9 Lies Google Told Me About Pinterest

Since it's launch in 2010, Pinterest has become one of the fastest growing websites with over 72 million users and 88% of those users purchasing a product they recently pinned. This is huge for businesses, so there is no wonder why so many businesses are hopping on the Pinterest train and leaving Facebook and Twitter in the dust. For instance, over 80% of pins are re-pinned whilst only 1.4% of tweets are re-tweeted. Crazy!

Now, I have always been very loyal to Facebook as my main social media platform for Websters Chalk Paint Powder. However, with this crazy new form of algorithms that NOBODY can figure out, I have begun to see a steady decrease in the response I get from Facebook. I refuse to pay to promote my page so my reach is negatively affected. Tired of fighting Facebook, I have decided to focus more time on Pinterest, which to be honest, is where I can find most of my audience: those fabulously creative thrifty, frugal, DIYers!

As I embarked on this new venture into the beautiful and crafty land of Pinterest, I wanted to learn as much as I could about reaching my audience, engaging with others, what they found interesting, and pretty much just how to get the most out of Pinterest for Websters! So I read. I read and read, researched and took notes, and read some more. I found all of the answers I could have possibly needed thanks to Google, or so I thought..

Last week, I was in London with my wonderfully talented friend, Lauren of Lauren Aston Designs, as she competed for the Mollie Makes Start-Up Award. We had such a great time networking with other creatives, crafting and learning about Pinterest. As I sat in during the Pinterest 101 workshop with Pinterest UK, herself, I couldn't believe how much I didn't know! I was so annoyed by the fact that I had worked so hard on my Pinterest account, only to find out that I had it all wrong. At the same time, I was so grateful to have had that opportunity to ask Pinterest everything I needed to know to better my business. Now, I would like to share this knowledge with you. :)

9 Lies Google told me about Pinterest:

1. Pinterest is a Social Network
    + Pinterest in not a social network, but rather a Visual Discovery Tool. People do not go to Pinterest to connect and socialise, they go on searching and planning for something. "Discover. Save. Do" Save yourself some time and embarrassment and don't go around liking or commenting on others pins/ boards. Pinterest UK put it this way, "The things I pin to my boards are for me, not anyone else. They are things I like, want to create, etc. When someone comes onto my board and starts liking or commenting, I feel like it is an invasion of privacy!" .. Noted, Pinterest is NOT for socialising! ;)

2. Hashtag, Hashtag, Hashtag!
    + Hashtagging on Pinterest is not the same as on Twitter. First of all, hashtags are only clickable in a pins description so putting them anywhere else on your Pinterest is pointless. Also, using broad terms like "#computer" will bring up every single pin that has the word anywhere in the description, image file or on a page linked to that pin. Hashtags work better if they are unique to your brand or business. For instance, #Websterschalkpaintpowder brings up just Websters pins, where as a basic search in Pinterest for "Websters Chalk Paint Powder" brings up all sorts of pins relating to chalk paint, competitors, etc.

3. Expect an Instant Return
    + You should not expect to see a return for at least 6-8 months. The average pin gets repinned 11 times, but it does take time to build this exposure. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, posts don't go away after a day or a week, it is continuously relevant. Think about Halloween.. Every year when you go on Pinterest looking for Halloween crafts, costumes, what have you, you will see lots of new creative ideas, however, you will also see lots of stuff from last year's Halloween, too!

4. More Followers Means More Exposure
    + We were told not to count our followers as this is not an accurate way to measure success or exposure on Pinterest. Rather, count your repins. This is where you are going to gain the most views. If you are using Pinterest for your business, make sure you have a business account. Easily convert to a business account here! Pinterest offers a great analytics tool to measure which of your pins are making an impression.

5. Make Your Profile Aesthetically Pleasing
    + Actually, no one looks at your profile so there is no need to spend hours organising your boards. Everyone's profile looks exactly the same, just with different board names. Focus on pinning relative content.

