More Annie Sloan Magic

So it was time to play a bit......we are demonstrating at the Scottish Home Improvement Show in Ingliston Edinburgh this weekend and yup...we are demonstrating Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and why??? Only because it is the best paint IN the WORLD!!! If you want to come and see us get free entry here.

Click Here

So in readiness we have been painting a few things in our beloved paint including this little cabinet...isn't it sweet?

We found this little sweety a long time back on a trip out with our lovely friend Sue van Oldenborgh. She introduced us to Steptoes Yard just outside Montrose which is the most bizarre place piled high and I mean PILED HIGH, everywhere, inside and out with what looks like junk. First impressions aren't everything though hecause in there...there are a fair few gems. This wee cupboard came to us with a really nasty brown on it, chipped and a bit sad looking you could see that at one time it had been a very pretty soft blue green that I really loved so I grabbed the Provence and my waxes and got painting. It was never going to look brand new - too many times it had been painted poorly so I wanted to take advantage of the patina of the old paint, make the brown play to our advantage and. So I quite quickly and roughly popped a coat on leaving it a little patchy so that I could rub back and expose the brown. The brown was horrid in isolation but combined with the Provence looked quite yummy. A little bit of masking tape always helps to give a good crisp look to the interior.

before

A light sand to expose the brown and to make the surface nice and smooth. Then the wax - first clear and then rustic to give it a lovely bit of age and also to dirty up the new screws I had to put in the hinges.

Now Painted in Annie Sloan Provence

The same friend who we bought this with since that time has been training to become an upholsterer and her business has taken off with a bang! She lives in Haarlem just outside Amsterdam and is building up a storm of happy clients and so far hasn't had time to get a website going but is on LinkedIn under Sue van Oldenborgh  if any one out there is looking for a great furniture professional. She sent me pictures of her first Annie Sloan project combined with her fabulous upholstery skills and here are the results. First of all the before -

Sad Before

Happy Elegant French Style

ChiChic Close Up

Sue was for many years an extremely successful graphic designer at the high pressure end and she has a fantastic flair for style and design that she will bring to her new business. She left graphics to get a change of pace but I reckon that she will be so busy soon she won't be able to tell the difference....only this is her own business and that will be what will make it all 100% more satisfying. Let's hope Slapping on the Annie will help her expand her services a little!

So where do you buy it...from us of course! visit the website our online shop! Carte Blanche
This week our stock is low...we have had fantastic sales the past few weeks but we have a big order coming in next week  (delivery due 4th May)
Meantime our Edinburgh stockist has recently been stocked and is ready to supply!!!
The Laurel Gallery is our newist stockist. Based in St Stephen's Street in Stockbridge. A great gallery with a new twist - Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

Annie Sloan Galore!

And our Aberdeenshire sockist Rustiques at Milton of Crathes are selling hand over fist so call before you go....just in case they are out of certain colours, we will be restocking them as soon as we get delivery! Check out their fabulous interiors shop near Crathes Castle ...their blog is fun and their website is coming soon.

Rustiques

Beautious Bathtub - Gilding Dramas

I mentioned in my last post how jobs had run over...this was another one. This was a gilding job that went array but turned out BEAUTIFUL!!!! It took 3 times longer than it should have done.

When the lovely interior designer Allison Morse of Elizabeth Allison Interiors  sent me the picture below and asked if I could come up with a finish to work with this picture frame and that could be put on a skirted bathtub

 and the also needed to work with this chandelier... I put my thinking hat on. The frame is a sort of cracked metal leaf and the chandelier is a spattered silver paint. Both had reddy brown in them and a wash of warmth to them.

So the sample I produced is below

Gilding Sample

I did this with a red basecoat, I used acrylic size and transfer aluminium leaf and I applied it very roughly. There were small gaps and I worked the skewings into the patches so it looks crackled. I overglazed it with a brown oil glaze and varnished and Allison loved it thankfuly.
And this was what we produced on the bathtub

Blending beautifully

And I LOVE it!!!! and Allison LOVES it!!! and the client LOVES it!!!!So what was the hassle....I shall tell you - in detail, but if you are bored by technical scroll on down ...there are a few more pictures....

