" Don't be afraid to paint!!

And now for an onslaught of after pictures… I'm so happy to finally have a living room that I love!

And don't forget… We're the ones in a contest now and if we win, we get to give $5000 to the charity of our choice! We need your help, though- you can learn more about our project and the charity we chose here, or go vote for us every day for the next two weeks right here (like their page and then click on the Crafting for Charity button on their FB page). Thank you!

And just because this absolutely made my night… look at the picture I found on my computer! I recently taught Kaden how to use PicMonkey and apparently he's having a good old time with it! I actually might frame this pic I love it so much…"ther is monsters"

Have a great weekend and watch out for those darn monsters!

Oh goodness, this dining room is taking forever to finish! I've been working on it for the past several months as money and time have allowed, and we're definitely in the home stretch, but it's the little things that are making me crazy! I've already showed you the side table I made over, and the planked wall with exposed studs accent wall we created, which really helped change the feel of the whole space. But let's be honest, one of the most obvious things that had to change to fit the whole"coastal/cottage" vibe I'm going for was the dining table.

It's a nice, solid wood table that my hubs and I bought for only $60 (yes, you read that correctly!) when we first moved into this house. I was so over the black hutch and the finish on this table, but it's functional piece so I didn't want to buy a new one. I haven't done too much furniture refinishing, so I asked my bloggy pal and furniture expert, Shaunna, if she could make some recommendations as to what I should do to change them up to fit my style. Not only did she come up with some incredible furniture ideas, but she dreamt up an entire inspiration board for my room!

Isn't that amazing? I love so many of her ideas, and hope my room turns out half as nice as her dream room!: ) So with her help, I started out refinishing the table. The first step was to remove the legs of the table and give them a good painting with Annie Sloan Chalk paint, aka my new love. I decided to paint the legs in French linen, and then once that dried, did a wash of Pure White over top. That was the easy part.

The table top…not so easy. I started off by sanding the top with 60 grit sandpaper and my palm sander. It was so difficult getting through all the layers of whatever they sealed it with that it probably took me a good hour and half to sand it all down. 

I almost didn't mind, though, because what I saw as I was sanding made me super excited! I loved the look of the unfinished wood and the wood grain that began to show. 

Even with all the sanding, I still didn't feel like I had removed all of the old finish, so I brushed on a layer of CitriStrip. Basically, you brush it on and leave it for the recommended time. Then, you wipe it off with a lint-free cloth and with it, off comes the finish! This sanding/stripping method really worked to get my table back to it's gorgeous, unfinished state. 

Shaunna recommended that I try white-washing the table with Pure White chalk paint, so that's what I did. If you're unfamiliar with white-washing, it is an awesome way to keep the character of a piece, while subtly adding a touch of color to it. Basically, you add water to paint until it's the intensity you want. More water = less concentrated color.

I really wanted the grain of the wood to show, but I didn't care for the peachy color of the wood, so I went with a very watered down white wash.

I brushed it on, and then wiped it back with a paper towel. Because my wash was mostly water, I had to wipe it immediately after I brushed it on because it was drying very quickly. Wiping the wash back helps brings the color of the grain out, which gives it a very reclaimed wood finish.

After I washed the whole table, I was over the top giddy mildly pleased with the results. 

I can't get over how well the table now fits in my dining room! It's like it was meant to live in a coastal cottage all along.

The final step is sealing it with Annie Sloan Clear Soft Wax. Because this is a surface that will get lots of wear, since people will eat and drink there, it will need three coats of wax. I'm planning on doing that this week, but that's the kind of little detail (that makes a big difference!) that I don't want to do. Any one out there want to come finish my table? Please!?!?

All that hard work was totally worth it, though, because I'm head over heels in love with the table now. A big thank you to Shaunna for helping me to see it's potential! Not bad for a $60 table, huh?; ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We're honored to be featured over at I Am Momma Hear Me Roar today for her week of all things curtains! Be sure to check it out to see what no-sew curtain solutions we came up with!