6. Less Boards, More Pins
    + You can never have too many boards and you can never have too many pins! Pinterest suggests pinning at least 1 or 2 pins daily. Also, pins are not mutually exclusive. If a pin is relative to multiple boards, pin it to all of those boards! Pinterest also suggests 40+ pins per board, so get pinning!

7. Keep Your Descriptions Short and To The Point
    + When researching to optimise my Pinterest reach, I found that keeping descriptions short and using hashtags to cut down on lengthy sentences was the best technique because "people get annoyed when you mess up their layout". On the contrary! Long, rich descriptions give you more key words, so a better chance of coming up on a search, and you're also gaining more real estate! Pinterest UK recommends 1 long description, 1 short description, 1 long description, etc.

Don't do this: "Cute outfit. #dungarees"

Do this: "Who says you can't look cute whilst painting? Simple up-do to keep my hair out of the paint. Cool, breezy crop top underneath these darling dungarees and my favourite pair of converse. I think I'll use this as inspiration."

This gets you plugged into any searches of painting, hair, up-do, crop top, dungarees, converse, which means more exposure!








8. Pin It to Win It!
    + While you may think the 'Pin It to Win It' competitions are great for gaining exposure and creating a buzz, they're not. In fact, they are "spammy behaviour". It's not authentic when someone pins a photo "because they are told to if they want to win something", and more often than not, the pins aren't going to repinned because they aren't making an impression. Now, sending out posts like "Pin It If You Love It!" to your email subscribers, Facebook followers, etc. are going to be much more beneficial as the pins or photos are going to be of things that actually interest your audience, thus, are more likely to be repinned. It is your responsibility to create good content.

9. Pinterest is Oversaturated with Pinners
    + Except it's not. In fact, compared to the 1.4 billion Facebook users, Pinterest is still quite new and small. Pinterest is growing daily and becoming a stronger platform for users and businesses, so be sure to hop on the bandwagon before it's too late!

A few last suggestions.. As a business on Pinterest, it is so easy to  figure out who your customer is and what drives them. See who is repinning, what boards they are pinning too and other boards they are following (go to repinner or followers page, click "following"- the last number on the top under their name, and then click "boards"). This helps to give you a much better understanding of what interests your customers. Now create boards that share common interests between you and your audience!

You'll also want to stay a step ahead of your customers. Like we said earlier, Pinterest is a planning tool. Your customers are planning their Halloween costumes, decorations and crafts in August/ September. Create valuable content to go on these planning boards! 

Lastly, make sure your website is "Pinnable". Any photos, products, tutorials, etc. should have a "Pin It" link in the top left-hand corner when you hover over the photo. This gets you pins and you don't even have to do anything! The pins will then link back to your website, generating traffic. Win- win! Also, with Pinterest Analytics, you will be able to see what photos your customers are pinning from your website. 

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Thanks so much for reading and I hope you found this post useful! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions! I would be happy to help in any way I can. :) 

Also, I would love for you to jot down your email below so we can stay in touch!

Now, go get pinning!!!

Devon x

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L'Essentiel Beeswax Polish

L'ESSENTIEL

Have you heard of L'Essentiel Polish? This cosmetic-grade, all-natural beeswax polish is hypo-allergenic, safe for children, and smells so good you could eat it! In fact, the first thing I did when I opened up the tin was glide it on my lips. Lush!

The non-yellowing, neutral wax can be buffed to a high shine or low sheen, polishes beautifully and protects with no harsh solvents. The best part?? The beeswax polish can be used as a lip balm or hand balm as it is skin safe and cosmetic grade! Amazing!

I had heard great things from our Websters stockists so I thought I'd put it to the test. Coreine, the lovely lady behind the L'Essentiel brand, sent over a box of 3 polishes: Clear, Lustre, and Dark. I couldn't wait to get playing and I had just the piece for it!

This sweet little table had been sitting in my room holding all of my jewellery, perfumes and sunglasses. She was glamorous, but needed a facelift. The detail in the top was stunning so I knew I had to save her for the perfect project. This was her time to shine!