Technical stuff :)
You know, gilding in theory should be simple. You get the ground correct, you apply the size, you get the timing right and you apply the leaf.....you allow it to cure, do any ancillary glazes or finishes over the top and seal where required and you finish up with a lovely surface. Ohhhhh if only that was the case. If you can control the circumstances perfectly then MAYBE, bear in mind this is a maybe, you will have no problems.

So let's go back to the beginning and my sample. The sample was all done with acrylic. When I saw the tub, I realised it had already been painted in oil based. This is a metal tub and so every time someone has a bath the metal expands and contracts. In any other circumstance I would have converted from oil to water based and primed with Zinsser 123 but by doing this in this instance there would have been 2 rates of expansion and 2 rates of contraction on a substrate that had quite a lot of movement in it....this would probably have been fine for a while but may have resulted in the surface degrading...worse case scenario would be delamination. So since I am a belt and braces type of gal we decided to go with an oil based system.
The main difference in this instance is in the way the gold size (glue) behaves. Most acrylic size doesn't dry fully ever. It stays tacky. Oil based size dries at different rates depending on which you use, what manufacturer's product it is and also on the atmosphric conditions. You can buy a 1-2, 3, 12, 18 and 24 hour size. In most instances the number of hours refers to the potential window of time between application and the glue being too dry to work with. So for instance a 24 hour size can be applied at 3pm in the afternoon and will probably (depending on atmospheric conditions) be ready to gild on by about 9 am the next day and by 3pm it will be probably too dry to work on. However the Rolco 12 hour size is ready to gild on after 12 hours and then it stays open for 12 hours....so you can see that the first hurdle is the terminology can be confusing...also one manufacturer's size can behave differently to the next.
So given the variables and while mulling over the project I called my amazingly helpful and talented gilder friend Emily Swift-Jones  to try and work out which oil size would be best. It was humid and had been for days, so we were looking for about a 6 hour maximum open time but I didn't want to wait hours between application of the size and the application of leaf...because I wanted the job to fall within a 10 hour working day maximum and with all this in mind Emily helped me decide on a mix of 2 sizes...based on the information given her advice was brilliant!
I was so very sure I had cracked it. Popped up to the job in the morning, applied my size and then shot off to go and get some materials, do some shopping etc. etc SURE in the knowledge that all was cool.....I had 2 hours to play with at least. Hmmmmm no-one mentioned the underfloor heating. When I had arrived in the morning it had been mild and wet. After I left the job the rain cleared and a cold dry wind got up...causing the thermostat to kick the underfloor heaitng into play that radiated through the metal at speed and dried the size to tack...a little too MUCH tack for my liking on my return

In a fury of gilding I applied the metal leaf at high speed but knew that without help I wouldn't get done before the size dried too much so an emergency cry went out to husband and painting business partner Gibson to get herere fast and he was here within the hour and we achieved a nice even finish ...only not the finish I had planned on

Nice but not how I planned it

The gaps were too big between the leaf and the size had been too dry to pick up the skewings. Grrrrrr and in consultation Allison definitely didn't want big gaps, fair enough, that wasn't what the sample looked like.
So I called Emily...and her advise was "it is sometimes quicker to do it over again"...which I ignored. So I decided to add in some more on top...I knew it would end up being more blingy than the original but I reckoned I could use aluminium bronze powders to blend between the two, it would be fine.....hours and hours later and no I wasn't finished but this bronze powder was really working well...really was smooth and really a bit different and ohhhhhhhhhhhh shoot, I checked the label and they weren't bronze powders, they were water soluble burnishing powders ARRRGGGG...

Nice but not how I planned it

So I now had a two tone aluminium with an unstable dust all over it...yes it was completely unstable and basically just came off with the oil glaze that was supposed to come next....not only that I still hadn't finished even this stage and the site was closing. This 2 day scheduled project was turning into a nightmare and we were heading for the 3rd visit.
Why didn't I listen to Emily
Back to the site...finish the job and seal off with shellac (hallelujah for shellac) and then a umbery oil glaze was the final stage before varnishing and this didn't happen till I had made sure it had cured hard... PHEW.

Happy!

P.S. Note to self ...when an experienced and esteemed colleague says "it is sometimes quicker to do it over again", try not to ignore.....it certainly would have been quicker but all said and done I love it and I found a wonderful new burnishing powder that will work well in water based.

