The Easiest Furniture Antiquing Method EVER (And how YOU can get FREE paint!)

Happy Monday Friends!

And Happy 2016!

Last night our team gathered together to celebrate and reflect on what an amazing year 2015 was. We look forward to another year of personal and team growth, packed with "Ladies on the Loose" events, another anniversary celebration and two Junk Bonanzas. Bring it 2016!

Let's dive into the topics at hand: i.e. the EASIEST furniture antiquing method EVER and a free paint just for YOU!

If you've been to Ramshackled Treasures or are familiar with our brand you've probably seen lots of distressed and antiqued items. Antiqued furniture has been in vogue for years and it's not going out of style anytime soon. There are many ways to antique furniture: sandpaper, wet sanding, dry brushing and tinted wax but today we are going to talk about Country Chic Glaze.

Glaze. Even the word itself sounds nummy & edible like that melty frosting on a donut. Yum.

But what is glaze? And how do you use it?

Overview: 

*Glaze is meant to give any piece an antique look.
*When applied to a piece that is ornate or has a lot of texture it soaks into all the crevices and brings out the detail of the piece.
* It changes the color of the overall piece and give it an aged patina look.
* It is pretty much odorless
* Safe to paint indoors.
*It's fast to apply, just paint on and wipe away!

Sounds like a win, win.

You will need a...

Brush
Cup of water
Lint free cloth
Glaze color of your choice

WATCH THIS TUTORIAL TO LEARN THE BEST WAYS TO APPLY THE GLAZE

Did you get all that? See, it's extremely easy. 

Country Chic glazes come in three different colors, but you can mix your own custom color if you buy the clear glaze and mix it 4 parts glaze to 1 part paint.

We are a retailer for Country Chic products and sell all the glaze colors. If you have any questions feel free to drop in or call us at Ramshackled Treasures or leave a comment below. 

***For those who are interested in tackling your own painting projects, we offer a Painting 101 classes and a Cabinet Painting classes. Click here to learn more about class details and registration!

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Thought we forgot about your free paint? ;)

We didn't!

Start 2016 out right by trying our paint FOR FREE!

Tired of your outdated or second-hand furniture? For a limited time only we would like to offer you the opportunity to start upgrading your home for FREE!

From now until January 31st, 2016 you can pick up one free 4 oz jar of Country Chic Paint at any of our participating retailers!

You can easily do a small project, such as a chair or a side table with this 4 oz jar of our eco-friendly and easy-to-use furniture paint. We want you to experience Country Chic Paint for yourself because we know that you'll fall in love with it!

Sign up at http://www.countrychicpaint.com/free-samples to receive a unique code so you can get yours today!

Disclaimers: Limited to one (1) voucher per household. No cash value. Only valid in-store at participating Country Chic Paint retail locations. Printed voucher needs to be presented to Retailer. Expires February 1st, 2016. Subject to availability.

DIY of the Month: Country Chic Paint

At Ramshackled Treasures, we believe in sharing the things we've learned in our home furnishing and repurposing journey. Every month we will be featuring a new DIY project to help you add an extra tool to your belt and share the exciting adventure of home decorating together! 

Today, we will be talking about a few products in the Country Chic paint line. You can apply these principles to any chalk-based paint, really, but Country Chic is our favorite and is the paint we most readily use in the store. 

Image from Country Chic Paint

We are obsessed with this product for so many reasons:

Health: Country Chic Paint is VOC free which means it has no fumes and isn't harmful to you or your family. This makes Country Chic one of the safest paints on the market today! Round of applause for health! 

Odorless: I tested this one out myself with the ol' schnozz. Only a faint smell rather like cupcake frosting...or perhaps I was just hungry. 

Easy to use & Dries Quickly: I'll speak more on this later.

The Rehab:

Years ago, my dad bought this antique vanity for my mom as an anniversary gift. They didn't have room for it anymore and have since given it to me. Clearly, it's in need of a little TLC and so I am trusting it into the hands of Country Chic! 

Step 1 - Prep your piece:

I prepped the vanity by cleaning it with a damp cloth and then wiping liquid sander deglosser on the areas I planned to paint. 

Step 2 - Choose your colors:

I chose Country Chic's 'Lazy Linen' color for this project. I love it because, like linen, it looks clean. But it is also a beautiful, country white, not a blah-first-apartment-white, if you get my meaning. 

I also chose Country Chic's black 'Graphite' glaze for the distressing step. 

The first thing I will say for County Chic paint is--wow it goes a long way! I only had a 4oz sample jar and I painted the base of my vanity and the base of this coffee table with two coats each! 

P.s. no snide remarks about my cruddy brush, I've forgotten to clean it one too many times. :)

It also worked really well over the piece. It was smooth and didn't dry too quickly where it becomes unworkable in the first 30 seconds. When dry, the finish feels rather like an egg, dry, low sheen and slightly textured. 

As I was squatting under the vanity, I bumped the top of my head against a leg. 

Surprise! Free 'Lazy Linen' balayage! 

Just kidding. I washed my hair over the sink and it came right out. Another brownie point for Country Chic! 

Step 3 - Glaze distressing: 

Glaze is a sand-free distressing method and by far the easiest distressing method I've tried. 

Have a clean, dry rag handy and a cup of water. I dampened my brush many times prior to dipping it in the glaze because I didn't want the glaze to apply too heavily. Find all the cracks and crevices in the piece and brush it in. I was going for a 'lightly distressed' look. The nice thing about the glaze is it is really easy to work with and you can add and wipe away according to your preference.

Let it sit for a minute...

                                                                       and then just wipe away the excess! 

Side note: I opted to strip the top of the vanity instead of painting it. I used a Minwax Dark Walnut stain on the top, and two coats of Minwax poly to finish it. It still has really old scratches deep in the veneer that didn't come off with the striper and although it might drive some people bonkers--I love that about it! 

Final step - Wax: 

Finally, with a clean cloth, I rubbed finishing wax on the painted areas of the coffee table to give it a protective finish. I let the wax sit on the pieces for about 10 minutes and then wiped away the excess with a fresh cloth. 

And voila! Isn't she cute?! And such an easy project.

Oh, and my mom called and wants her vanity back. This could get ugly.

The Country Chic paints, glazes and more are available at Ramshackled Treasures in Zimmerman, MN. If you have any questions about using County Chic paint feel free to call us at (763) 856-8700 any of our vendors would be happy to speak to you! 

Have you ever tried chalk-based paint? What do you think of the glaze distressing method? 

Let us know in the comments below.