New Year's Day Paint the Town Party!!

Escape the endless roll of Bowl Games, and hurry over to TLC Vintage Collection 9 am to 5 pm New Year's Day! Open workshop all day. Hands on instruction as you paint a piece of decor or furniture for me in the shop! Of course, if you want to buy something or paint and materials, you certainly can. But heaven knows, there is plenty of my stuff there to paint!

Bring some wine  if you like, and I will provide plenty of things to munch on if you get hungry. Stay as long as you like. But careful, I may have you paint a wall if you aren't careful! Or you can purchase one of Annie's new books, Work Book and work on some pages right in my workshop!

Let's Paint the Town and have some fun! We'll stir up some new ideas for decorating in 2013! Meanwhile, here are some things that are happening in the shop right now! The possibilities are endless!

 

Due to arrive Sunday, a fireplace mantel for the north wall! Maybe we will paint that if I get it installed!

 

How about a little Gypsy or Boho style! It makes me smile every time!

 

I am not sure what you call this style! But this table is great and has two side tables that need to be painted to match!

Need practice waxing things? Hopefully this china cabinet will be painted completely by Tuesday and you can learn waxing techniques! Stop by and try whatever you like!

Is One Ever Finished?

     My goodness! Such a lot to do if you own a shop! I always knew it was hard work, after all my maternal grandparents were pharmacists and ran a drug store. They could hardly get away for holidays, and I remember from my Uncle Paul's drug store in Charles City what a lot of inventory there was!

Is one ever done with the decorating, adding fixtures, etc! No! Absolutely not, and the changes are what keep bringing people back! I am nearing completion of the tiny entry way -- after nine months! LOL! So what do I do?

 

I am buying this wonderful old oak mantel as a fixture for the wall where I can stage so many things as the months go by! A pseudo living room, pseudo dining room, maybe even a romantic bedroom??? I can't wait to pick this up Wednesday evening! It goes so beautifully with the old checkout counter/display case that we have now!

 

Hmmmm....think I can get both that entry and the big partially finished china cabinet done by then Wednesday night so I can attach this baby to the wall where I want it? Couple dozen things to get done but what fun!

 

 

Quiet Riot Open House Party All Day Today!

Celebrating Annie Sloan's new book "Work Book"! Come sit at my work benches today and play with paint! I've decided to throw open the door and take off the paint can lids. There are practice boards you can paint on at absolutely no charge to see how nice this paint is to work with. Or....

 

you can purchase Annie's book for a mere $25 and do some of the pages and we will upload them to my website and alert Annie of our creativity. The pages she chooses will be pinned to her Pinterest boards!

 

So pop by.....there are goodies to eat and things to drink and paint to play with all day today 8 am to 9 pm!

Quiet Riot Party Dec 13 8 am to 9 pm!

We are throwing a Quiet Riot Party for Annie Sloan's new book called simply "Work Book" on Thursday, Dec 13 from 8 am to 9 pm! Refreshments and shopping all day long. AND, if you want to work on some inspiration pages from Annie's book, we are pulling out all 30 paints from the work bench so you can buy the book and paint in it as long as you like for just $40!

If you already have one of Annie's books, just bring it along and pay $15 to come up with new ideas for you home. We will be doing some special things too! Like creating a Quiet Riot chandelier to be revealed that day in our paint center!

 

What is a Quiet Riot? Well, that is Annie Sloan's term for using a subtle color on the outside of furniture then adding some pizzazz by using a brilliant, unexpected color on the inside, such as a drawer or inside a cupboard!

This wonderful old chandelier was found at a garage sale one rainy day in pieces, lacking wiring and all its crystals! I rescued it and it will become one of those nostalgic chandeliers you may have seen on Pinterest or elsewhere. By party day, the "new" chandelier will grace the paint and fabric area, hanging just over the gorgeous Drexel French Provincial table....See you then!