At The Coal Face

I am not sure if this is a phrase used the world over, so here it is explained:

Idiom Definitions for 'At the coalface' - If you work at the coalface, you deal with the real problems and issues, rather than sitting in a office discussing things in a detached way.

Is this my excuse for not producing wonderful images of a mural that I should be well on with...hmmmm probably. For those that don't know what I am talking about you can read more here http://decoratescotland.blogspot.com/2011/03/if-i-post-it-here-i-will-have-to-do-it.html. I really have been working at the coalface though ...honest. Almost every single job that we have worked on in the last two weeks has over-run, and that of course pushes other jobs to the side and the poor mural has been the job to suffer.

So you want pictures. OK, OK, here's one of the jobs I have been tackling....it's another matching job

The before - hardboard and pine panelling added round the top of the room. Wooden pelmets too. All need to be matched to the turn of the arts and crafts timber in the room.

Befores

This is a delightfully austere Arts and Crafts home. That sounds like a contradiction in terms. It has austerity about it, the original features are intact, but the owners, with the help of interior designer Iona Drummond Murray have softened it just enough to make it really homely yet not lost a bit of its character. 

So here's half way - this is where the base coat has the figuring (the pattern of the grain)

half way - underglazing

 And this is the finished product

OK...so you know wome of what was painted but...can you tell all of what was painted?? Why did this job over-run? Mainly because the colours were incredibly hard to match to, the wood changed so much from one area to the next.

I will post a bit more about what I have been doing...let me gather my pictures.

 

Leibster Blog Award - We are LURVED

I was absolutely thrilled for sister-in-law Katie Whitson who's lovely blog Vintage Squirrel was awarded the Liebster Blog Award

I was even more thrilled when she in turn awarded it to our little bloggy...weeheeee...as a relatively new blogger this is just lovely....which is what leibster means...lovely, nice, darling and other words similarly endearing.

So what is it? The aim of the Liebster (Lovely) Blog Award is to bring recognition and exposure to small blogs who have less than 100 followers. There is some contention here as Katie's blog post says less than 100 followers and other blogs say less than 300. I am sticking with 100 as it made me really think about which blogs I had discovered recently and track down where I had stored the information...between iGoogle homepage, Google Reader, Blogger Reading List and My Favourites..and I think I am bringing you some FABULOUS new blogs

If you accept the award, you then agree to tag three to five other small blogs that you would like to recommend to others. 

And the rules?

1. Display the award on a post and link back to the giver of the award.
2. Choose my own blogs to give the award to and let them know they have been chosen.
3. Hope everyone discovers some new favourite blogs.
4. Revel in the blog love.
So, to keep paying the love forward, I will just link again to Katie's blog Vintage Squirrel  (in case you missed it) and then introduce you to the following five blogs that I am nominating for the Liebster Blog Award:

Plum Siena   this blog written by Ann Onusko always brings fantastic eye candy and style. She has a real eye for texture and patina to tickle the sensibilities.  Ann writes a second blog that is equally fabulous Rose et Lis what can I say, I can't decide which is best so I nominate both simultaneously.....can she have this as one nomination and if she accepts she only has to come up with 3-5 nominations instead of 6-10?????? Not cheating honest as I will count it as 2.

Gary.C.Sharp   anyone who has even the smallest interest in antiques should read this well written, well researched, well illustrated blog. Gary only started his blog in February and deserves a massive following.

The Golden Touch Cat Goldie writes this fun, funky blog full of ideas that are achievable and stylish. Cat makes me laugh, she also makes me feel insecure cos she is a full time lawyer and still finds time to be creative and do majorly cool stuff in her home

CHICPAINT is the Punch and Sizzle blog. Elizabeth Richter VanHoutan who is the owner of Punch and Sizzle has been inspiring decorative painters from the first day she posted a picture of her work on Muralsplus Gallery where I came across her first. Her blog is generous with ideas and recipes...watch and learn.

I hope you enjoy

Carte Blanche - a different type of excellence

I just had to post this lovely jolly jazz sampler video from a totally different Carte Blanche. Perfect sounds for painting to. Just goes to show that Carte Blanche are the watch words for excellence.

