Layers of Annie Sloan love...

When we went to Leesburg, VA to work with the Annie Sloan® North American Tour, we were so excited to see venues of other Annie Sloan Retail Partners!!! We love to see what others do with layers, texture and styles all their own! Thinking there would be plenty of photos floating on blogs of these amazing vignettes in all their glory, we wanted to show you from our pint of view...

above top, left & right: unknown
above: BB Home
below left: unknown
below right: Gallery on Third

What's not to LOVE? There was so much talent in Leesburg! The hardest part was getting enough photos to come home and not forget the color combos and ideas. If only there was enough time to do so...Yea right! AT this point, we would like to say a BIG FAT SORRY for the "unknown" photos we took and can't link to! We did our best to take some pictures of each rightful owner, but didn't exactly accomplish that. Soooooo, if you see a photo that is your painted piece and is labeled "unknown", PLEASE leave a comment below with a  link to yourself for our readers to see!!! Again, we apologize and mean no malicious harm!!!

above: Budget Redesign

below left: unknown

below right: Miss. Mustard Seed

Can't you just feel the love in each painted piece of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® love? We touched each and every one of these gorgeous finds (they are lucky we didn't start smelling and tasting, lol!). It was a real showcase of the south's most talented Annie Sloaners. There was no way to choose a favorite...

above: Molly Susan Strong

below left: On a Whim

below right: Faux Design Studio

The colors are amazing, the textures were fresh, the ideas were endless! We feel truly honored to have been a part of this showcase. 

above: Hueology

below left & right: The Empty Nest

     

Aren't you inspired to do MORE with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint®?!?!? We know our photos have not been edited or watermarked. We hope all the photos are linked to their rightful owners. We also know that not ALL the fabulous pieces were shared here, sorry if we missed you!!! It's not that we didn't LOVE you the same, there was just so much an A.D.D. adult can do with the inspiration overload.

So are you inspired?  

What's your favorite layers, texture and/or 

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint ™color to use?

The New Annie Sloan Paint Brushes!

Check out what is coming your way VERY soon!!!

Yep, these are the new paintbrushes from our favorite decorative painter herself Annie Sloan!

Annie has been waiting a long time to put her name on a paintbrush.  For the record, she has never had her actual name on a paint or wax brush to date.  She wanted to ensure that when she did, it was absolutely the right one.  We can say first hand that she NAILED it with these!  How do we know?

We first got to play with this little gem in New Orleans at the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ Conference.

  Oh my goodness!  Or as Annie would say "Brilliant!"

Look at the deliciousness of the paint on the natural hair bristles!  It was like taking room temperature butter and spreading it oh so smoothly across the plank.  It somehow made the paint feel even richer!  I loved at the way Annie described is as "a brush that will just do what you want it to do.  They are going to become your favorite friends!"

It was terribly hard to set it down and watch it get packed up with the rest of the supplies we used at the conference.  It was a tough goodbye wondering when we might be reunited again?!?  

We were reunited 2 weeks later when we traveled to Leesburg, Virginia to take part in the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ American Tour.  After hearing a fabulous 2 hour talk from Annie all about paint and color, we broke into 6 groups to get down and dirty with the paint.  Here is a shot of our breakout room and what do you see over on the right side of the table??  THE BRUSH!  MJ was our lead instructor for this workshop.  She was pretty possessive of THE BRUSH, but did let the class pass it around to see, touch and smell.  Why was she so possessive of THE BRUSH?  Because, she was one of 6 VERY LUCKY people to receive THE BRUSH as a gift for instructing on the Tour!!! 

 Yep, it was going home with her!

She even got Annie to sign it when the Tour was over!!!

The next question you are going to ask is "How much?", "When?", and "Where?"

The brushes will be sold by your Local Retail Partner.  To find the closest Local Retail Partner to you, go to the Annie Sloan Unfolded website.  Our local retail partner that we work for is Total Bliss.  We are awaiting our first arrival, but do not have them in yet.  

The big fat one will retail around $50, the medium in the $30's and the small one $26 ish.  These prices were estimates we received, so don't quote these as actual prices. As of now we do not have that exact price available for you.  Do know that they will be worth EVERY PENNY!  

Arles

Arles |ärl|a city in southeastern France; pop. 53,058 (2006). It was the capital of the medieval kingdom of Arles, formed in the 10th century by the union of the kingdoms of Provence and Burgundy.
Note the correct pronunciation for this fabulous shade of yellow from Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™
We are admitting that when first introduced to Annie's color palette, we did not think it was a color we would ever use.  Crazy that it is the color we picked to do our piece we used to display in our vignette on the Annie Sloan American Tour!