Ode to Junk Mates

There's nothing like having some Junk Mates! A new circle of friends has formed through Junk. My customers Mary Lou and Cheryl and I started doing a weekly junk re-creation night a little over a month ago, prepping for Junk Jubilee Jingles.

 

We did some cool stuff and it sold well! My junk sales alone covered the cost of our booth. Of course, the bulk of our activity centered on Chalk Paint(TM) decorative paint and related products of Annie Sloan and Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint. My Junk Mates weren't used to having to correct the misconception that Chalk Paint(TM) was chalkboard paint! How many times did we have to explain? Lots!

 

 

It was so crazy getting packed up to go to the event that I left some cool stuff behind at the shop that I had meant to take, like.....

 

 

this. On the other hand, a few very cool things did not sell at all, like.....

and....

But -- never mind, they are still for sale at the shop! Meanwhile, my buddies don't want to stop the junk nights, so we will do them monthly or whenever feel like it. Mary Lou was dumpster diving before Junk was cool. And Cheryl can make me laugh at myself when I get overly serious or critical. My sides still hurt from laughing the night we created the Christmas Scrabble board above!

I have met some wonderful folks at the junk shows. Many are my customers and many are on FB and you should check out their pages, like Stew's, Little Prairie Girl, Junk Revised, Vintique Junction, Sheldahl Crossing, Vintage 35, The Rusty Pumpkin. Then there are my everyday shop customers who popped by the booth to say hi there.

Next up, decorating the shop for Christmas....this should be a great first time adventure!

One Holiday at a Time Please!

I really empathized with the FB poster a day or so ago who said -- Sorry my Christmas tree isn't up yet -- I believe in taking one holiday at a time! So true! That is why you won't be seeing any holiday ornaments around til December 1 around my house! As a matter of fact, the Halloween ornaments are still out. But since most of them are pumpkin shaped, I just turn their little jack-o-lantern faces to the wall and pretend they are Thanksgiving pumpkins! Seriously!

That's not to say holidays aren't on the mind in preparation! Been doing jingly junk with girlfriends past couple weeks for the upcoming

And also need to put together a better paint display for that event and finding the time between a blown up computer, leaky plumbing fixes, too many ideas and too little time, Saturday classes!

So forgive me if at home and the shop we aren't quite ready for Christmas! I'm still mulling over the Thanksgiving Day menu and if there will be some new offerings and what we will be serving a few days later at a party for my brother's retirement!

Meanwhile, I still have a couple clocks to adjust to "fall back!" Amazing I'm on time for anything!

New Class Dates Announced for November and December!

Some new class dates are now available because our "students" just can't get enough of Chalk Paint(TM) decorative paint by Annie Sloan!

We are repeating Chalk Paint 101 on Saturday November 3 from 9 am to Noon! Call me or visit my website to book a spot! www.tlcvintagecollection.com   Four spots still available!


Then on Saturday November 10 from 1 pm to 5 pm we will do another advanced class called "Wash Crackle & Shine! Once again call or visit the website for info. We have 6-8 spots still available. And look at the great techniques we did last time!

Announcing A Chair Affair on Saturday December 1 from 9 am til Noon. Bring a simple chair and fabric, no more complicated than the ones below. We will create a new accent piece for your home! We will do this simple upholstery job and match up paint to work with it. You will learn basics like in 101 class, but will have a new chair to boot! 4-8 people!

Join the Chalk Paint movement! Restyling your way!



Something Old, Something Re-Newed!

Some say one of the oldest forms of paint is milk paint. So now, when there is so much emphasis on "natural" perhaps it is not surprising that there is a revival of this medium. Introducting, Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Kitchen Scale blue!

It comes in 12 great colors and you can go for the chippy look or use a bonding agent so that your paint does not chip or flake. Finish your piece with wax, antiquing wax or hemp oil and the chipping stops.

Kitchen Scale is a great teal color, though it is hard to see in this photo. The six-drawer dresser with enamel knobs is listed for sale at $145.