Prep: I started by giving her a quick wipe down with soap and water to remove any perfume, dust or anything else that made its way into the cracks and crevices.

Mixing: I made up my own chalk paint using Valspar's Swan Queen and Milk and Honey mixed with Websters Chalk Paint Powder. I also had glittery gold in mind so I mixed Crown's Metallic Gold with Websters.. So pretty! 

Tools: I love, love, LOVE my Chalk-Pro paint brushes! I used the Easy Paint Brush- Large to cover the whole piece in my custom white chalk paint and the Easy Paint Round- Medium for the gold chalk paint. For the polish, I used the Small Fiddes Wax Brush.

Finish: To seal the finished piece, I had my new stock of L'Essentiel Beeswax Polish in Clear, Lustre and Dark on hand that I just couldn't wait to play with!

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To start, I covered the entire piece in two coats of my white chalk paint. It went on beautifully!

Next, I painted the feet gold (I suggest taping to get the perfect 'dipped look', as I made this very difficult for myself free-handing!). I let the paint brush that was full of gold paint soak in a glass of water for about 5 minutes then, without squeezing the water out or washing the gold off, I slabbed the paint brush all over the top in an effort to create a colour wash. It worked! And it looked great! Exactly what I was going for. :) I wiped any excess gold water off with a towel (lightly to avoid wet distressing!) and let it dry.

Once the top was dry, I eagerly opened up my tins of L'Essentiel Beeswax Polish and started playing! First, I applied the wax to my lips and hands. I honestly cannot explain how delicious it smells! :) Right, back to the furniture! 

Next, using a cloth, I applied the clear polish to the entire piece. It says to wait 30 minutes before buffing the polish off so I used this time to focus on the details on top. I went ahead and added a thick layer of the dark polish with a brush, making sure to get in all of the cracks, then immediately wiped off the surface with more clear wax. Left behind was beautifully enhanced detail with depth and dimension. I was in love!

I buffed the entire table to a high shine and added one more coat of wax. It wasn't necessary but I couldn't resist the sparkle of the lustre wax! It was stunning! 

*She who leaves a trail of glitter is never forgotten*

After this final coat, I took a well deserved tea break and allowed the polish time to sit. Gave it one last buff to a high shine and TA-DA! She's all done! I took a step back and admired her beauty.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed painting it!

I am hoping to stock L'Essentiel Polish in the very near future so keep posted!
In the mean time, you can shop the online store here.

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Thanks, again! Xx

Lots of Love,
Devon
   

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Chalk Painting with Fiddes Wax

Happy Blog-Day Thursday!

I thought today would be a good day to blog a bit (okay, a lot) about one of our accompanying products we offer, Fiddes & Sons Wax. I highly suggest using Fiddes when chalk painting to my stockists and customers! This supreme wax polish is soft, quick drying, virtually odourless and toulene free.

If you are not familiar with chalk painting, it is important to take note that chalk paint is very porous by nature and has to be sealed with a wax or polyurethane before it is finished. Unless, of course, if you are chalk painting a chalkboard (in that case, you won't want to put any finish on it)!

I love the range of colours Fiddes offers and I currently carry my favourite 4: Clear, Light, Rugger Brown and Jacobean. 'Clear' has been specially formulated for Websters and, at this time, is only available in the UK through me (cool!).  I also stock small, medium, large and extra large Fiddes Wax Brushes, as seen above. Not pictured, Drill Attachment Wax Brushes.

For this blog, I took a piece of decorative moulding, painted it with a Valspar's Swan Queen mixed with Websters Chalk Paint Powder, and gave it a light distressing along the top half of the board to give you an idea of what each wax looked like on distressed chalk paint. I divided the moulding into 6 sections to show you: Clear, Light, Rugger Brown with a Clear Barrier, Rugger Brown, Jacobean with a Clear Barrier, and Jacobean. 

_ _ _

Jumping right in, I started with Fiddes Wax Clear. As you can see, it is 100% clear. Wax has been embedded in the cracks and crevices but it can't be seen, whatsoever. You also can't see it has been buffed to a high sheen.. (Need to work on my photography skills and get a better camera!)

