Annie Sloan & Me

Well, dears...I'm still "on the fence" about my experience with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint...


No fault of hers, mind you.

♥

"It's not you, Annie, it's me..."

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The urn (ceramic) was the most successful, I think... I like the way the gold glimmers though; however, the two coats was probably my downfall. I thought that a heavier application would sand down smoother and eliminate the brushstrokes. Not really. I should have followed the "one coat" instructions, but I just seem to have to have that initial nice, solid color before I distress (I know, that doesn't make a lot of sense, but I want the un-distressed areas to be, umm ~ solid).

;^)

 
Learn from my mistakes, Ladies...if you are like me, honestly, we are probably better off with doing a nice even coat of satin spray paint, then distressing.

But, live and learn.

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Here's the piece of the chair rung I'm going to use as a decorative applique on the toolbox/planter.

I probably sanded it a little more vigorously than I should have, but I like it ~ the only thing that bothers me is that some of the bleed-though stain shows again now (I may have to do another light coat...or, just get over it...;^)

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Okay, note to self...

When sanding plaster, be careful...

Before you know it, you may lose a nose!


I know, with all the O'Kringles' noses I've sculpted, this little angel won't have to

go to the plastic surgeon ~ I can fix her...

But...

I should have been watching what I was doing.

Plaster goes away very quickly!

Honestly, this little planter is so roughly cast and heavy,

I wasn't sure if it was plaster or concrete...

:^(

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So, what I really think is...the AS is cool, love the clean up, and for those who worry about fumes, it's great (that wasn't a big concern for me, but then I usually just use anything that's too stinky either in the garage or outdoors...)
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What I can see it being wonderful for, is using it as a top coat (one coat) in a two-color piece.

Because used lightly, it does sand off very prettily.

For solid-color pieces that you just want a little distressing (or a lot) on (personally), I would use a satin acrylic/latex, or, a spray satin. And, that's because I have that thing about brush-strokes and solid-color areas...

But, that's just me, and my initial experience with these little projects.

I may be a total convert by this time next week...

♥

Everyone have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

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Tallulah, Annie Sloan, and Me...

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Lately, whenever I come to the computer to do anything at all...

this is the face I see.

"I will help you, Mom...really I will!"

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This afternoon we went to check out A Fanciful Twist
to see if Miss Vanessa had posted anything new...

She had! A video of an adorable group of puppies' first swim...

Tallulah was really interested...

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Really interested....

Leaning in closer...


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I have to touch it, Mom...awwww...can we get one, please, can we can we can we??


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Lulah was being so cute...I sent it to Vanessa, and she thought so, too...you can see it here (and check out the cute puppies while you're at it!) Thank you, Vanessa!

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Now, for Annie (Sloan).

I have been really bad ~ my projects have been sitting on the island (yes, with food prep going on all around...) for almost a WEEK. I sometimes get so excited about seeing what something is going to look like, that I just have to go ahead with it...then after I've "seen", I tend to put it "on hold" for a while...

Sometimes for a long while...

It isn't a good trait.

But, I've always done it.

Tonight, though, I got going on my items again...



Here is what I've learned about the Annie Sloan Chalk paint so far...

It really is low-odor; practically none, just a very faint earthy plaster odor, which I actually like.

Clean-up is very easy, just warm water..

Now, since I normally use artist's acrylics for these types of projects, it does take some getting used to. There is no chemical "dryer"

so the drying time is a lot longer than with acrylic or latex. (Especially with our humidity.)

Also, it doesn't "self-level" like some paint, so brushwork is a little tricky...

Still, I am liking it.

It says on the can that one coat is usually enough, but I went for two...

...

(I want "perfection" before I start the imperfection/distressing process, you know? ;^)

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I've turned the cherub planter and the urn over to do the bottoms first...

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I actually did get one coat on the antique chair
rung the other day, and immediately started seeing the stain coming through, so I looked online and found this, on the Annie Sloan site...

I found the spray shellac she recommended at Lowe's.

Seems to be doing the job!