Check with us to purchase locally or by mail Miss Mustard Seed's line of Milk Paint and products! And -- remember our first love always! We have the full range of Chalk Paint(TM) decorative paint by Annie Sloan, plus brushes, wax, floor varnish and more!

Chippy, Peeling Paint! A Repurposer's Dream!

Want some instant color and instant aging to that weathered barn door? Want some paint chipping right off that newer watering can? Well, here we go and coming soon.....

Miss Mustard Seed's Shutter Grey Milk Paint over an old mahogany red finish! Now that is chippy!!!

Marian Parson's says that the peeling is unpredictable so you do need to "go with the flow" having a piece never chip, or literally have the paint fall off -- which happened with this piece even after one coat! But it is my display piece for Milk Paint when it arrives later this month, so I am happy it chipped so much!

After the two coats, I had chipping down to the original finish and a thin layer of paint over the original finish and some two layer areas. So it does look rough. I finished the piece off with a good coat of hemp oil, which I believe will keep it from chipping further.

Here is what I learned about Milk Paint as I experimented. 1) I was not crazy about using it over raw wood. It is a thinner paint and kept soaking in. I gave up after three coats and moved onto something else! I think, as recommended with Chalk Paint(TM) decorative paint by Annie Sloan, I will use shellac on raw wood for both paints in the future to save paint and keep from bleed through of tandins or peeling. 2) Due to pigmentation, there is a lot of color variation in your final color across the piece. It is subtle, but it is there -- irregular. 3) It is difficult to anticipate how much paint you will need and how the paint will react to the piece. You really do have to go with the flow on this. 4) I did not use stabilizer in my paint for this piece as I really think I will use Milk Paint mainly for pieces I do want to look rough and chippy. However, I see some terrific pieces out there done without chipping.

Like anything, there is a learning curve. I see a lot of excitement for this product. But I must admit, I will always prefer the creamy rich, smooth, consistent texture and color of Chalk Paint(TM). Just me, but I am pleased to have a paint that will appeal to those who love the rough and tumbled -- left too long in the old shed -- look!

Coming Soon! Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

Later this month, TLC Vintage Collection will be adding Milk Paint by Miss Mustard Seed to our shop offerings! I must admit that Chalk Paint(TM) decorative paint by Annie Sloan is my first and steadfast love! So smooth and silky, great colors, ease of use -- gorgeous outcome! But for the rougher, chippier look, those repurposers and upcyclers are going to like the immediate aged, super distressed look that Milk Paint can offer. It is, however, unpredictable -- it may chip when you least expect it to and not chip when you really really want it to!

I have not learned all the ins and outs yet and am in the process of experimenting for you! There is a stabilizer to prevent chipping and some other pieces that came in my starter kit to check out yet. This product is made in Canada and inventory is supposed to ship mid August. Watch here and on my website and Facebook for the release. It will be added to the on-line shop soon!

Also new at TLC Vintage Collection, flip top plastic paint can lids to help preserve your paint ($5 each), Big Lye Soap (with coconut oil) to condition your good brushes ($5.75 each), Chalk Paint(TM) logo aprons ($30 each), plus much more -- Aging Dust! Metallic Foil! Size! Stencils! Stencil Brushes! 4 colors of gilding wax! And a hilarious new line of vintage photo greeting cards, magnets, sticky notes, gift wine bags and bath salts.

Stop by soon! More new old furniture -- the 141 Garage Sale was the bomb! Ethan Allen "Hitchcock" chair and stool, Drexel French provincial style coffee table and a great step up grade Dixie French provincial bedroom set!