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We are thrilled to have the opportunity to introduce you to sweet Brook of Being Brook. She's a fellow contributor to Infarrantly Creative, and was a part of our Blogging 2 Better group. She's insanely talented and her projects are sooo beautiful! Her incredibly adorable fabric wall map happened to be our favorite project from our summer challenge!

Hi East Coast Creative Readers! I'm Brook and I blog at BeingBrook where I share tips and tutorials on building, sewing, crafts and home decor! I'm a military spouse so I move frequently and am always striving to Create Awesome wherever our family ends up!

Today I have a tutorial on how to make a keepsake hanger out of an antique doorknob!

Supplies: 2 pieces of pine 1"x4" cut into a square Annie Sloan Chalk Paint & Clear Wax Antique Door Knob Epoxy Resin (I used Envirotex Lite) Screw

I needed something to screw into and antique door knobs don't usually take standard screws. So I started by taping off my antique door knob and mixing up some resin to fill the old screw hole. Beckie from Infarrantly Creative has an in depth tutorial if you need more help with this part. Then I painted my two pieces of pine with Annie Sloan Chalk paint in French Linen which is the same color as my daughter's dresser.

On one of the wood pieces I used my keyhole bit on my router to make a spot to hang the little doorknob shelf from the wall. The other piece of wood I marked the middle and then 1/2 inch down on each side and traced two lines to give the front of the wood a little angle.

I used a miter saw to cut the angles out and then nailed the top of the shelf to the bottom piece with a nail gun and finish nails. You could totally glue and hammer this with regular nails too.

Now it's time to drill a pilot hole in the wood for your doorknob and drill a pilot hole into your doorknob where the resin is.

Then crew a screw through your wood into the doorknob. Once my little shelf was all built I touched up the paint and waxed it with some soft wax.

Finished! I am using my little door knob shelf to display my daughter's keepsake baby dress and a little cup that was a special baby gift.

Thanks so much for having me Monica and Jess! I'd love it you came by and visited me at BeingBrook to see some of my other projects! Little Girl Aqua, Red and Gray Bedroom

Build a Rustic Headboard for only $35

Organize the Laundry Room with Basket Dressers

Isn't she amazing?! We seriously envy that girls talent and creativity. Thanks, Brook!

This day seems like a long time coming. It's the first time I've completed a nursery AFTER the baby was born. Ha! (If you missed my baby announcement, you can see it here) Doing this reveal today- October 1st- is sort of ironic, since this is the day I was due! I'm so happy I took my time to finish it because I'm really happy with it! It's not perfect- is any room ever really perfect??-, but it makes me smile and will be a great space for Bennett… when I can part from him.; ) I hope you're ready for a whole slew of pictures. Sit back and enjoy!

Come on in!

This room is nothing like I originally envisioned, but one thing that stuck is the color scheme: orange, mint and gray. It's so fresh, bright and a little quirky.

Isn't that little Bennett burp cloth adorable? My friend Karen from Thread Blossoms made it and I never want to actually use it- it's too cute!

Free printables are a great way to dress the walls in a nursery- (you can see my round up of fun printables here.) I added the printable on the far left from The Handmade Home, and I love it! The rocking chair has been in my family for years, but I just recently decided to make it work in the space by painting it in Annie Sloan's Graphite chalk paint. The abstract art was custom-made by my cute kids (more on that later!)

These cube shelves are from Ikea- Monica actually hung them during our first Nate's Crate challenge on The Nate Berkus Show. They totally look like built-ins and fit that little nook perfectly.

This room doesn't have a closet that we can use, so we purchased an armoire from Ikea to hang some of Bennett's clothes. When you sit in the rocking chair, you kind of stare right at the side of the armoire, so I hung an old print that was in my nursery as a baby, after painting the wood frame in the same graphite as the chair.

I've had the coffee sign for several years, but I moved it in the nursery because I thought it was kind of funny…if you've ever had a newborn, you know how much caffeine you need!: )

Oh, the dresser. This dresser is fabulous, isn't it? It was my grandparents and I totally wasn't sold on it at first, but we were trying to do this room on a budget and it was free. Done deal, folks. Now, I am in love with it! I'll share the details in another post, but with some paint and wax and a pop of orange paint on the legs, it was turned into the best part of the room!

