Afraid to try chalk paint? You wont be after seeing this.

Hi!

 While having coffee at my neighbor Amber's house, I was admiring a piece in her dining room. It was a hutch that had been in the family for awhile. She said that she has always wanted to refinish it. It was love at first sight for me and look at this cute signature from her daughter on it.

 Ah ha! I had a light bulb above the head moment.

 "Why don't you refinish it with chalk paint. It would look awesome!!" I said. "I have never used chalk paint before"she said. Let's do coffee at your place next week and I will show you how.  The rest is history.

 Look what she refinished for her very first project!!

We started out cleaning the hutch with a damp cloth just to get the dust off. We then removed the knobs and the drawers.You do not need to do any other prep which was a pleasant surprise and relief to Amber.

It was a beautiful day so we decided to do the painting outside in the her driveway. The project will take a few hours but this will help everything dry even faster .

 Someone came by and wanted to buy the piece even before it was done. I cant wait to see their reaction when they come by later and see it refinished!

She had earlier decide on painting the inside back with yesteryear chalky finish paint and the rest with  rouge chalky finish paint. We did a thin coat of the yesteryear first and let it dry. When we did the second thin coat she was so surprised to find out how well it covered with so little paint!

 Here are some stages of our progress

We used fine sandpaper and minimally distressed areas. Make sure after you are done sanding you clean off .There are several choices to seal your piece. Amber decided on the matte creme wax.

 

 

after

before

It looks so good doesn't it?  Amber loves how it fits in so much better with her other decor too!

I think it is so awesome that she made the piece her potion station for Halloween. 

 

I really enjoyed helping Amber refinish her beautiful hutch. She had such a great time and couldn't believe the outcome. Amber is picking out her next  piece already.

So now you can have no fear of tackling a larger piece of furniture with chalky finish paint. Even if it is your first time!!


Shari

(Disclaimer: Although Americana Chalky finish paints and waxes were supplied by DecoArt for this project, the thoughts and responses are purely that of our own.)

A Product That I Love....and a Giveaway Too!!

Hello Tribe!

I am going to be sharing a  product with you today that I adore. No, it's not a new ink or glue or paint. It's a product that I find helps me feel good and look good while creating. The product is Jamberry nail wraps.

 Let me tell you why this product is so important to me

  I am on several design teams and that requires that I take  photos of the various steps of my projects. These nail wraps not only look great in the photos but they are incredibly durable. Being a mixed media artist I work with clay, glues, inks, paint and anything else I can get my hands on. My hands are constantly being washed. These babies can hold up!  When in the studio and after leaving I don't want my nails looking like something out of a horror movie.

 MY OWN CUSTOM NAILS!!

There is another reason I adore this product. I can use my artwork to create my own custom nails.

You can create in any medium, then just upload a high resolution image of your artwork to place on the wraps. The interface is very intuitive and has many preloaded patterns to get you started.

Here I uploaded a few pieces of my art work to create accent nails. 

 ENTER TO WIN!

Three easy steps to enter the giveaway for your chance to win a FREE sheet of Jamberry Nail Wraps of your choice!

1.Head over to My Altered Life on Facebook and "Like" the page. Full of great art info, tutorials, art from the artist, and featured art from around the world.

2.Head to DKGrahamJams (https://www.facebook.com/DKGrahamJams) and "Like" the page to stay up to date on all things Jamberry and Kirstan's custom creations.

3.Comment here on this blog post that you did - a winner will be randomly drawn on February 28th and contacted to select your wrap from the brand new Spring Catalog.

Good Luck !!

What are Jamberry Nail wraps?

The wraps are a solid film covering that can be applied directly to the nail to achieve a look not found anywhere else. This special material is both pressure and heat activated to create a water tight bond to your nail. The shields are made in the USA, with no harsh chemicals and are latex free.
This new nail treatment can be applied in about fifteen minutes at home. With over three hundred styles to choose from, these designer wraps are made to last up to two weeks on fingers and four or more on toes. Unlike traditional nail polish, they won’t chip and require no drying time. It’s so easy to achieve a professional, salon look at a fraction of the cost.