A Break and Some Chalk Paint Love

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years! December seemed to just fly by, didn't it? My two oldest girls have their birthdays right before Christmas making the already hectic season a bit more crazy, but I can't complain...  Traditionally, my husband's firm gives the employees the week between Christmas and New Years off and this was the first year that we enjoyed a renovationless holiday break!  Since this was pretty much the only time he got off during the year, we saved all the big projects in our former house for Christmas week, including a kitchen reno to get our house ready for sale back in Spokane...

and we added a fourth bedroom to the house the year before that in preparation for our new baby...

Years before that we were ripping up flooring, installing molding, re-habbing a bathroom...you name it.  Our kids associated Christmas break with house demo until this year when we could finally spend time together as a family without all the added stress.  Since my husband was off of work, I was sorely tempted to burn the candle on both ends and drive everyone crazy with my endless list of projects, but I didn't...and I'm glad.  Instead, we stayed up late watching family movies and playing games, sleeping in and hanging out in our pj's, and other completely lazy things.  It was a good start to my resolution of adding some balance for the upcoming year. 

Another resolution for 2012 is to get back into the groove of re-finishing furniture.  Although, I've been painting furniture for several years for local antique shows and shops, the big move across the country came at a time when Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint started really getting big.

Excited to try it out before I moved, I was unwilling to haul the paint cans across the country and into storage until we could get settled here in NC.  I think I may be the last person out there to finally give it a whirl, but I've been painting like a mad woman since my shipment came in after Christmas.  I'm still trying different techniques, but I already am in love with the professional feel of the wax finish and I may never go back to poly again!  I know that this has been discussed all over blogland for months, so I'll just leave you with some pictures of a little french table I finished for my master bath...

A coat of duck egg blue, clear wax with a hint of dark wax, and some distressing was all it took.  I've been working on a dresser for my daughter's room, some picture frames, a step-stool, and another side table in the last couple of days that I'll share with you soon.

Kristen

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