I thought the"Oh Boy" was so appropriate for two reasons: 1) we were having a boy (duh!) and 2) we were taken so by surprise with this pregnancy. It makes such a statement and adds a whole lot of personality to the room!

I added some washi tape to the plain black lamp shade to add a little interest. Man, I love washi- is there no end to it's many uses?

Bennett isn't spending too much time in this room yet, but I'm pretty sure he's excited about it!

I hope you love it as much as I do! Tell me…what's your favorite part?

Sources Sheets: Target Rug: Ikea Changing Pad Cover: Babys R Us Dresser Paint: Annie Sloan Graphite & Paris Gray, Dark Wax Giant Letters: Hobby Lobby Dresser light: Target Color-blocked baskets: Target Copper Light on bookshelf: Local antique shop Armoire: Ikea Bookshelf cubes: Ikea Rocking Chair: Hand-me-down Mirror: Walmart Coffee sign: Vintage sign store in OCNJ

You want to know what we learned this year at the first ever Haven conference? There are so many talented people in the world. It's true. Every single blogger we met has unbelievable talent, was super cute (I'm not lying when I say that Monica and I left feeling old and frumpy!), and could not have been nicer. It totally felt like a huge family reunion (except that we had never met before!) Seriously, though, we attended some inspiring sessions, chatted with some of our favorite bloggers and enjoyed really fun BFF time, too! It started out with a smooth flight, a pricey cab to the hotel (60 bucks, one way!) and the discovery that the hotel had overbooked and that our confirmation was actually a pending notification. Booo. But the guys at the Crowne Plaza worked it out and we got a room (a nice one, I might add!)

Upon arrival, we met some of the Haven crew and received our swag bags. There were some pretty sweet finds in the bag, but our favs were definitely the Annie Sloan Chalk paint, Purdy paint brush, Kreg Jig Jr. and a stencil from our go-to stencil girls at Royal Design Studio. Score!

We attended six sessions total, each of them were taught by some blogging bigwigs- do you see that list below? Southern Rhoda, Tracie at Beneath my Heart, Beth from Home Stories A to Z, Sarah of Thrifty Decor Chick, and Myra from My Blessed Life We were SO thrilled to meet these ladies in real life and hear all the stuff they've learned through their blogging experience. We also spent time talking with vendors (Monica won 3 awesome paint brushes at the Annie Sloan chalk paint booth), and with business cards in hand, checked out all the blogs we hadn't read before,.

Rashon Carraway, aka Mr. Goodwill Hunting, rocked the Thrifting 101 session! Remember him from The Nate Show? We had fun sharing stories about our times on the show and how great the staff was to us. Good times, I tell you.

Sherry and John from Young House Love were the keynote speakers, and not only were they adorable, they were so down to earth, full of good tips and witty, to boot. Not fair. We loved their mindset about writing their blog, and their honesty about sort of stumbling into blogging fame.
We could have talked with Sherry the entire night. She's totally like the other best friend we wish we had.

We LOVED meeting so many people with similar passions as ours, and discovering awesome blogs we had never heard about. No one truly understands blogging except other bloggers, that's for sure.

Beth from Free Stylin' and Jamie from C.R.A.F.T

The highlight of our trip was meeting our blog mentor, Beckie. We've been chatting with her on the phone every week for the past few months. We knew she was insanely talented and driven, but we were so not prepared for how awesome she is in person! And drop-dead gorgeous. Her session about advertising had everyone buzzing about her. And for good reason! Love.that.girl.

Monica was really excited to meet her, and I was scared, I guess. Awkward, Jess, awkward.
And I'm sure you've all heard of Allison from House of Hepworths, but we were psyched to meet her since we were in the Blogging 2 Better collaboration with her the past 6 weeks.