I'll finish coating these pieces with the chalk paint, then will continue tomorrow with the distressing process...

I promise! :^)

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I have to share one more thing, though...

We were late planting the green beans this year, and thought they weren't going to produce anything...

Now, all of a sudden, we have BEANS!

Jonathan has been picking and picking the past couple of days when he gets home from school...

I love them raw...right there in the garden ~ they're as sweet as candy, almost. My Grandmas, both of them, fixed wonderful green beans from their gardens with new potatoes...but I don't think I ever ate a raw one until now!

Mr. B. has a big pot on as I write, with potatoes and onions in a roux...

Smells so good!

(So glad someone besides me cooks in this house...I have to really want to make something, to enjoy it...)


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Oh, still "one more thing"!


Look at this huge okra pod!

A friend left a big sack on our porch...I think they are called "Longhorn"...

What an O'Kringle it will make, hmm?



Okay, that's all...Good Night, all!

TGIF! (Almost)

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Cotton Blossoms...and an Annie Sloan Teaser ~

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Headed into the weekend; hope everyone is having a great Friday night!

♥

If it weren't for the still 100 degree temperatures (slightly less today), I would say that it is "officially" fall...tonight is the first high school football game of the season...

Sikeston vs. Charleston...

"The Oldest Rivalry West of the Mississippi"...

Hmmm...that's the first time I've heard that (that's what they were saying on the local TV station sportscast) ~ I guess it is if no one challenges it! ;^)


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I went out earlier this evening to take some cotton pictures to share...

These were taken just a few blocks from my house.

Yes, there are cotton fields in town...all over town...

I don't know if Sikeston is unique in this...(I doubt it) ~ there are always farmers that just don't want to sell to developers, and I don't blame them.

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I have seen cotton all my life, yet each fall I'm just fascinated with it...

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The blossoms remind me of the blooms on our okra (and kind of like hollyhocks, too), and rightly so...

they are related (the cotton and okra),

both originating in Africa.

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The colors of the blossoms range from white with just a blush of pink, to a bright fuschia...

They don't have a fragrance, though.

(I think Bath & Bodyworks has a Cotton Blossom scent!...ummm, no!)

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The brightest colors had all closed up by late afternoon...curious!

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Despite the heat and drought, the plants look good...

cotton is more tolerant than lots of other crops...

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Little bolls forming...

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It will be about six more weeks before harvest begins...

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However, a few little bolls are popping open already (probably because of the heat).

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Amazing...future fabric!

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A tiny, perfect boll...so cute! (I should have taken him with me!)

Farmers do NOT want tiny, perfect bolls!

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Here's a little cluster...normally, they are a lot bigger and fuller.

I hope, for the farmers' sakes, there won't be too many like this.

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A little bigger, but still not as they should be.

In a few weeks, as the bolls mature, the pretty green leaves will be sprayed with a defoliant (by crop dusters), which will cause them to dry up and fall off. The farmers want as few leaves on the plants as possible when it's time for picking...

(To be continued in a few weeks!)

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Here's my "teaser"!
...I finally opened my "Pandora's Box" ~ can of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint...

I'm experimenting on a ceramic piece (the urn), plaster (the cherub planter) and the piece from the antique chair I'm going to use on the tool box (future planter) from Daddy's barn...

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I have been v-e-r-y  s-l-o-w about getting anything done this week...stay tuned!

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One last thing...heading out the patio door to feed the bunnies, there was the biggest toad I had ever seen!

I stepped back inside to get my camera...

I realize there's nothing here for you to compare him to, size-wise, but believe me, he was BIG...

He made it into the Lemon Grass Jungle before I could get another photo...

Camera shy!

 

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

♥

 

Linking to:



Cathy's 1929 Charmer's Sunday's Best

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Black Cats I Have Known & Loved...

This afternoon I read on Deb's (Just Cats) blog that it is Black Cat Appreciation Day...who knew?! So, I was inspired to do a post on some of the black cats I have known and loved...

