Some of the secrets I discovered at the "Workshop"

First I have to let my groupie-side shine - I posed with Annie herself during the book-signing!

Even her signature is a work of art!

I tried desperately to find one of my favorite bloggers, who was there as a special guest for being one of the first to spread the gospel about ASCP in America, Marion, aka Miss Mustard Seed. Alas, the place was so mobbed, I never got so much as a glance in her direction. Bummed!


We broke into small groups with expert ASCP painters, including the ladies in the photo below (left to right): Forgive me beautiful-lady-on-the-left who's name I never caught, MJ from Hue-ol-ogy, Trish from Hue-ol-ogy, me, and Terry from Budget Redesign.

These are the sample pieces I created using their techniques for creating a Soft Gilded piece (in pink, this color is called Antoinette), a 2-Color Distressed piece (Old White), a Modern finish (Duck Egg Blue), and a Rustic Finish (Barcelona Orange with dark wax).

One of the first questions I needed answered was the order in which a piece is worked on...do I paint then wax, or distress then wax? Ahh - it was so confusing! But, I learned the correct order, according to Annie Sloan: PAINT, WAX, DISTRESS, AND WAX AGAIN.

The wax helps seal in the paint and protect it. There's clear wax, which you can't see. But, it gives the paint a more lustrous, deep color. Annie Sloan also makes a dark wax, which also protects, but gives a more rustic, aged appearance in my opinion. I am on the fence about dark wax. Do I like it? Not sure yet.

Other things I learned at the workshop:

1) I can paint on nearly every surface known to man with this paint - concrete, glass, clay, wicker, walls, floors, etc

2) You don't have to prep a piece of furniture before starting to paint. No primer, no sanding needed.

3) Annie says don't worry about imperfections. Be fast when you paint, and don't paint in straight, orderly lines. You can almost slop it on. Seriously. Watch her video. No back and forth for her. Streaks will disappear when the paint dries.

4) This paint dries fast! You can get a piece done in a day. 

5) For a shiny appearance, buff your piece the next day after the wax has dried, by wiping vigorously with a clean cloth. For a matte appearance, don't buff at all.

6) Use 3 coats of this paint and you've made yourself a chalkboard! Wow, how fun would it be to have a chalkboard in all these colors!

So there ya have it folks. It was a great learning experience for me. I've already painted my first little piece at home and will share that in my next post. But the fun will really start when I show you the progression of a bench I plan to do. I've already started "tearing it apart." More on that later!