~ how to paint slick surfaces with Chalk Paint™ decorative paints by Annie Sloan ~

Hello my friends!

I am slowly getting back into the routine of blogging.

I must share with you how well my little shop is being received.

I LOVE meeting so many interesting people everyday.

I can't wait to get there in the morning and I hate to leave at night.

I know this is a job...but MAN...it does not feel like work!!!

so today I want to share a little painting project I worked on over the weekend.

Last week I bought two full size porcelain rabbits at a local thrift shop.

Cute...but really needed some love.

I mean really...look at this little guy.....way too shiny and a little scary looking.

Who's idea was it to dress this guy up with a funky blue ribbon???

He is just screaming out for some magical Chalk Paint™ decorative paint from Annie Sloan.

Did you know Chalk Paint™ would adhere to glassy porcelain?

It absolutely does!

There is a technique though and I am happy to share it with you.

Here are my bunnies..yup, there were two ugly black mottled bunnies, after two coats of Old White.

Ok...now I have found that the secret to painting on super slick surfaces like glassy porcelain is to not try too hard.

By that I mean don't try to get full coverage all in one coat. I painted one coat of Old White, not worrying about complete coverage. Don't overwork your brushstrokes. You need to apply a light coat quickly and leave it alone!!! Like overnight leave it alone. The more you try to brush  paint over bare spots, the  more you simply keep picking up the previous coat. 

Let the first coat fully dry..THEN apply a second coat and the same technique applies.

Lay on the second coat and leave it alone to dry..don't mess with it!

The above rabbits have two full coats of Old White, over the span of two days.

DON'T RUSH THE PROCESS!!!!

Here are two lovely rabbits  with two coats of Old White and a coat of Step 1 of

 Annie Sloan's wonderful 

Craqueleur  Varnish Crackle.

Have I told you how much I LOVE this product??

Yeah..I pretty much LOVE IT!!!

Step two is now applied and depending how thickly I apply it, will determine how bigs the cracks are.

Step 2 is a heat activated step and at this point I hit the rabbit with a blow dryer to get the crackling process going.

Your won't really see the cracks..they are very small and hidden, but once step 2 is dry..

the magic will happen.

Liberally apply dark wax all over the piece and rub it into the cracks.

Voila!

Your beautiful cracks all come to life.

Pick up some clear wax and wipe all over your piece 

to clean off all the residue dark wax on your piece

This is what the final effect will be.

Beautiful crackly, crazed and antiqued gorgeousness.

Can you say 

YUM!!

The lovely thing about Annie's crackle medium is that it doen't touch the paint, but crackles the varnish.

So cool!

You are able to achieve an antiqued old world varnish crackle.

Hands down my favorite product!

You can get lovely looks with this product and try to attend a local workshop for some real fun.

Remember...go to www.anniesloanunfolded.com to find a stockist and workshop near you!

I think my after rabbit is much more spectacular than the before version.

What do you think?????

Until next time....be kind and stay creative.