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I'll begin with my first kitty, Pat-Pat...I loved her so much! She lived at my Grandma Collier's house ~ (our farm was ruled by English Setters, and was on a busy highway...not kitty-friendly at a time when kitties were outside-only)...

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This is my oldest daughter Mandy's Angel-Kitty, Fleece. He was one cool kitty!

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Here's Mandy's kitty Basil ~ aka "Bazoo" ~ when he was a kitten...just look at his little lips (his "wittle wips", we say) ~ ;^) 

He's grown into his ears now...(and he still has those cute lips)!

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Here are Basil (left) and my Angel Kitty, Greta.

We fostered the Mama cat and her litter from the local Humane Society...actually, Bazoo was found by some kind soul ~ in a field, of all places ~ and given to the Mama to take care of ~ she accepted him as one of her own.

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Mandy took Basil and I took Greta, as we knew that black kitties didn't have a very good chance of being adopted...at first I said I didn't need any more cats, but I gave in...the girls teased me and called her my "Pity Kitty", but she was such a dear (not a pity-kitty at all...;^)
~ she loved sleeping in odd places; here she is in a brown paper bag ~

She also LOVED her feather-toy...a particularly pitiful-looking one, missing most of its feathers...she would bring it to me ~ wanting to play ~ constantly. She liked to carry it around, but she would occasionally misplace it, then would find it again (hmmm, kind of like me...), and you could tell she was so happy when she did! She was so sweet.

Greta's Mama was a Siamese mix, and Greta had beautiful glossy black fur, and very Siamese features.

Beautiful girl!

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Here is another of my Angel Kitties, Muppet.

She was dumped as a baby... downtown, in the alley behind my husband's shop...I don't know how long she had been out in the elements, but her beautiful black fur was sun-bleached to a light brown; we'd never seen anything like it. She was extremely friendly, and walked right in, as if to say, "Hello, I'll be your cat, now!"...

She started out being "Olivia", but that didn't last long...she was such a clown, and had this LONG fur in her ears...she just looked like she could have been one of Jim Henson's Muppets...

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Like all the kitties, Muppet loved to help me with art projects...

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Black cat, cross my path
Good fortune bring to home
and hearth

When I am away from
home

Bring me luck wherever I roam

- Old English Charm

Top 10 Reasons
To Adopt A Black Cat...



10.
You'll save $$ on their Halloween costumes.

9. You can
always find them in the snow.
8. Holding a
black cat is very slimming.
7. Black cats
will match any decor.
6. A lint
brush isn't required for a black-tie affair.
5. When you
love a black cat, Luck is on your
side.
4. Black cats
are like onyx, a beautiful gem.
3. Hey, they
don't care what color you are!
2. Love knows
no color.

And the
number one reason to adopt a black cat...



1. They are
the least likely to be adopted.

The Lucky Black Cat

Throughout
history, and in many cultures, black cats were seen as lucky, sacred and
protective beings. For example:



* Freya,
the Norse Goddess of Love and Fertility, drives a chariot pulled by two black
cats.

* To dream of a black cat is thought by many people to be a lucky
omen.

* Many theater folk love
cats, perhaps because they, too, were once ostracized and shunned. It is believed
that a black cat in the audience on opening night portends a successful play.



* In the south of France, black cats are
referred to as "matagots" or "magician cats." According to
local superstition, they bring good luck to owners who feed them well and treat
them with the respect they deserve.



*
Fishermen's wives kept black cats while
their husbands went away to sea believing that the black cats would protect their husbands from danger. These black cats were treated like
royalty and were considered so valuable that they were often stolen. At one
point, they became so expensive that few fisher-folk could afford
them.

Whenever the cat of the
house is black,
The lasses of lovers
will have no lack.

~ English Proverb

* In Australia, Britain and other parts of the world
where black is a protective color, black cats are thought to be lucky. It was
believed that their color gave them the power to ward off negative forces.


* In Ancient
Egypt, cats were sacred and protected by the Goddesses Sekmet and Bast. A home that kept
a cat was blessed. Egyptians believed that cats captured the glow of the setting
sun in their eyes and kept it safe until morning. Killing or harming a cat was a
horrible crime in their culture, and was punished by death.


