Thursday, June 27, 2013

Greens and Blues...

 
First coat CeCe Caldwell's Santa Fe Turquoise, second coat Destin Gulf Green, Third Coat Spring Hill Green,  Wet Distressed, Endurance Finish. 

Sunday, June 16, 2013

CeCe Caldwell's Endurance Finish... aka my new love!

I just received my first batch of CeCe Calwell's new Endurance Finish.  It is designed for Cabinetry and Table Tops especially, but really for anything that you want a durable finish on (or just a super easy to apply finish!). 

I have several tables in my garage that I have been waiting to paint until these little pots of gold showed up.  Why?  I know may people use wax on table tops... and I do on end tables, decorative tables etc.  But, I have never been on board with using wax for the top surface of a dining table.  I don't really know how other people live in their homes, but at ours, a waxed top needs a little too much babying for a dining table.  I do love the waxed finish for other pieces... just not places that you may need to scrub marinara sauce off of!

This is the little stool that I was wet distressing yesterday.


Eager to try the new Endurance Finish, I applied it to the stool this morning.  Well, it look all of 5 minutes.  Done.  And though it says on my can that it should dry for two hours, I put the Endurance Finish on 20 minutes ago... and that little guy is dry. 

The Endurance Finish is the only product in CeCe's line that is not ZERO VOC.  It is Low VOC. (Less that 30 l/g).  As many of you know, not only am I a big Earth Mother, but I have some chemical allergies, which is one of the many reasons that I love CeCe's luscious products.  I was curious how I would react to this finish... and I didn't.  It has almost no odor, and it didn't bother me at all!  That said, respect for human health is a priority of CeCe Caldwell's, and it is recommended that you use Endurance Finish in an area with adequate ventilation.

I am in LOVE.   I suspect that we are going to need a moment of silence for the waxing tradition.  While this is just one of a great line up of finishes in CeCe's line, I am certain that some will be breaking up with their wax.... or moving the relationship into the realm of "just friends" to make room for your new love.


Saturday, June 15, 2013

Wet Distressing with CeCe Caldwell's

 
I love wet distressing CeCe Caldwell's paints... for several reasons.  First, I love the look.  Second, I love the ease.  I did this with a damp paper towel in a jiffy...in my kitchen.  No dust.  No mess to clean up.  I just threw the paper towel away after and rinsed my hands with water.  That makes me sound a tad lazy... well maybe... but why do it the hard way when you can do it the easy way?
 
To achieve this look, I did a first coat in Kentucky Mint. 
 

After that dried, I put on a coat of Santa Fe Turquoise rather sparingly, not too worried about coverage and let that dry because...

 
I then took a damp paper towel and blended the paint, and rubbed harder in places that I wanted some to come off revealing the first payer of paint (and the previous finish). 



This is super easy to do.  If you are nervous about trying a new technique, go pick yourself up a $5 chair or end table at a garage sale and play around with it.  No significant loss if you don't love your first attempt... and you will likely end up with something you love!