 

http://www.carteblanchesamples.com/

New York's Carte Blanche is a unique revivalist jazz group which delivers a mix of classic American 20’s and 30’s jazz standards, French, and Latin American music. Dressed in authentic 1920’s style outfits, Carte Blanche has the ability to transport the listener to a vintage American speakeasy or a Parisian café one minute, and the streets of Havana the next. Sultry female vocals in five different languages which recall the sounds of Ella Fitzgerald, Edith Piaf and Lila Downs combine with the band’s versatile style to perform musical selections which are far from ordinary. Carte Blanche is available in several different arrangements ranging from a trio to the full six-piece band

If I post it here I will HAVE to do it

OK, so I have another monkey on my back...calling it a monkey makes it sound horrible and it's not, it's a fabulous project but it just seems to be one of those projects that gets stalled at every turn. I won't bore you will all the stupid things that have gone wrong so far but suffice to say if you decide to do an exterior mural and using external ply....make sure it doesn't have any flaws in it BEFORE you start.
So what is the project...well here is the customer's site  -

She had to block up the window to accomodate some internal alterations she had done and it has left a dull area. 
She asked me to come up with ideas of a new window with a view inside that was intimate...like catching a glance of something you weren't meant to see...a romantic moment.
Like this  -

The wonders of Photoshop!!, I was able to take all the elements that she wanted and combine them in a computer image. The final piece will have the couple painted as if it is was the client and her partner, better start brushing up my porttraiture skills eh?
To give an idea of how it will look -

Nowwww.......all I have to do is bloomin get on with it. With feeling ill all last week it has dragged on and I really want to get my teeth into it. So nag me guys...really nag me. I have tons to do on various different sites this week but I want to be in the studio at night time working away...worse things to work on for sure!

Cait Whitson
Carte Blanche Decorative Painters
http://decoratescotland.com
01764684324

Receipts

I've really not been feeling well at all....a bit peaky, and I wondered do you spell that piquey? anyway you know what I mean, a bit off colour, and I've been feeling a bit peaky for days. And every day has slipped by and I've not  achieved what I set out to achieve. Very frustrating. So I made a list of all the things I meant to do over the past wee while.....and here I am doing one of them, which was to write a post about old fashioned recipes or receipts as they were once called. If you are hoping for cakes and buns...or spring stews and salads you will be sorely disappointed as ...yup these are recipes that have sprung from paint recipe books......what else?

I collect old books on painting and decorating, graining and marbling, sign writing etc.  Much of what is in them is now so outdated that it is impossible to use. The use of lead paints is restricted, many of the paint ingredients are impossible to buy now; I can't imagine asking a painter to use ammonia or caustic these days, I think most would blanche and these are the most innocuous compared with many of the nasties painters used at one time. Almost all dangerous and unhealthy practices and products have disappeared thank goodness. Products required for painting and decorating trade come out of convenient ready mixed pots and we expect them to work straight from the tin. This in some ways is wonderful, but we have lost something very important, we've lost the ability to make our own materials. I have been lucky to end up in a part of the trade that does still sometimes mix up potions so our studio occasionally smells of weird and wonderful rabbit skin glue or linseed oil, as we mix up a distemper or gesso or a scumble.

Here is a delight  of a book:

In the above book Mr Horace Lingard writes at some point in the early 1920's : "This work is written by a practical man with a lifetime's experience on PLAIN AND HIGH CLASS DECORATIVE PAINTING useful in every household, it matters not whether cottage or castle"
I'll scour these books for gems of recipes or tips about techniques that are invaluable to a painter, there are also odd things that are invaluable to the householder, "useful in every household, it matters not whether cottage or castle" and let's face it we are the same in the home, we expect everything to come out of a bottle or a pot and work instantly but isn't it lovely to make something ourselves - just like home baking, growing your own vegetables or making your own clothes.

So from "Hints and Tips by a Practical Man for Impractical People" - and I have used all of these and they work.
Reviver For Dull Furniture
First remove all dust and dirt out of the corners and crevices, then apply the following mixture with a soft rag: - Methylated Spirits, one and a half parts; raw linseed oil, one part; best malt vinegar, one part. Shake, and rub it well into the furniture, polishing off with a soft duster. Should the surface look streaky after polishing, wash it with a washleather and clean cold water, and polish up as you would a window.
This polish if used correctly will leave a bright and clean look on furniture.