A fun three drawer dresser was coated in 2 coats of Arles, slathered with a coat of clear wax and then finished of with some dark wax.

We also had fun with a few stencils.  We added a custom charcoal gray on the front and top corners.  Stencils are FUN and very addicting!  You will be seeing a lot more of them in our work!

Look at the fabulous imperfection she has! What should we name her? We are simply smitten!

She made a 630 mile round trip from Summerfield, NC to Leesburg, VA. 

 She was touched by Annie Sloan herself!  Oh what fun we had on the American Tour!  We hope to be sharing some highlights from our trip soon!  It was so overwhelming and packed with so much goodness and glory!

Want to see her in person? She's waiting to meet you at Total Bliss in Summerfield, NC! 

Annie Sloan in New Orleans (Part 2)

SO while we had the chance to eagerly learn and soak up ALL that Annie Sloan had to teach, we did have a FEW opportunities to eat our way through the Bayou (ok, well maybe it's technically the French Quarters, but Bayou sounds more fun)!!! We barely unloaded our bags when we decided to grab lunch from the famous Acme Oyster House...

Acme Oyster House...need we say more? I suppose we could divulge the fact that itty bitty MJ had an ENTIRE dozen of the ginormous oysters ALL BY HERSELF!!! We had to take a photo next to my hand to show the HUGENESS of these delicacies...

Above: Fried crab claws...Every bite plump with meat and flash fried to perfection...YUMMERS!!

Below: A delicious bowl of seafood gumbo in a bread bowl and a side of andouille sausage!!!

This post is not going to be full of words, "Yum! Oh My! Can you believe all this food?" was mostly topic of each and every meal after talking paint all day...We even found ourselves trying to find Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ colors in every dish... ha ha ha!!! (the lobsters were very Emperors Silk!) We had a lovely time as a group with Kate from Summerfield, NC (Total Bliss) where we proudly house our goods, Terry from Wilmington, NC (Budget Re-Design) and Tawnya from Brentwood, TN (C'est Moi).

Lobster was the special of the night at this eclectic Asian Fusion Bar (Ginger Lime). They had 2 FULL lobsters for $26, so we ordered two plates and split them between the group. We had one plate steamed (above) and one plate hibachi style (below)...Who knew?!?! I know, not very "cajun", but fun none the less!

One thing that Trish went to New Orleans for (besides the chance to meet Annie), was to experience the chance of enjoying a bengeit and latte! So VERY worth the 45 minute wait with the girls who so lovingly waited to keep Trish "happy & quiet". We were able to sit, relax and enjoy the entertainment of the folks on the streets of New Orleans (what a sight that was with laughs and giggles by all)! Fresh hot beignets and warm lattes... HEAVEN in a food... seriously!!!  Nothing like a toast with the powdery sweet mess... certainly FUN times at Cafe Du Monde! 

MJ enjoying sweet heaven!

On the final night of the conference, Lisa at Annie Sloan Unfolded held a first class cocktail party for EVERYONE at conference. It was fun to dress up and enjoy an evening at the most beautiful venue in the Garden District called The Elms Mansion & Gardens. We can't begin to say enough times, THANK YOU LISA RICKERT JOLIE for allowing us the chance to feel like rockstars for a night!

Kate, MJ & Trish (front row, far left) Photo taken by Lisa's crew.

OUR NIGHT WITH ANNIE!!!

Trish eating Fried frog legs...Ewe!

And to end the trip... we had to take home a few fresh Pralines from the streets. Simply put, sugar, butter and nuts! What's not to LOVE in this local sweet treat? We barely had the chance to snap a picture the hot and fresh delicacies. Luckily we did, because they were gobbled up so quick there weren't any left for photos...Oops!!!

So the picture above has nothing to do with food, but it was simply a chance to pose with Annie Sloan and share with our readers. (Luckily I did have my wallet in hand because I had a BIG spill from lunch on my shirt that I was able to hide :)

In the end, we left New Orleans with a pant's size bigger and memories we will never forget. We had been warned my others before we headed out to NOLA, "It's all about the FOOD"... so now YOU'VE been warned!!!

Lastly, these were only snippets of the pictures from ALL the food we actually encountered and places we devoured from... 

Can you imagine???