April 16, 2016 “Make & Take It Class

SharSum Paint’s April 16 class was so much fun!  It was held at Gift Emporium and Cafe‘ in Sullivan. The projects everyone brought in to paint were just perfect.  Participants were able to paint and wax/seal their projects in the 4 hour class.  In between drying times, they learned painting, distressing, waxing, and sealing tips, talked, ate, laughed, and enjoyed seeing each other’s projects and all the colors of paint being used.

Interested in learning more about chalk-based paint and tips on applying it and the best way to seal it?  These people and others who have taken the class will tell you it really isn’t hard to do and the transformation is amazing!  To learn more about our classes, which are usually kept to 6-8 participants, visit SharSum Paint’s Painting Class page.

Update:  Our May 16, 2016 class is now full.  See our Painting Class page link above for more details on our classes.

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Let the painting begin!

plant stand

Donna’s plant stand and…..hard to see…..but a concrete bird partially (hidden by the drink tumblers), painted in “Something Blue”.

bird

Here’s a better view of Donna’s concrete bird – he will get no wax or seal. Outside items do not need it. The sun and heat will cure the paint.

waxing

Christina brought in this beautiful claw foot bench. Painted, distressed just a bit, and waxed, she is thrilled with it and it is now going from basement storage to a prime spot in her entry way.

inspecting

Inspecting her wax application.

bench

This bench is just gorgeous!

lampshade

Megan is painting a fabric lampshade. Yep! Works great!

lamp

Paint a metal lamp to go with that shade? Why not? This color “Chicory” (first coat) is just beautiful. It was named for the little periwinkle color flower that grows along Missouri roads. You will see them usually sticking out of the asphalt. It looks like Danny is taking 5. : )

finished lamp

Beautiful final project – went from a yard sale reject to a prominent place in a little girl’s bedroom.

chair

Megan also painted this cute child chair “Something Blue”. Her kids use in their bathroom for reaching the sink. She used a poly seal on it for durability. Next up for her – painting kitchen and bathroom cabinets!

cabinet door

Danny is drying Mallory’s practice cabinet door so she can see how the Varathane polyurethane works and will look. She’s now going to paint her kitchen cabinets.

bathroom vanity door

Watching paint dry on Roxanne’s bathroom vanity door, which doesn’t take long at all. This picture shows it looking gray, but it is really a dark brown “French Roast”. With a light distressing showing the golden oak door underneath, this truly has that Pottery Barn look to it. She is now going to paint the rest of her vanity. Sure glad she liked the look or her vanity might have ended up with one dark brown door. : )

shelf

Wendy brought in this small shelf to transform.

Final look - After painting this shelf with "January, she did a light wash with "French Roast".  This gave it a little bit of a vintage look and broke up the pure white look of the shelf.

Final look – After painting this shelf with “January, she did a light wash with “French Roast”. This gave it a little bit of a vintage look and broke up the pure white look of the shelf.

A great time was had by everyone.  All the projects turned out great.  It was so much fun to see them coming to life.

SharSum Paint Brochure

Click on the following link:  brochure

A Cinder Block Bench

Great idea for making a cinder block bench, but I would paint it with Missouri Limestone Chalk-based paint. It is perfect for outdoor projects like this.

http://diycozyhome.com/diy-cinder-block-project-for-your-back-patio/

Things We’ve Learned about Chalk-based Painting, Waxing, and Sealing

We put together this list of tips and tricks on things we’ve learned when painting, waxing and sealing.  These are our opinions and what has worked and not worked for us.  Others may have had different experiences.

Click here to view.

November Class Projects

The projects below are from November’s Make & Take It class.  They are now in place in the participants’ homes.  Very nice.  I will add more as I get them.  See photos from the class.

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Paint display at Gift Emporium & CAFE’, Sullivan, MO.  A variety of colors are available there for purchase.

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SharSum Paint’s First Make & Take It Class was Fun!

SharSum Paint conducted their first class, November 2015, in a friend’s awesome shop area at her home.  Nine “students” were there and had a great time learning more about chalk-based painting and actually painting a project they brought. They had so much fun, they are ready to attend another in January.  In January, we will explore more with waxing and distressing techniques.

We will also be conducting classes at Gift Emporium in Sullivan.   We will plan on starting these classes around noon, so be sure to bring not only a project to paint, but an appetite, too.  Class sizes are limited to no more than 6-8.  Please check the Painting Classes link on our website menu for the next class.

Are you interested in hosting a painting class party in an area of your home with you and your friends?  In winter, do you have a heated garage or a basement just crying out for a paint party?  We can paint just about anywhere so you can be the judge on the best place and the number of friends (no more than 10).  Contact SharSum Paint (sharsumpaint@gmail.com)  for more details.

The biggest lesson to learn when first painting with chalk-based paint is paint in thin coats.  This will help your paint dry quicker and make a nice smooth chalk like finish.  The projects for our first class didn’t have time to dry enough for waxing, but as soon as they have waxed their projects and sent pictures of them, I will post their finished projects here.  For the next class, we will have hair dryers available for speeding up the drying process.  And remember, apply chalk-based paint in thin coats. This process is different than trying to cover an area in one coat.  You may need several coats, but the end result will be beautiful.

In the meantime, enjoy seeing this first group’s re-purposed objects come to life in the beautiful colors offered by Missouri Limestone Paint.

 

 

Chalkboard from a Cabinet Door

I was looking for ideas for class projects using chalk-based paint that is so popular.  I had to look no further than Pinterest and my basement. Pinterest sparked the idea that I could paint a cabinet door.  I happened to have 6 of them in my basement.  Don’t ask. I’m a former classroom teacher.  I save things.  You never know when you will need them.  And, see….I needed a cabinet door. The upside down copper drawer pull was a left over from our kitchen remodel.  I didn’t miscount.  I realized later the way two drawers were installed, drawer pulls on either one wouldn’t allow the other drawer to open. Hmmm.  Twenty-nine years in this house when we did the makeover last year and I never noticed this before.  But, then, I never had drawer pulls on my kitchen drawers before.  Click here for a peek at our kitchen makeover.

I will say that a chalkboard idea might be better using chalkboard paint rather than chalk-based paint, but I didn’t have that so I thought I’d give my Missouri Limestone Paint a try.  It worked just fine, thank you!  And, with grandkids, I just happened to have a fat piece of chalk.

So, with no expense, and using left over Missouri Limestone Paint in the colors of “Homemade Ice Cream” and “Something Blue”, missourilimestonepaint_chalkboardI have a nifty little chalkboard sign for a kitchen or entryway or wherever you’d like to put it, and to show my “students” when I teach my classes.

Chalk-based paint is definitely not just for furniture.  See my Chalk Paint Project Pinterest Board for more class project ideas I’ve been collecting.  Of course, I added this great idea – can’t lose it! I can’t wait to make some more example pieces!

Class Project Ideas

I have been gathering chalk-based paint project ideas on Pinterest that I think would be fun things to do in our classes.  Check these out!  Start gathering items now to paint in class.