Layla from The Lettered Cottage, taught a killer session on photo styling that rocked our picture-taking world. How she preps rooms for photos is genius, and even though we learned a lot, we're pretty sure that she has a creative eye that can't be duplicated. I am a HUGE fan of hers, so was pretty excited that she sort of knew who we were (or pretended to, anyway!)

We also had the priviledge of hanging out a bit with Ashley and Whitney from Shanty 2 Chic. These girls make DIYing look amazing. A gorgeous, creative blogging duo.

And speaking of gorgeous-ness…take a look at Ana White building a rolling storage caddy in sky-high heels and tight cropped pants. Fabulous, isn't it? Makes us feel like we should maybe reconsider our t-shirt and sweatpants attire for DIYing. Or maybe not.

And finally, here's a shot of us fooling around at the Homes.com photo booth. Our new bloggy best friend, Karah from The Space Between, took this picture and we love it. And you'll love her. First of all, she lives in Curacao, and secondly she does great projects (just check out her rooftop pallet bed) and thirdly, she's a lot of fun to hang out with.

So that's our crazy recap! All in all we had as really fun time, and I can't say enough how much fun I have with Monica. It may actually be possible that two people share the same brain. Just sayin'.; )
If you could meet one blog crush, who would you choose?

We're pulling a Young House Love and are double-posting today. It's kind of fitting since Melissa is Sherry's partner!. If you missed the Round 2 projects, you can see all of them right here. To see the bloggers you chose to move on to Round 3, . We're sure these girls are already working hard on their Paint challenge this week- ack! We're loving the suspense.: )

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If any knockoff was a bear to tackle, this one is it! All that detail-oriented stenciling makes us tired just looking at it. We love that Melissa took the design and changed it up so that it is unique and matches her home. Take it away, Melissa!

Anthropologie is my very favorite store. I love all the colors, the design, the textures, the ambience and inspiration that I always find there. When I saw this gorgeous ikat hand painted console, I knew it was the perfect piece of inspiration for CWTS Project #2: Knock Off. (and at $1698--it's a great piece to knock off; )

1. I bought a similar looking cabinet base from IKEA. In looking for the right piece of furniture to use for this project, the most important thing was to have flat doors with plenty of space for the ikat stencil design.

2. In order to achieve a wood-like look similar to the anthro console, I did some research on painting IKEA furniture. Leaving the cabinet in pieces, I spray-painted them with three coats of Zinsser BIN shellac-based primer. In between each coat of primer, I sanded very lightly. This stuff is amazing and allowed me to paint right over it with no problems. After letting the primer dry, I painted the cabinet pieces with two coats of paint which I had left over from other projects. I painted all pieces with BM Wheeling Neutral, with the exception of the cabinet doors, which I painted BM Linen White.

3. The next step included a bit of experimenting, but ended up turning out great. On top of the painted cabinet pieces, I used a soft dry cloth and applied a light layer of Annie Sloan Dark Wax. I wasn't sure how this wax would take to the paint, but it worked wonderfully and gave the piece a great look. In the second picture below, you can see the difference between the boards (before wax on the left and waxed on the right). After all the pieces of the cabinet were waxed and dry, I put the cabinet together, minus the front doors.

4. I ordered the ikat stencil ("ikat pattern #1 repeating stencil") online from Olive Leaf Stencils. Next up was choosing paint colors. I went to the paint store and pulled paint chips to match the anthropologie console. I knew their color palette worked well but I wanted to create a similar palette that would work better in my own home. I played around with paint chips in my hand to create my palette. Then I took the paint chips to the craft store and matched them to acrylic craft paint. (While at the craft store, I also purchased Elmer's Spray Adhesive to help keep the stencil in place while I painted.)

5. I put the cabinet doors on top of the kitchen counter and put the six different paint colors onto paper plates. I measured and marked the various spots where I would need to line up the stencil. Next, I sprayed the back of the stencil with the Elmer's Spray Adhesive and let it sit for about 2 minutes before placing it on the cabinet door. (Waiting the 1-2 minutes helps the spray to be more temporary, and easier to remove. I did not have any problems removing the stencil-and the paint on the doors did not peel off at all.)

