I stopped over at my mom's house on Saturday to pick up a small gate leg table I'd bought at an estate sale a year or so ago and ended up coming home with a car load of "stuff". Most of it was mine - things I still had stored in her basement from my move from Raleigh back to Buffalo. But other items were things she was done with and ready for others to enjoy.
There was a small table in the basement that I remember my dad "antiquing" back in the 1970s when that paint technique was popular. For years and years, the charm of the little table was hidden beneath an old, broken TV and layers of dust and cobwebs. We hauled the TV to the curb and I carted the table home and gave it a makeover.
The mahogany was covered in antique red paint with a blackish glaze. My dad did a nice job but it was crying out for a fresh coat of Annie Sloan Old White chalk paint. Since it had been pent up in the basement for so many years, I did sand it down to make sure I removed all traces of mildew that might have accumulated. I applied two coats of chalk paint and two coats of clear wax. I dabbed a tiny bit of dark wax on the embellishments on the ends for added interest. I bought the brush in the photo at an estate sale recently. When I found it, I knew it would be the perfect tool for applying wax. It was $1.00. What a great buy!
And here she is in my living room. It was a drippy day so the lighting isn't very good. But she still shines, don't you think?
I moved the table over to the window for better lighting. I scuffed up the edges a bit and buffed the wax to a soft glow. I think the wax is my favorite part of the Annie Sloan process. It's so easy to use and non-toxic.
Apples and ironstone ... another autumn winner. I have to confess these were bought at the grocery store and not the farmer's market. I heard on TV the other day that often apples from the grocery store have been in storage for a whole year! Isn't that disturbing? Kelly and Jeremy picked a whole bushel a few weeks ago and shared them with my mom and I. We've already gone through them all. Time to head to the farm stand for another bushel while we can still get them.
Choosing joy,
Lynn