I have been intending to try Annie Sloan paint for a long time…honest!

I once even tried to convince a local store to carry it.  I just never found the time to actually use it on a project.

Well, thanks to a talented group of ladies that put together ‘Inspire Me DIY’, I was motivated to get working on a piece of furniture given to me by a friend over a year ago, when I found out about the project on Lucy’s (Craftberry Bush) Instagram feed.

Enter Annie Sloan!  So, I refinished my first piece using Annie Sloan chalkboard paint and, of course, I am obsessed with the product!  Maybe in the back of my mind I thought this might happen and that is the reason why I put off my first project for so long!

This was my process:

• 2 coats of Annie Sloan Paint in Paris Grey
• 1 coat of clear wax
• Some sanding/distressing
• 2^nd coat of clear wax
• Coat of dark wax
• I lined (all but one) drawer in an Anna Rifle paper design.  One of the top drawers is lined in felt (for jewelry).

After some late night work sessions into the wee hours of the morning, my results:

I am thrilled!  It’s great to get my first project under my belt (yes, there will be more!)  since it takes a while to feel comfortable using any product for the first time.  I did have a few panic moments and I thank Danielle at Finding Silver Pennies for the encouragement I needed to keep me going.

I am not too sure about the knob choice.  What do you think?  I bought the knobs at Anthropologie before I started the project because I loved them and because the color was almost the same color as the walls (Martha Stewart paint in shortbread) in the room where I plan to park my new creation.

I thank Mary so much for the vanity…I wanted it because it reminded me of my grandmother – working on this project made me wish it was my grandmother’s vanity I was redoing  – her vanity held so many special memories of my childhood.  But, a great part about this project was it brought to mind some many special moments between me and my grandmother…and, I love that looking at this vanity will always remind me of her.  I can’t wait to see how it looks in my guest room!

Anyone have any seating ideas?

Thanks for stopping by and thanks to all the great ladies that organized Inspire Me DIY…because of you, this stalled project got up and running!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

P.S.  I have my eye on a piece for my next project…I wonder if my son will notice if I sneak out a side table from his apartment?  For those in my part of the world (Fairfield County, Connecticut), Annie Sloan paint is available at Junktique Recycling in Norwalk.

Sharing at Craftberry Bush,  Finding Silver Pennies, Sand & Sisal, and Coastal Charm.