* Many cultures believe that cats with gold or green
eyes bring prosperity. Because of their eye and coat colors, black cats are
thought to have the ability to attract abundance and the power to protect
it.
 *Many cultures consider cats to
be mystical creatures which are really fairies in disguise.

* Some
say that the ancient Celts believed that black cats were
reincarnated beings who could foretell
the future.

* Cats have always been associated with motherhood,
protection, love and fertility, and it many cultures, black is the color of
protection.



* Advocates of Feng
Shui
remind us that cats are drawn to harmony. Therefore a happy cat is the sign of a
happy, harmonious
home. A figurine of a black cat is often placed in the home, facing north, to
ward off evil.


* In some cultures,
brides were given black cats as good luck on their wedding day.

* In
Finland, black cats were thought to gently carry the souls of the dead to the
other world.

* In Scotland it was believed that if a black cat crosses
your path it will mean good things to
come. A black cat on your porch will bring prosperity.

The
smallest feline is a masterpiece.
- Leonardo da Vinci

* For those who loved The Da Vinci Code, Leonardo da
Vinci
loved cats, and included
many in his sketches, including one in the British
Museum which show a Madonna with child and
cat.* King
Charles I of England owned a black cat, whom he valued very much. He treasured
the cat so much that he had his guards watch over it 24 hours a day. As luck
would have it, the day after the cat died from an illness, the king was
arrested.

Adopt a Black Cat!

(And have a great weekend!)

♥

Anne



(adding my black kitties to Cathy's 1929 Charmer's Sunday's Best!)

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First Day of School!

The first day of school! (Where did the summer go??)

It's also a milestone here, as it is the last "first day" in this household...youngest son Jonathan is a Senior! (College won't count...;^)

Kind of sad, in a way...not too much, though!

I figured up the other day that this is my 34th consecutive year of having one of my children in this school system...

That sounds a little impossible, doesn't it?...But it's true; they were spaced out a bit...

5 years, 8 years, another 8 years...38, 33, 25, 17...

Yep, 34 years.

Jonathan said "Mom, that calls for a pension, or something!"...

I think it at least calls for a party...

maybe a gold watch...



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I wanted to show you my favorite "mixed container"this year...in the heat we've had (up until the last few days) this is the only one that looks really good...(petunias are kaput...)

Anyway, I've never had a whole lot of luck with mixing plants in pots (except for adding vinca vine around the edges)...something always seems to get overshadowed!

(I also tend to crowd things a bit, so maybe some of that is my fault...)

This is a very good combination, though.

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This is Plumbago...it looks a lot like Sweet William, but is just the most heavenly blue!

I got it this past spring at an extremely cool plant-place in St. Charles, Missouri, shopping there with daughters Mandy and Katie...

It's tropical, but I'm going to try and winter it over in the basement...(after I check out whether it's poisonous or not ~ I believe it's okay to be around the kitties (and they, unlike my Angel Kitties, don't really pay a lot of attention to plants indoors), but you can't be too careful!

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Love this Vinca! (Bright Eyes)

Possibly (probably) because I didn't start out the season using plant food (busy getting ready for that show!), the Vinca this year got a really slow start...just looked kind of stunted and yellow up until around the first of July, then it took off!

Now it's lush and gorgeous!

Please remind me "no petunias" next year, unless I plan to plant them in the ground...that seems to make all the difference, for whatever reason...

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I also added  "Polka Dot Plant" (hypoestes phyllostachya) to the mix...

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And, here's another plant NOT to put in pots...Lemon Grass...last year I had it in pots, and it didn't do too well...couldn't seem to keep it watered enough (because it was so pot-bound, I discovered later)!

This year we planted the little starts from the garden center right in the ground, and they are humongous!

I don't even water it that much.

(Now, what to do with it...Mr. B was going to use it in his cooking...I think maybe he did once, in some Thai soup...)

It's pretty, though! We'll see if it winters over, being in the ground.

