Waterford Antique Market

On this perfect, beautiful September day, the Mr. and I decided to take a road trip to Waterford, Ontario to visit my most absolutely favourite place ever.  The Waterford Antique Market.  You could honestly walk this place for hours without seeing everything.

In the midst of cleaning out my basement to build my workshop, I purged a lot of furniture and decor items I had been holding onto for years.  As much as I love a good spring cleaning, I have zero inventory right now!!  Time to start furniture hunting!!

Although Waterford Antique Market doesn't have a lot of super cheap furniture for painting, it holds mounds and mounds of inspiration.  Just walking from booth to booth motivates me and inspires me to create something beautiful.

Take the time and take the drive to Waterford... you'll see.  It's worth it!

I'm back... !

My apologies for such a long break!  I was looking for some change and some excitement in my life and decided to go back to work full time thinking I could do it all!  It worked for a while.  My job was super awesome, the kids were looked after, and I was enjoying being out of the house, using my brain again.  But eventually the novelty of the job wore off, and I realized working outside the home full time came with some major sacrifices. And the first thing to go was my hobby...my side business...my passion... my creative outlet... Painting.

I totally learned my lesson and will never do that to myself again. I love painting furniture. I love hunting for fabulous pieces and bringing them back to life. I love painting for friends, family and clients and seeing the excitement on their faces when they pick up their pieces. I love working with colour, I love creating and exploring. I certainly felt a void in my life when I put my creative side on the back burner. I realize now how important that part of my life is, and will forever make it a priority.

So here I am, back in business.  I spent weeks cleaning my basement and creating my perfect workshop.  Sorry kiddos, no finished basement for you ;) I've already finished a bunch of projects that I can't wait to share.

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White Chippy Look

One of my new favourite looks is the chippy paint look.  It's a bit different than regular distressing.  It has more of an "aged outside" appearance.  It's a more severe look, but I absolutely love it done with Pure White by Annie Sloan.

I use a different sized scrapers while the paint is tacky... not quite totally dry.  I picked up a set of scrapers from Hobby Lobby on my last trip to Buffalo.  

Here are a few projects where I've done the chippy finish using Annie Sloan Pure White.

These 2 bookcases are actually IKEA Hemnes I bought 10 years ago.  Why sell them for pennies, when I could do a few coats of paint and make them look brand new!!

Blogging Break!!

Please note that I am no longer updating my website (for now!).  To view some of my updated work, please visit my facebook page!

https://www.facebook.com/MyHouseMyCanvas/

Wine Rack ReDo with Java Gel Stain

Every year, my kid's school hosts Pierogi Night to raise funds.  We collect raffle prizes from generous folks at the school - this year, we had over 200 prizes.   I love painting a piece for the cause.  This year, a friend generously donated this awesome wine rack, and I painted it in my favourite Annie Sloan Emperor's Silk with General Finishes Java Gel Stain.

Painting Kitchen Cabinets with Chalk Paint

At White Pear Studios in Oakville where I work, we have tons of customers coming in asking about painting their kitchen cabinets with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I always feel like the best knowledge comes from experience, so I was determined to find a kitchen to paint.  I would have loved to have painted my own, but I just had it gutted and spent a bloody fortune on new custom cabinets... like literally, 6 months ago.  So, yea, my kitchen was out of the question.  Luckily, I have an awesome friend that has welcomed me into her home numerous times, and she excitedly said "my kitchen is all yours"!!!

He are a few pics of her kitchen "Before"

We talked about doing several colours (NOT white haha), and finally decided that a trendy, deep blue on the cabinets, would be a dramatic change and would update the space.  Here is the design board I came up with.

I custom mixed my own paint using approximately 2 parts Napoleonic Blue, 2 parts Old Violet, 1 part Graphite... there was no science behind my formula.  I eye balled it!!!

This was by far, the biggest project I have tackled to date.  Organization, patience, and planning was key. I knew this was going to take a while, but I was prepared.  I'll be writing up a step by step blog post and share with you my whole process.

And here is the beautiful kitchen all complete.

Walls are painted Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Grey.

I also painted a new table and chairs for the space.  The pedestal of the table is painted in the same blue as the cabinets, and the chairs are done in Annie Sloan Coco.  I reupholstered the seats, and sewed the curtain panels in fabric from Fabric Land bought in Kitchener.  

All light fixtures, cabinet hardware and the rug are from Home Depot, and the gorgeous wall mirror (I still regret not picking one up for myself) is from good ol' Home Sense.

Last but not least was this adorable cabinet the family had.  I painted the outside in coca and the inside in the custom blue to tie everything together.  Accessories I scooped up from Target before it closed down :(

The difference is night and day.  I couldn't be more proud of this space, and I am very appreciate of the family that welcomed me in their home!!

Stay tuned for step by step instructions on how you can easily transform your kitchen with just a few coats of paints and a little bit of hard work!!

Provence Desk

Check out this gorgeous desk I just painted!  It's done in Annie Sloan Provence... a gorgeous teal!  

The drawers are lined in an awesome houndstooth shelf liner that I bought from Canadian Tire!  Crappy Tire has the BEST shelf liner!! Who knew!!

Here are some more Before & After shots...