Annie Sloan has arrived in Roscommon

So there I was sipping my iced lemonade, reading my book and enjoying the sun alfresco at a local eatery and I overhear a conversation  ........... "oh yes she has the Annie Sloan paint in the shop now"

Hold the front page guys, it's happened.

Annie Sloan paint has finally come to Roscommon. 

Ding Dong !

Now you know I'm an old fashioned crafty girl and quite against a lot of the shortcuts that have come on the market over the years i.e. card toppers (where is the imagination and design in sticking something ready made on a card I ask?) bow makers (rolling my eyes to heaven) and crafty kits that have literally every bit of design/imagination and thought taken out of them that even the most un-crafty person in the world could put them together.  But this, Chalk Paint, I whole heartily approve of!  Who has time for sanding and priming when pinterest, facebook and instagram are bombarding us with new project ideas every minute of the day ?? :O)

Where was I ?

Oh yes sipping ice cold lemonade, sun shining bla bla over hearing conversations ........... and the words Annie Sloan were mentioned and my ears pricked up.

Super excited to say that ETL in Roscommon are now stocking Annie Sloan paint.  Here's the pic to prove it :O)

So what is Annie Sloan paint I hear you say and what's all the fuss about ?

If you're  a visual person (like me) just skip all the text below and head over to pinterest and check out my Annie Sloan Love board or Annie Sloan's own board.    Otherwise read on

Annie Sloan is an actual person :o) a trained painter who has written several books about painting furniture.  A few years ago she opened a shop and launched a brand of paint she made called Chalk Paint and the rest, as they say, is history.  It took off a storm !! Every blogger/upcycler out there was raving about it !!

Yes I know you're still saying Why? and what's so special about it?  Well the main thing is you can quite literally paint anything yes ANYTHING!  and as if that weren't fabulous enough you don't need to sand, prime or do any prep to the surface you are painting.  You just paint it and that's it!  Yes seriously, trust me, I've done it many times and it works (and alas no I am not on any sort of commission, but Annie Sloan if you're out there and fancy sending me some samples etc that would be nice). The cupboard above I painted with one coat of imperial red and it was perfect.  It was previously painted with cream satin wood paint.

After you paint your piece you can leave it as is or, if it is going to have something put onto it i.e. a table, you need to wax it with the Annie Sloan wax. Otherwise it's has a very matt chalky finish, which personally I like but it's not a traditional paint finish that everyone would be used to.

Enough of my sales pitch for Annie Sloan.  You can find out all you want about her, her paint, the colours etc on her official website or just head into ETL in Roscommon (on the square in Roscommon town, opposite Bank of Ireland) where you can buy sample pots or full tins of the paint.

Now I'm itching to get painting but just can't decide what to do first !?  I've got a little collection of items building up in my shed including this lovely box I got at a boot sale.  Hmmmm options are endless !!

Have you used Chalk Pain?  What did you think?  Did you do a course or just buy it and give it a go?  Would love to hear your comments and links to projects you have done.

Happy Painting lovely Bloggers!!!