Feature Friday: Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Books

Technically it's Saturday, but it's been that kind of week.  :)

I just had to share with you guys, the lovely ladies at Annie Sloan Unfolded are using our stencils. 

Their most recent post highlights how you can use stencils and Annie Sloan products to create amazing antiqued books that look like they time traveled from the days of Gutenberg.  Gorgeous stuff. 

Debbie Dion Hayes did these books and I must say, they are stunning!

Also I learned from this blog post that Annie Sloan is making fabric now.  Like I needed another amazing product to spend $$ on!

So the process here is that you get a book, Goodwill would be a treasure trove for this.

Paint the book with Annie Sloan Graphite (2 coats), let dry.

Stencil with Annie Sloan Old White.  As far as I can tell, the stencils used here are Ave Des Champs Elysees SKU 551 - Chateau Gothic SKU 705 - Marche Aux Puces SKU 641.

Wax with Clear Soft Wax and Buff, Wax with Dark Soft Wax and Buff.

Dip a finger with Silver Gilding Cream and run along book edges.

I think the Gilding Cream is really what takes it to the next level.  These just look amazing.

Also, if you're considering becoming an Annie Sloan stockist, you get to use our stencils in your training class.  How cool is that?! 

All the stencils used in this project can be found in our French category. 

If you want to check out the original post, look no further than Annie Sloan Unfolded. 

Have a lovely weekend.  It's grey here, but not currently raining and we're supposed to have a 48 hour stretch of no rain.  Thus begins the eternal dilemma for Coastal Oregonians, do I paint or not paint?  The winter here is rough on a house, I repaint our porch and sills every spring. 

My little boy has been standing at the window and staring this morning so maybe we'll just go for a walk!  :)

Etspiration Wednesday: Bees Bees Bees

Around the corner from my house, we have this old church with a steeple that was converted to a residence at one point.  It's on our walk route we take the little one on, so we walk by it most every day.  We started noticing around a month ago that there's a hole in the siding with bees flying out of it.

The first time we saw it, we were thinking, "Huh, I bet they're bummed.  They've got bees in their house."  Then, being the worry wart that I am, we started monitoring the progress of the bees.  Then we realized, the bee house church was vacant.

What to do?  Let the bees exist there?  Inform no one?  Was it really even our business?  Bees need a home too, and bees are not really thriving the way they used to.

In the end, I called the police department because I couldn't really think of a better place to warn about bees.  We don't have a bee hotline here.  When I called, they literally said, "You've got bees?  Oh yah, here's two numbers."  So I guess this was not nearly as random a question as I thought.

I ended up talking to a really nice beekeeper who removes and rehomes bees for free. 

I've always liked bees.  They pollinate flowering plants.  They give us honey.  They're pretty much terrific.  And while these bees were all cozy up in their church house, they needed a new hive.

After the bee saga, I took to etsy to see what buzzworthy listings I could find.  Here's what I came up with!

1A:  Leather Journal featuring Vintage Bee Image Courtesy inblue
1B:  Vintage Guerlain Eau Imperiale Bottle Image Courtesy Villavillacolle
1C:  Beautiful Honey Bee Hive 12x18 Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
1D:  Antique Printers Block with Bees Image Courtesy Reclaimability


This bottle in 1B...wow!  It is gorgeous.  You've got to check it out.  And you know I had to throw in a printers block.  From what Reclaimability states, that printers block was from a high school.  What a cool school crest!

2A:  Bee Love Paris Pillow Cover Image Courtesy TheWatsonShop
2B:  Vintage French Honey Carton Image Courtesy candly
2C:  Bee Crown Laurel Wreath 12x12 Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
2D:  Recycled Vintage Mug with Honey Bee Image Courtesy ReCycleCeramics

ReCycleCeramics takes old mugs and china cups and sand carves small graphics on them.  The results are very clean and sweet.  Love this bee mug.  They also have really cute mugs with trees and bikes on them.

3A:  Bee Lady Letterpress Card Image Courtesy FerdinandHome
3B:  Honey of Brittany Bee Crest 12x12 Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
3C:  Blue Bees on White Fat Quarter Image Courtesy MakingStuffUp
3D:  Wooden Box for "Mad Bees" Image Courtesy BlueberryBeastie

I think that every home needs a wooden box for containing mad bees.  You never know when you'll need to threaten mad bees, and who would believe you unless you had a tasteful wooden box dedicated to such a purpose!

4A:  Pair of Bee and Skep Candles Image Courtesy SweetBeeHoney
4B:  Vintage Bon Bon Label with Bee Image Courtesy StellaTheresa
4C:  Queen Bee 12x12 Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
4D:  Natural Raw Honey from Columbia Gorge Image Courtesy Vyne

This bon bon label is stunning!  I love the art nouveau motif!  Love the color, love the gold leaf.  Perfection! 

We'll be back with a bee-autiful feature on Friday!  Stay tuned!