TLC Vintage Re-Opens Booth 26 at The Brass Armadillo

TLC Vintage Collection re-opened a booth of painted furniture last week at The Brass Armadillo in Des Moines. While we can no longer sell paint there due to staffing requirements, we do have great examples of colors and styles of how Chalk Paint(TM) decorative paint by Annie Sloan can be used. There is also a "Take One" rack of instructions to the shop and a color chart! We already had people show up at the store Saturday that had seen Booth 26 at the antique mall and headed over from there! Here are a few things we have for sale there -- Including two very cool vintage lamps in the photo above.

This terrific Country Grey and Duck Egg painted table with an Old White stencil on top -- just $100!

This stenciled and crackled Old Ochre painted coffee table also for $100.

I imagine this cute little set of shelves was someone's shop class project some time in the past. Now it has a new life -- painted in the colors of the globe that sets atop it! Only $35 -- Globe sold separately.

How about a Paris Grey and Old White shabby mirror? $40  And no booth is complete without a little Duck Egg Blue table -- $39.50

So visit the shop and visit the mall. So many vendors with so many great deals!

Mini Tutorial on Fabric Fronted Furniture

*** NOTE TO READERS: At the time this blog was written Annie Sloan had not yet released her Decoupage medium in the U.S. Since that is now available, I would use Annie's Decoupage rather than another brand to adhere the fabric to the chest. Also Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® is now copyright rather than a trademark! 1/4/2015


The customer is always right, we shopkeepers know! So I needed to find a way to incorporate toile fabric into a dresser she had her eye on and wanted done a special way. The client supplied the fabric. Here's how it turned out!

Painting the dresser was a breeze, using Chalk Paint(TM) decorative paint by Annie Sloan. This is Napoleonic Blue which is a rich blue -- not quite navy, not quite royal -- with clear wax. There was an old brown finish on the dresser, which if you are familiar with Chalk Paint, did not need to be removed or even sanded. I prepped the piece by simply washing it down with dishwashing soap and water, rinsed and dried.

I cut rectangles of the toile fabric slightly larger than the drawers, emphasizing the various vignettes in the fabric. I then applied Modge Podge generously to a drawer front, positioned the fabric over it and carefully applied pressure with my hand to make sure it fit firmly across the surface. Once dry, I trimmed the fabric to be even with the drawer edges with an exacto knife.

The final step was to protect the fabric from raveling and from dirt. I shook up my liter container of Lacquer -- ie floor varnish -- that is another terrific Annie Sloan product and applied a generous coat to each drawer front. When dry it also gave just a tad of sheen to the fabric and it looked terrific!

I can't wait for the customer to come in and see the final piece. She better come soon or I may just take this home to my guest room!

Old Idea in a New Package! Milk Paint Coming Soon!

I wish I had $10 for every time someone has looked at my cans of Chalk Paint™ decorative paints by Annie Sloan on display and said "Oh, you have milk paint." No, I would answer.....much different and they are! But that doesn't mean both don't have a place on the shelf of someone who likes to refinish furniture. And so now, here in Iowa, you will soon of the option, as I will be carrying Miss Mustard Seed's line of Milk Paint.

It's a very old, reformulated product in a new package and more ease of use than the milk paint our foremothers used. Literally, one form or another of milk paint has been around for hundreds if no thousands of years. Someone once told me, if you are stripping furniture and hit a layer that is like steel to get through, you've hit milk paint!

Like the total ease of use, smoothly distressed look of Chalk Paint? Then Annie Sloan has the answer. Want an unpredictable chipping look to old wood? Then Milk Paint may be your answer.

I must admit I have not tried it yet, but my sample kit is on its way to my store. So next week I hope to find a moment to do a piece and see for myself how the two compare. Meanwhile, Marian Parson's -- aka Miss Mustard Seed -- loves both paints and you can visit her blog to see what she has to say.

http://missmustardseed.com/2012/05/milk-paint-vs-chalk-paint-again/

Plus, if you are not familiar with Marian's blog, you are in for a treat! Start following her for some great decor ideas.

