Wrinkled Fingers

All techniques were practiced on slabs of molding

Back and forth I hustled, from table to sink, both hands loaded with dripping paint brushes. Instead of a typical day of relaxed painting and gossip, Metheny Weir held an introductory class for stay-at-home moms who want to learn how to jazz up their old antiques lying around in their attic. While Mrs. Weir and Mrs. Metheny showed the three ladies how to apply the chalk paint to get different effects, I was scrubbing away, preparing a new batch of brushes for the next round of painting.

Although my fingers pruned, it was a fun day. Almost like a party. I learned about all the ways to apply Annie Sloan paint....

Cross-hatches to get the typical streaky look- the most popular technique and the only one I have done so far

Flat strokes for a clean look

Heavily applied for a stucco feel

Heavily applied and then dried with a hairdryer to get the paint to crack

And mixing the paint with water and applying thin layers of multiple colors creating a watercolor effect.

These women buzzed about their results, loving the crackle and wash effects and digging how the wax changed the paint's color slightly. And even better than their enthusiasm? Lunch.

One of the most important parts of our day at the workshop is our lunch break. We get to rest our feet (which ache like crazy at the end of the day due to all the standing) and well, eat. We love our food.

Because today was taken up by a class (a five hour class mind you!) Sue made all participants wraps and Kim brought in brownies, real brownies. Ironically, all of the women there were on diets but heck, I wasn't. They missed out.

~Laura