Bitten by the ASCP bug!

After my granddaughter and I finished this project, I decided to grab my sample pot of ASCP Provence and see what I could do to transform a bedside table from my room.  I purchased it a couple of years ago at a large community yard sale.

The table is pretty banged up with a faux leather top.  I knew the carving in the legs would distress beautifully and I think I was right.

Hello, gorgeous!

I noticed something right away.  I like the way the Provence covered so much better than the white.  Even the first coat was nice without any brush marks.  I can't say that about Old White.  The sample pot was enough to do this the table with two coats and I have enough left over to to a shelf also in my bedroom.  Once again, I first waxed with clear wax and then sparingly applied the dark wax where I thought appropriate.

I don't want to go crazy with painted wood pieces all over the house but it is so tempting.  My Hitchcock chairs are safe but the hutch and dining room table are in my sights!

Linking up to Get Your Craft On! and The 135th Power of Paint Party at Domestically Speaking and Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage and Furniture Feature Friday on Miss Mustard Seed because I just had to!!

Yard sale happiness

Today was the big community yard sale near my home.  My mission was to find some ironstone and I did!

The platter is T&R Boote and the pattern is Sydham.  It was produced in England in 1864.  The covered sugar bowl doesn't have a mark I recognize, just the letters PM.  The little dish that is missing a lid was made by Johnson Brothers in England.  All for just $5.  It was a good day!

Linking to

Intervention

I just saw a picture of a plastic dinosaur mounted on a piece of wood and painted all the same color to make a bookend.  Please, if someone sees me with a plastic animal and a glue gun in my hand, take both away from me.  Seriously.  Sometimes just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean that you should.

Or is it just me?

Happy day!

I was driving on one of the back roads in Lancaster County and came across a yard sale in front of an antique shop.  I found a few things I thought needed to come home with me.  For just $2.25 I picked up a large Gorham silverplate Revere style bowl, an pretty ironstone cream pitcher, a ironstone sugar bowl that is missing the lid and a sweet white china pin box from Germany.

Surely got me in the mood for yard sale season to start!!

Real ASCP!!

I was so pleasantly surprised to find out that something new has come to the hinterlands of Berks County, Pennsylvania!  In a little town just a few miles from my little down is a darling shop called "Five & Divine".

You can click on the graphic and it will take you right to their shop!

They sell consignment pieces - bags, jewelry, furniture, children's clothing, etc. - and now they carry the full line of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, brushes, waxes and even books.  I am giddy with excitement!  While $35 is still pretty steep for a quart of paint, I was really digging my feet in against paying that $15 shipping charge.  Now I don't have to and picking up a quart is on my list of things to do this weekend.  I know that I want to use chalk paint on the hutch and dining room table but I didn't want to use something that I "made up" in the kitchen!  I have a couple of unmatched tables that I use as nightstands on either side of my bed.  Now to decide what color to paint them!!

My experiment in homemade "chalk" paint

On Saturday I had some time on my hands and popped into a small consignment store.  When I drove up, I saw a sweet little coat tree.  I have been looking for one and this one is a perfect size for my guest room.

It is cold in my basement so the best place to paint is in the kitchen.  Thank goodness for paint tarps!

Old, boring and needing some love

I think this may have been someone high school "shop" project from a long time ago!

Since I first read about chalk paint I have wanted to give it a whirl.  I would love to try ASCP but until my ship comes in (or at least enters the harbor!), I need a less expensive version.  I saw lots of recipes on the internet and decided to try using plaster of Paris, antique white latex paint and water.  One of the problems reported with the substitute chalk paint was that it tended to be either lumpy or very grainy.  I decided to bring out my immersion blender to mix the product as much as I could.  I put the plaster of Paris in the bottom of a recycled Classico spaghetti sauce jar followed by water and then the paint. I mixed it thoroughly and ended up with a very smooth "concoction".  (I put a lid on the jar and let it sit for about 15 minutes before I started using it.) One note about using the blender...wash it immediately!  I pulled mine out of the paint mixture and immersed it in sudsy water and cleaned it completely.  I also noticed that this paint does not come off your hands as easily as regular latex paint.  Because I was painting in my kitchen I ended up with some flecks of paint on the upper cabinets.  I had to chip it off.  I am sure that if I wanted to paint my kitchen cabinets, this stuff would work!  Between coats I put my brush in a container of water and then just dried it on paper towels before I used it again.  I also did not use "good" brushes.  I did not want to mess up my good Purdy brushes so I used some cheap, off the bottom shelf brushes.  The first coat had lots of brush marks so I used a foam brush for the second coat just to smooth it out a bit.  The first coat dried in about an hour so I quickly applied a second coat.  I allowed the second coat to dry for a couple of hours and then distressed it with a sanding block  I finished up with a coat of Minwax finishing wax.  I also decided not to paint or replace the hardware.  I like the patina on the the old brass.

Here it is in the guest room

So, here's my take on "homemade" chalk paint - I loved working with it!  I loved the coverage, the texture that it added to the piece, how fast it dried and how quickly I was able to finish my project.  Now that I know how easily this works, next week I am going to paint a 200 year old wash stand.

Mexican White Dip

I totally made up the name of this recipe since I have no idea what else to call it!  In the Tidewater area of Virginia, every Mexican restaurant serves their version of this dip along with salsa and a big bowl of chips as an appetizer.  When I moved to Seattle I discovered that restaurants there do not serve it and no one had any idea what I was talking about when I mentioned it.

I have been stewing about this for a while and the other day I looked for a recipe on the internet.  There were several but I found a YouTube video with a woman who had the recipe given to her by the owner of Plaza Azteca in Virginia Beach so I KNOW it's the recipe for the dip I love.  I made it and took it to the office.  A couple of people turned up their nose when they asked for the ingredients and I mentioned Miracle Whip.  I know - you either love it or hate it.  After everyone else was trying it, making yummy noises and asking for the recipe, the nay sayers tried it.  I have converts!!

Mexican White Dip

1 cup Miracle Whip (I bought the "light" version)
1/2 cup milk (any fat percentage will work)
1-1/2 teaspoons cumin 
1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (this is pretty spicy so cut back a half to full teaspoon if you are "delicate"!)
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano (I just used what I had in the cabinet and it worked fine)
Dash of salt (I put Johnny's Seasoning Salt on EVERYTHING!!)

Put everything in a small mixing bowl in the order given.  Use a whisk to mix thoroughly.  You want to get all of the lumps out and incorporate the milk completely.  Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour - two would be better.  Serve with corn chips.  I picked up the cheapest corn tortilla chips I could find.  I think they taste most like the ones served in restaurants.

Enjoy!!

(By the way, I realize this post follows the one about losing weight.  I am continuing to lose - whoo hoo!! - and ate this dip in moderation...though I seriously considered giving up dinner and eating this instead!)