Remove Oil-Marks on Wall Papers
Old grease marks wall papers, where persons have rested their heads can be removed with a paste of cold water and fullers earth, or pipe clay and water. Next day brush it off and the stain unless very old, will have disappeared. If old, renew the process.

To Clean Wall Paper *
First blow off all the dust with a pair of bellows, divide a white loaf of 4 days old into six parts, Then take the crust into the hand, beginning at the top of the paper, wipe it down carefully in the lightest manner with the crumb until the paper is clean
*this refers to cleaning what I would call a foundation paper and others call pulp papers, the soft traditional British non-vinyl papers - vinyl papers can just be washed. Also this refers to a 4 day old loaf from years ago, not the very moist white sliced loaf we might buy from a supermarket but the bread from a baker - you would probably not want to leave a modern loaf for 4 days though. Test this first, too moist and it can pull at the paper.

Finally I thought you  really OUGHT to have this ....just in case. This is not one I have tried but we should I think all have a test for

Arsenic in Wall Papers
It is important to use wall papers that do not contain arsenic and the method of testing is as follows: - take a small piece of the paper and set it on fire, and if it contains arsenic, a smell of garlic will be noticed. Be careful not to inhale the smoke.

Thank goodness we now all know that...we can sleep sound in our beds because as Napoleon found out to his detriment, arsenic in your wallpaper can DEFINITELY leave you feeling more than a bit peaky.



Cait Whitson
Carte Blanche Decorative Painters
http://decoratescotland.com
01764684324

Shabby Chic Class - the Annie Sloan Paint Experience

We had to postpone our recent Shabby Chic painting class because we were worried that the predicted snow would endanger people travelling big distances. Sadly not everyone can make the new date of Sunday the 27th March 2011, so we have some spaces next Sunday. Why not join us - you can buy a class place on any of the classes by going to our on-line shop and buying here SHOP or you can call me and book over the phone - 07771663015
To help you decide whether this class is for you I thought I would let you see what it's all about.

The Shabby Chic Class teaches you how to paint furniture with quick and easy techniques that make the whole process pleasureable and using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint means none of the nasty stripping and sanding that we all hate. Annie Sloan Chalk Paint can be used over varnish, wax, melamine, old paint, french polish and many other usually difficult to paint surfaces.
We do cover preparation and use of other paints so if you have a can of Farrow and Ball you are desperate to use we will certainly give you all the hints and tips to help you do so.

Shiny Bright and Clean

We start at 10.30 am with a cup of coffee and some introductions  in a clean studio but before long we are grabbing paint brushes and paint and getting messy

Waxing a Sample

Tinting the Decoupage

We produce a series of samples through the day that will help to create fabulous finishes at home. Here are some of the completed finishes

Samples

We have a few examples of finished pieces to share and give ideas. We have a library of books for you to browse at lunch time and get ideas from and Gibson and I are on hand to give tips

A few examples and ideas

Lunch is a deli spread of delicious cured meats, cheeses, salads and fruit and fresh bread from our local award winning bakery Sugar and Spice in Auchterarder.

It's often a race against time to get finished for 4.30pm but we usually make it. Then you have a chance to buy paints and waxes, varnishes and brushes. If you have to rush away we now have our online shop so we can ship things to you but if want to save the postage costs allow a little time to pick your paints either at lunchtime or at the end of the day.

Then I just look forward to hearing success stories and receiving pictures of the pretty things you all create. Like Val's projects here that she sent me pictures of this week -

She has done wonderful things since her class and revamped lots of pieces that would have been destined for the dump as well as completing a number of commissions for family and friends. She like so many is a bit addicted to painting now!

So if you would like to turn trash into treasure or personalise some of the pieces that lie in your garage waiting for a new lease of life...even if you would like to start a small business painting pieces of furniture come and join us and learn how!

Cait Whitson
Carte Blanche Decorative Painters
http://decoratescotland.com
01738587600
 

Projects

I thought I'd bring some news of latest projects. As you know I was off in Aberdeenshire transforming 2 rooms. I spent about 10 days up there with Gibson coming up at the weekends. Gosh it was quite hard work. I was staying with my parents who live in the Courtyard House of The Burn near Edzell.

The Courtyard House

The Burn House

Mum and Dad were wonderful at letting me a just be .....I had so much on my plate I just worked and worked. I was getting up nice and early to work on things for the website. Lots of pricing work to be done too as we've had a record month for enquiries and then about 8.30 I was heading up to Aberdeen.