And in the interest of being even handed here, if you haven't had time to read up on Annie Sloan's blog, be sure to visit there to learn more about color and how to work color combinations, plus history of her color palette. So much good stuff! Who has time to go to work anymore?

http://www.anniesloanpaintandcolour.blogspot.com/

Meanwhile, I have three projects underway at the shop and gearing up for our next Chalk Paint 101 class July 21! Still a few spaces available so sign up soon by calling or emailing me....515-991-7383 or janet@tlcvintagecollection.com or by going to the "SHOP" tab of my website http://www.tlcvintagecollection.com/

Thanks for stopping by!

Introducing Cowgirl -- My Post Mid-Life Crisis!

I missed the mid-life crisis -- late bloomer. So meet "Cowgirl" -- a 1965 vintage Winnebago who is coming back to her home state next week if plans go well!

She's just 11 feet long but packed with charm, rehabbed as cowgirl shabby! I'd had my eye out for a Shasta Canned Ham, but all of these little mid-60s are hard to come by! Then Cowgirl popped up and it was love at first sight!

Who wouldn't want to curl up with a good book here! There is an AC unit built in under the bed!

When the propane was removed and the whole thing wired electric, this great space became a bookshelf!

Did I mention up to now I've always believed vacations were invented to keep hotel staff and restaurant employees fully employed -- and me getting a deserved break from cooking and bedmaking? Hmmmmm....may have to rethink that. Now won't the four grands have a great time in this playhouse?

But the real reason for the purchase is to go to junking events with a full load of Chalk Paint™ decorative paints by Annie Sloan. Well, probably need to shop for an awning! I've got the lawnchairs! I thought I'd never say this -- I'm one happy camper!

Why buy new, when used is cool! (And, ahem -- Cheaper too!)

So what are we thinking here? One or more thousand dollars (choke) for a new bedroom set OR better quality buying used for less??? Hello?&?!  I'm thinking the latter! Call me about this terrific set. Buy as is -- or negotiate a painted price with me!

$400 as is. Discuss me if you want it painted... Very nice, high quality set!

A Tale of Two (4) Chairs!

I was on the hunt for two little chairs for twin one-year-olds for their birthday June 21! The chair on the right? The price was right (and its partner!) but, what about pinchy fingers on folding chairs.... So, the first chair -- alla "The Three Bears" was "too" dangerous!

Then I found two little chairs at an antique dealer in my hometown, like the one on the left...It was 'just right' and reminded me of the ones I sat in as a child at the school there. But he insisted they were not from there. But they were so "safe" -- after all I'd sat in ones like them 53 years ago! -- that I bought two!

When I showed them to the client and we flipped them over, guess what? One had the name of my first grade teacher -- Kendall -- on the bottom in marker! Lo and Behold! the other on th bottome said "kdgn" in marker and very faintly in white chalk was the name "Neary"! Hello -- my kindergarden teacher! So..... my client was getting chairs I had very probably sat in more than five decades ago! (My bottom was much smaller then!)

Here is what Annika and Austin will have tomorrow for their first bday!

And an alphabet topped chalk board table to practice their letters on and draw great chalk pictures!

And the ensemble! Don't you just love crazy, odd-ball things that happen in life???

Florence -- Now 30 colors of Chalk Paint™

A beautiful new Chalk Paint™ decorative paints by Annie Sloan color will debut in Iowa next week! We will be introducing our thirtieth color -- Florence!

(photos courtesy of Annie Sloan)

Talk about summer sizzle! This is a can of color to add to your workbench! But here is the really really cool thing about Chalk Paint! The only color with black dye in it is our Graphite color. That means you can combine colors at will to invent your own unique, custom colors! They will be vibrant and wonderful as you can make them. Ever notice that when you have paint mixed at the store, the formula always includes black? As a result you cannot combine two different cans of color without getting something totally different than one would imagine! The black in the two seems to multiply, giving a terrible result.

Not so here....develop your own palette! Just another way Annie Sloan made her paint so dog gone special! Happy painting!