6. After I had my stencil in place, I began painting. You really only need to use a small amount of paint for stenciling, this helps to prevent bleeding of the paint. I used a soft jabbing motion to get the effect I was wanting and found that a small firm paint brush worked well. I had sketched the stencil out on cardboard and planned which colors were going where…this was especially helpful. It took me about three hours to stencil the cabinet doors.

7. I let the doors dry overnight and in the morning I used a very small brush and linen white paint to touch up the few spots where little bits of paint had bled.

8. Last, I applied a layer of Annie Sloan Clear Wax over the top of each door, which darkened the colors very slightly and gave it a nice smooth finish.

9. After the wax was dry, I put the doors onto the cabinet base. I styled the console using some of my"real" anthropologie treasures: ) in addition to two old flea market wooden spools with candles, some favorite books and beautiful orange tulips.

It's such an amazing piece and it's going to be a conversation starter, for sure! We snooped around Melissa's blog and found this adorable Secretary makeover. Love that color blue!

You know we love us some reclaimed wood and this barnwood jewelry display is super cute!

Check back tomorrow for our favorite knockoff from the link party this week! There were some great entries, and you all are NOT making our jobs easy.: ) And don't forget that you can begin voting for Round 3 midnight on Monday!

So by now you know that I'm in love with chalk paint. I basically shout it from the rooftops whenever I get the chance. It totally transformed my fireplace, and is now helping me to makeover my dining room, one furniture piece at a time. The first piece I tackled is this old Ikea table that we bought when we were first married. Even though it looked fine with our barnwood organizing bins, I was so over the warm wood tone and ready for a change!

I chatted with Shaunna about some different color options and decided on the gorgeous Aubusson blue as an accent color. 

I seriously would kiss this paint if I could…and it wasn't so messy. I love that you don't have to prep the piece at all before beginning to paint. Because of this, I had a regular paint shop going on in my kitchen a few weeks ago… 

Once I finished painting, I decided I wanted to add a little more depth to the piece, so I brushed on Valspar's Translucent Color Glaze in Mocha, focusing on the cracks, bumps and holes in the wood. 

It's a bit scary, but immediately you can see a difference. Basically, you brush the glaze on, let it sit for a minute and then wipe it off with a lint-free cloth (I used an old t-shirt). 

Shaunna recommends that you use wax before distressing and adding a glaze, but oops! I didn't know that before I tried it. As I was wiping off the glaze, the paint came with it! Ahhhh! So then,I had to repaint and reglaze. Ugh. So… paint, wax, then glaze and distress! 

Finally, once the paint had dried, I waxed the entire piece in order to protect it from damage. I used this method and it helped me tremendously and worked like a charm! This wax is unbelieveably smooth, goes on like butter and goes a long way. I've never tried the other brands of furniture wax, but now that I've tried Annie's, I don't think I ever will.

I made sure to let it cure for the specified time before setting anything on it, and then got busy decorating for Fall. Now for a slew of pretty pictures…

I can't get enough of this color. It doesn't scream at you, but it makes a statement, you know? It's like he's saying in a very polite voice,"Look at me. Aren't I handsome?"

I'm on the lookout for some late Fall/Winter decorative pillow or covers, so if you have recommendations, send them my way!

Gotta love the details.

And look! A sneak peek at my new accent wall partly dressed up! I'm still messing around with the layout of things, but we're getting closer to the big reveal!

I'm thinking it's a whole lot prettier now, but let's take a look at the before and after, shall we? 

What do you think of the transformation? I like it so much better.

Looking for the top 12 contestant announcement for Creating with the Stars? You can find them, the awesome projects that earned them a spot and their amazing blog star partners here. Don't forget to like us on facebook and follow us on Twitter @EC2blog for all the up-to-date info and juicy details!

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I'm so excited to show you guys the first step I took in making our living room jive with the attached dining room. This project is super simple, easy on the wallet and totally customizable! Love that.

