On Saturday morning I was on the road at 6am. It was early for me to be up, but I was excited about attending the Annie Sloan tour in VA. The 2 hour trip was quick and turned out to be a nice drive with beautiful flowering trees along the way to the conference center.
Inside, I was immediately greeted and sent down the hall to several vignettes of beautiful furniture painted with Annie Sloan paint, in various finishes and techniques. They were amazing! I mean seriously! They were amazing!
Vignettes featuring blue and red pieces were my favorites. These two colors compliment each other beautifully.
Every single piece was stunning, whether it was done in a soft finish, like the lovely gray above, or more casual and fun finishes, like below.
It’s crazy what you can create with Annie’s paint!
This green dresser, a real stunner in person, was created by none other than the famous Marion Parsons, aka Miss Mustard Seed herself!
Here’s a vignette that showed more modern examples of how the paint can be used with smooth, less textured finishes.
I can’t even begin how to describe how this dresser looked in person. It’s by Janet Metzger from The Empty Nest.
I could barely tear myself away from these pieces. Again the blue and red combination grabbed me and wouldn’t let go.
You can see what happens when you sand the paint to reveal the layers below, then work in a little dark wax. It’s magic and smooth as a baby’s behind!
The lampshade was stenciled with a stencil from Royal Designs.
And finally, here’s Annie Sloan.
She’s so down to earth. I could have listened to her for hours, talking about her passion, in that lovely British accent.
So talked about complementary colors and combining colors to create new colors.
She showed us examples of different finishes, crackling, stencils techniques and even decoupage.
When she was finished speaking, something very exciting happened! It was the first in person meet up of Annie Sloan and Miss Mustard Seed. There was lots of hugging, but I missed that shot.
It was fun to watch their first meeting. Look at the facial expressions.
Next was the workshop.
These were our pieces to practice on.
We did a practice piece using Barcelona orange but I forgot to get a picture of the finished piece.
Here’s how 2 of my pieces looked when finished. The workshop was fun and I really learned a lot.
Yes, It’s miss Mustard Seed and me
Yes, It’s Annie Sloan and me.
She’s the kind of person you feel comfortable with and I could have talked with her for hours.
I left inspired, wanting to paint anything I can get my hands on!
If you’ve wondered about the real Annie Sloan paint and if it’s as good as the claims, I say YES!
Maybe even better.
Debbie (((xx)))
I am so, so so SOOOOOOOOO jealous!!!!!!! LUCKY you and SO glad you got to go! what a wonderful workshop! I am ready to order!!!!! I am ready to paint everything here too, LOL! One your “antoinette” piece, was the gold over it or under it? So glad you had so much fun and great pictures!
Kristi
Kristi @ The Thrifty Gypsy recently posted..BUSY fun-filled weekend!
Hi Kristi,
The gold was under that soft pink. We allowed the paint to dry and then rubbed off some of the paint with a damp cloth BEFORE we waxed it. It was so easy!
Debbie recently posted..Annie Sloan unfolded in Leesport, VA
Hello Debbie
So thrilled to have met you Saturday!! Their meeting was magical wasn’t it?
I’m in Boston today getting ready to teach a class on this,the last stop on Annie’s tour.
Isn’t she the most special lady? So happy you got to meet her!
I think we should kidnap her and keep her in the US!
Thanks again for coming and making it so wonderful.
Janet xox
The Empty Nest
Janet metzger recently posted..~Jasperware or Annieware?~
Oh what fun!! I’ve used the paint (with no official training), but still feel that I did maximize the product. I don’t love the outcome but remain hopeful.
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It wounds like it was definitely well worth the trip for you, Debbie. Seeing those inspiration pieces before you walked in probably added to the excitement. I’m so glad you got to meet some fun people and Annie! I’m sure this was a great experience!
Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions recently posted..Tote Swap
I love LOVE reading everyone’s stories about meeting Annie Sloan! Thanks so much for sharing!
Blessed you! I want some of this stuff…guess I’ll have to break down and order it from the Internet when I so want to just pick it up somewhere today. Wonder if any books have yet been written on this topic. Oh, and I’m looking forward to your future tutorials! =D
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The pictures are great! Thanks so much for snapping some of when Annie and I met!
Miss Mustard Seed recently posted..Lucketts Eye Candy
What a fun blog today! OMGOODNESS!!!! I can only imagine the fun you girls had there…and I LOVE how down-to-earth and wonderful Annie S seems. The furniture you showed here is just amazing! AMAZING. Thanks so much for sharing a bit of you here- xo Diana
You lucky girl! I love all these ladies, what a fun day. Your painting looks great too!
I wish I lived closer!
Debbie
Debbie refresh restyle recently posted..Sante Fe Turquoise
I loved that I found this on your blog since I am giving away her book!
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