Some months back we were contacted by this client in Aberdeen to give their main reception rooms a facelift. They had already had a paint effect but it was fairly dated having been done about 10 years ago. They had seen a fabulous finish that they liked in a friend's house in Portugal and had asked the friend what it was and had been told they weren't sure but it was Italian and expensive.
So began their search and after some heavy Googling had come up with Oikos Ottocento which is a product that we are trained to apply, working with the importers/distributors Leslie and Dave at Bluebell .
The client initially sent us images and sizes so we could give them an outline cost - here is the "before"

Sitting Room

The client was happy with the initial costs so we arranged a site meeting to choose colours. As well as applying the Ottocento to 2 feature walls they asked us to redecorate the whole space so I did my usual colour consultancy and produced a scheme.

Colour Scheme

Ottocento is a suede-like metallic finish apply with a trowel and is very pretty, we custom mixed a colour to suit the scheme. I combined it with Paint and Paper Library's Suede II in Flat Acrylic for the walls, Farrow and Ball's Pointing in Estate Emulsion and Farrow and Ball's Smoked Trout in Estate Eggshell for the woodwork. I thought that it would be rather nice to swap in a dark trim colour since the skirtings were only narrow, this would tie the feature walls in with the rest of the room

Clients seemed thrilled with the idea but you never rest till the work is complete. They were thrilled and because of that so are we. Here are some pics of the new look. I am hoping the client will send me some pictures of the rooms finished with all the furniture back in place

Looking into the Sitting Room

Looking down the wall at the texture

So what else is happening? Lots of straight forward painting and decorating being done alongside our fancy stuff and one of our favourite customers required repairs to a wall...a lovely allover stencilled wall that had been damaged by a leak...it was the first room in Scotland that we applied an American metallic plaster finish to called Lustre Stone...and used a wonderful all over stencil from Wallovers
We stripped relined the wall stencilled with two colours of very pretty metallics and then glazed over the top...you can't tell it was ever damaged.

Pretty allover stencil, grained skirtings and metallic red plaster finish

I was in working at another long term client who we've done lots of fun projects for The Bathroom Company in Perth. They have just jooshed up their website to match their stunning showroom. The showroom is in the running for 2 national awards
The Bathroom Company is delighted to be the only Scottish bathroom showroom to be a finalist in the KBB2011 Industry Awards. Even more exciting they’re the only company in the UK to be shortlisted for both these awards.

• Master Retailer Award for Bathrooms - Looking for the best all-round bathroom retailer
• Showroom Award for Bathrooms - Providing the perfect showroom setting for bathroom sales

We are proud to have been able to help them add a few finishing touches to their showroom. This week I was adding a stencilled metallic foil design to the bath in this lovely set

Just finished bath design

We've already done this one time already....but it sold straight off the showroom floor.

Final project we are tackling just now is an exterior mural and I will bring you the concepts for this in my next post

Cait Whitson
Carte Blanche Decorative Painters
http://decoratescotland.com
01764684324

What's Happenin'? Loads and Loads

I haven't been here for an age......I feel like the blog is almost human. I feel guilty if I neglect it, don't pay it attention but I have been working away from home and working hard on getting something long overdue live on the net.....yes...you guessed it ...we have a NEW WEBSITE!!!!! check it out http://decoratescotland.com

I know some of you are saying "about bloomin time too!", how long have I been saying it was on its' way; how long have I been promising it was being worked on. Well, after a lot of hard work on the part of designer Evie Milo of Eskymo and her assistant Linda  we have a website we are really proud of. There are still a lot of tweaks to be done and I feel like I gave birth.....I have no idea how Evie does this for a living. Suffice to say she is very good at it.

We have a shop and while not everything is in there yet,  you can book classes and buy the Annie Sloan Paint...which as you all know is without doubt the best paint in the world. The waxes and varnishes should be on there this week. This is the paint that you can use over wax and varnish and melamine and other paint with no stripping and very little preparation.

Annie Sloan Paint

I am going to dash off this short post and bring you more news of our projects tonight and tomorrow....I have so much to tell you all.

Cait Whitson
Carte Blanche Decorative Painters
http://decoratescotland.com
01764684324