My first Annie Sloan chalk paint piece

As soon as I got home from the workshop, I bought myself some Annie Sloan chalk paint from my 2 local stockiest - On a Whim in Lucketss, VA and The Empty Nest, located inside Fox Den Antiques in Warrenton, VA. I purchased a quart of Duck Egg Blue, French Linen and Old White. I also grabbed a sample container of Paris Grey. My bounty was not complete without a can of clear wax and dark wax.

Later, I headed to Lowe's and purchased natural bristle brushes (for painting), lint-free wiping cloths (for wiping away excess wax), sandpaper (for distressing), mineral spirits (for cleaning the wax brushes - soap & water cleans the paint brushes), and a drop cloth (to preserve the floor in my husband's man cave, a.k.a. the garage).

With all that loot, I was ready to begin painting. My first piece was this box I found at a local consignment shop. I purchased it with the intention of painting it, as I love the shape of the box, but am not fond of the sunflower and checkerboard design. It isn't the best quality - a little beat up, but kind of cute, right?

So, the first thing I did was give the exterior a coat of Old White. I slapped it on, as Annie directs, in every which way.  When it dried, I then painted the inside Duck Egg Blue. Already I discovered my first mistake - I should have painted the inside first. It was quite difficult to paint inside (as the little doors do not come off), and not get paint on some of the newly painted white parts. And - I need to invest in a smaller, artist-type paint brush for little areas like the strip of wood down the middle. But, after this struggle, it got much easier.

I let it dry and gave the exterior a coat of French Linen. Waited a short bit, and then it was ready to wax. I started with the clear wax over the entire thing - inside and out. After I applied it with the wax brush, I used my cloths to rub it in, and remove any excess. It felt smooth and dry to the touch. 

Next, I got out course sand paper, and distressed it on all sides. Since this piece was a bit rough to begin with, I decided to give it a lot of distressing, and really age it. So, the next step was to apply dark wax, so it could seep into those distressed areas and imperfections. After I rubbed off the excess (which you coincidentally do with the clear wax - pretty nifty trick!), I again gave it a final coating of clear wax. Then I lightly buffed it.

Here's the transformed box:

I'm not sure where I will keep this little bugger yet in my house. And to be honest, there's not a whole lot of little things I have to display inside. This might make a good piece hung on the wall with thimbles inside or something else of that little nature. Any other ideas? Feel free to share!