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I'm  finally going to open my Annie Sloan paint tomorrow! I told my friend Debbie that I didn't know why I was dragging my feet...(like it's Pandora's Box, or something!)

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Have a wonderful evening, all, and a great Thursday!

♥

Anne



P.S....

I didn't mean to imply that I had home-schooled (some of my sweet readers thought I did for all those 34 years...oh, no, I've been dealing with Sikeston Public Schools for all this time...

I SO admire anyone who home-schools...there is so much nonsense kids have to deal with in public school today...BUT, that said, the "big kids'" Dad wouldn't have heard of it, and since I already knew and liked a lots of the teachers, we just continued public school with Jonathan...

Honestly, I'm just so disorganized and spacey (there, I said it!), I don't think anyone would have gotten past third grade...:^)

Kudos to all those who do, though ~ I think it's great!

Luckily for my Mom (who always worked) I had never heard of homeschooling (I'm not sure if it was even allowed way back then) when I was that age, or I would have thrown a HUGE hissy-fit to be home-schooled...and my Grandma Collier would have been happy to do it and would have excelled at it, I believe. She was as unhappy to see me go off to first grade (at not yet six, not until October) as I was...:^( ~

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Jonathan has always been social enough that he didn't mind school, and has always made excellent grades; he's actually getting to do a dual credit for college at Southeast Missouri State's satellite center here in Sikeston.

But, if I had it to do over, home-schooling would have gotten a lot more consideration...

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More O'Kringles!

Hi, everyone, I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend!

 I can't believe how much cooler it's been here the past couple of days...

50s at night ~ can you believe it?

 A week ago we were having 100+ temps!

Just all of a sudden...right about the time you can't remember what nice weather was like...amazing! Almost fall-like...it won't last, though, we'll have more hot weather...

but it's really been a welcome respite... :)

We still need rain, and we're supposed to have some later tonight/early morning...I sure hope so!

I've been working on more O'Kringles today...I'm not sure how many I'll make this year; I'm not getting the really big okra pods like I did last summer...(we've been watering, but it just doesn't make up for the serious lack of rain)...and, I've been hearing the Creative Muse (so glad she's back!) whisper some other things in my ear...variety is the spice of life, after all!



Here's a link for my tutorial post from last December...



http://alittlefurinthepaint.blogspot.com/2011/12/okra-santa-tutorial.html

 So, these fellows will most likely be very limited...

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This is "Curly"...:) (above)

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Here's a new one...look at his wreath!

It's an okra pod, too, that grew in a perfect little circle!

I don't usually have hands on the O'Kringles (just the okra pod making the long beard),

but I couldn't just hang a wreath on his beard, so he got hands.

 Well, mittens, anyway.

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He hasn't been baked yet; he will get eyes soon!

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Here's another fellow that I've just begun...

No mustache yet...

I kept thinking he looked familiar, and I think I know who he looks like, now...

I'm watching "M*A*S*H"...

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He looks like Colonel Potter. :) ~ I think it's the nostrils.

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Here's my next project...

This tool box was something my Daddy had...not sure if it originally belonged to my Grandpa or my Great Uncle Walt, Grandpa's brother.

The carved piece, though, is from a chair of Uncle Walt's...sadly, the chair was just beyond repair (it looked like it had fallen off a truck, smack-dab onto the pavement...but it hadn't; it was just worn completely out)...an upholstered piece from c.1918, it didn't have springs (purchased during WWI, evidently the war effort didn't allow for such frivolous use of metal), and it was just held together all over with baling wire...

I kept thinking that someday "we" would fix it.

No.

I made the decision to keep the rungs and the arms (such as they are), and to use them on other projects.

I think this piece will make a great applique on the tool box, don't you?

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I have my Annie Sloan Pure White paint that I have not opened yet...

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I can already see it with mums this fall, or ivy, later on, on my buffet. :)



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So, that has been my Sunday, playing and piddling!

Have a great Monday!



♥

Anne



Linking to Cathy's 1929 Charmer ~ Sunday's Best!

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