We're both huge fans of Ikea. I mean, really, who doesn't love cheap, Swedish, hard-to-pronounce and even-harder-to-put-together furniture? I purchased this chair for the my living room, but the scale of it just wasn't right. It really needed something to help fill the space, and I thought an ottoman would do the trick nicely. While at IKEA, I came across this LACK side table which is only 10 bucks (depending on the finish you choose), and knew it would work as an ottoman that could fill the void in my living room. Round up the following supplies and let's get started!
Lack side table 1 1/2 yards of fabric 1 1/2 yards of quilt batting- Look for a coupon or a sale on this! Foam (mine is 2 inches thick)- Don't buy without a coupon! Staple Gun Spray adhesive Paint (optional) Chop saw (optional)

1. Lay the table top upside down on the foam and trace it using a Sharpie.

2. Cut the foam with an electric carving knife. I saw the girls at JoAnn's doing this, and let me tell you, the foam cuts like butter when you do it this way! If you don't have one, use an X-acto knife or razor.

3. Spray one side of the foam with adhesive and press it firmly onto the table top.

4. Grab your helper and lay the foam-covered table top onto the quilt batting and trim the excess. Make sure you leave enough batting around the edges to cover the sides of the table. (Adorable little helper is optional.)

5. Using your staple gun, fold one corner in towards the middle of the table and staple into place. Work your way around the table pulling tight on the batting and stapling as you go. Use a hammer to wack any stubborn staples into place. I've always wanted to use"wack" in a sentence. Check that off the bucket list.

6. Iron your fabric so you don't have to deal with any annoying wrinkles. Or ignore this step if wrinkles don't drive you nuts. If they don't, I envy you. Please tell me your secret.

7. Determine the placement of your fabric and trim the excess, but be generous with your cuts so that you have enough to go all the way around. Working the same way as with the batting, start with the corner and fold towards the middle. Staple in place. Work your way around, pulling the fabric tight. Every once in a while, flip the top over so you can make adjustments to the placement of the fabric if necessary (and it will be necessary, trust me!)

8. This step is completely optional, as well. I wanted the ottoman to be a bit lower than the height of the seat of the chair, so I used a chop saw to cut about 3 inches off of all four legs. Surprise! Ikea table legs are hollow! I guess that's how they keep the price at $10. *Wink*

9. To achieve a similar finish to the chair, I used two coats of Annie Sloan Chalk paint in French Linen, then lightly spray painted them with Valspar Satin in La Fonda.

That's it! For under $25, I have an adorable ottoman that helps ground the chair in my living room, adds additional seating (yes! You can sit on it!), and a comfy place to put your feet up at the end of the day. I call that a win-win.

I'm super happy with the finished product, and love that I can easily change the fabric when I get tired of this one. I mean, let's be honest, that WILL happen at some point, knowing me, and when it does, it won't break the bank to recover it! Woohoo!
To see these other projects in the living room, click below:

Planked Wall with Exposed Studs Stenciled Faux-Tile Fireplace
Have a happy Tuesday!

I have Design and Decorating ADD. Never heard of it? It's when you start one DIY project, and before finishing it, you move on to something else that catches your interest. I'm pretty sure my BFF suffers from it, too. (Just ask her husband!) Just to prove it to you, let's take a look at the projects that are going on simultaneously right now at my home: Cleaning out and reorganizing my collection of barnwood, old doors and cabinets in the shed:

Recovering lamp shades for the chandy in my dining room. (No joke- this has been this way for at least a month)

Refinishing the buffet with Annie Sloan chalk paint- one coat done, two more to go.

I just finished a mini-makeover of this side table.

I'm sealing this project and letting it cure. I can't wait to reveal what it is to you soon!

Repurposing an old cabinet door into something cute for my son using some awesome paints.

Sanding, stripping, and more sanding of the dining table top. This thing is not going down without a fight, I tell you!

At least my mantel is already decorated for early Fall. Thank goodness.

I'm pretty sure Monica and I are not the only ones who struggle with this, am I right? Please say yes. Do you hop around from project to project, or stay with one until it's completed?