« b.y.o. brass class »

May 8th, 2012

we had a super-fun workshop last saturday…four lovely students (all at varying levels of experience) each brought a lamp base (3 brass, one ceramic) in for a re-vamp.  they did a fantastic job, as evidenced below:

(patty, who swears she has never painted anything before, scored this great brass lamp at the oxford goodwill for $3.99 and put the coolest crusty weathered zinc finish on it, using graphite and louis blue chalk paint as a base.)

(lisa’s lamp was rescued from their flooded hunting camp.  the brass finish was ruined, but she made it fabulous with annie sloan’s olive and old ochre, and pewter gilding wax.)

(jackie has had this ginger jar lamp since high school – it had been frighteningly bright and shiny, but she made it gleam like old polished plaster with country grey and old white under annie’s soft waxes.)

the group learned three different annie sloan chalk paint finishes, and chose one for their lamp.  during “dry times” we chatted about fix-ups for shades, favorite places to flea, and alternate methods using metallics.  it was a wonderful group – i can’t wait until they come back with pictures of their finished lamps in situ.  gold stars for everyone!

(matt went for a mellow antiqued gold finish for his floor lamp, beginning with graphite.  bravo!)

« eenie, meenie »

May 1st, 2012

four samples for a lovely client considering treatments for a beautiful cypress-paneled library in a home they’re building.  different paint washes combined with tinted and gilt waxes…which one will they choose?

« mrs. jones gets framed »

April 11th, 2012

my seeking a way to display samples of all of annie sloan’s 29 fabulous colors intersected directly with my friend chris garner‘s desire to try the chalk paint and to divest himself of some frames from the “scratch & dent” pile at his shop (from where, as you know, the most gorgeous frames and mirrors come.)  it resulted in this happy situation on the walls at my studio:

now chalk paint shoppers can easily see, touch, and compare all the hues.  there is lots of fabric-swatch-holding-up going on too, which is really fun to see.

(here is a “before” of my haul from his attic:)

and just wait until you see the gorgeous moldings chris is creating with some of annie’s colors, her waxes, and a little gilding.  i can’t wait to show you.

« isn’t she lovely? »

March 27th, 2012

yes, this is she, herself, our annie sloan.  a really truly lovely lady, gifted artist and artisan, colorist, teacher, designer…chock-full of humor, honesty, integrity and generous heaps of creativity.

and i do mean generous.  she will share every bit of inspiration, knowledge and experience she has just to try to make sure your project turns out well.   120 lucky attendees and all of annie’s stockists from our region spent monday in nashville in an annie immersion.  the day began with breakfast and a meet & greet, then a two-hour talk and demonstration by the fabulous mrs. sloan.  she gave all sorts of tips on mixing colors and patterns, the history and stories behind several of her colors, and a sneak preview of two wonderful books she has in the works, along with fabrics and new hues coming in the next few months.

following lunch, we broke into smaller groups for hands-on instruction.  the day wrapped up with a sociable hour while annie kindly signed books and samples and took photos with her many adoring “sloan rangers”.

and talk about the stars aligning…annie’s nashville visit coincided with the fab fairgounds flea market.  what a treat all the way around.

« happy st. patrick’s day »

March 17th, 2012

wishing you the luck of the irish all day long…all year, for that matter.

in the meantime, mrs. jones is feeling very lucky to be working on glamifying a chair in this gorgeous shade – pratt & lambert’s ravine green, #17.16:

for the lovely, unerring color-chooser anna baskin lattimore.  stay tuned for the after.