_ _ _

Next on the list is Fiddes Wax Light. Fiddes markets the Light as a "Perfect Choice for Chalky Paint Surfaces". This is true. It's great for chalk painted furniture and is very popular amongst the painters. 

 The Light is virtually clear, however, when comparing them side-by-side on a white chalk painted surface, you can notice a slight (and I mean, VERY slight) yellowish hue. You'll also notice (in the close-ups below) the embedded wax in the cracks and crevices are visible. Once dry, it leaves a bit of a yellow tint.

 Don't get me wrong, lot's of people like this, and maybe I shouldn't be using the words 'yellowish hue' as it doesn't sound appealing. Rather, the Light has just enough of a tint that it brings out the details in piece without being noticeable, which you can see below. (There! That sounds much more appealing!)

_ _ _

Right, moving on the the fun part! I love dark waxes. And when I say I love dark waxes, I mean I LOVE dark waxes! There is just something about that aged look that get's me every time! At first, I was terrified to dark wax. I didn't want to ruin my beautifully painted piece with 'brown wax' (I was so naive!). Thanks to some helpful tips from my mom, I am now able to age my pieces beautifully and pain-freefuly (Blogger says that's not a word.. but I like it!)

In this post, I wanted to show you how dark wax can be managed. On it's own, dark waxes are indeed, dark and dingy. Often times, that's the look a painter is going for. I NEVER use dark waxes on their own. I prefer to coat the piece in Clear first, which act's a buffer, apply the dark wax, then use Clear, again, as an eraser. 

First, I'll start with Rugger Brown. Rugger Brown is a beautiful antique brown, lighter than Jacobean, but obviously much darker than Light. I applied the Clear Wax first, layered the Rugger Brown on top, ensuring to get it deep in the cracks, and then used the clear again to remove the dark wax off the surface.

As you can see, the Rugger Brown has given the white piece a slight tint and has really brought out the details. Like I said earlier: Clear wax on, Dark Wax on, Clear Wax to wax off!

 _ _ _

Now, this is Rugger Brown on it's own. Beautiful, yes, but dangerous! Without the Clear barrier, you are opening yourself up to a very dark finish. 

 Notice the increased colouration when Rugger Brown is used on it's own. 

_ _ _

Finally, my favourite, Jacobean! Jacobean is the darkest wax Fiddes offers. It is a beautiful deep brown, almost black colour. I really like Jacobean on white and lights, when used properly. I LOVE Jacobean on darker colours like blues and reds. 

Here they are, side by side, with the left being Jacobean and Clear and the right being Jacobean on it's own! 

_ _ _

Well, there you have it, folks! Everything you could have ever possibly wanted to know about Fiddes Wax! I hope you've enjoyed reading this post today and will be able to take away a bit more information on waxing your chalk painted pieces! If you are interested in purchasing any of the products mentioned in the this post, please visit our online shops or find a stockist near you!

Thanks for reading!!!

Lots of Love,

Devon

'Make It Work' with Websters

As I sat on the train, Bristol-bound, I wasn't sure what to expect out of the day. I was meeting the famous Leigh-Anne Treadwell of Make It Work and Upholstery Courses South West to conduct a workshop along side at the Bristol 2015 Lab.

Once I arrived in Bristol, I was met by Leigh-Anne and her overflowing van of goodness! Never had I seen so many beautiful fabrics, use paint tins and tired chairs waiting to be reloved. We managed to squeeze me and my Websters in and off we went to Bristol 2015: Websters & Make It Work!

This harbourside shop opened mid-February as a space to engage in workshops and public activities that promote going green and sustainability in the city. Bristol recently received the 2015 European Green Capital award, the first UK city to be awarded, for their efforts in working towards creating Britain's most liveable city. 

It didn't take long to get our display's up and workshops ready. With the help of George and other friendly Bristol 2015 workers (volunteers?) we were ready to get making in no time!

Our businesses, though vastly different, performed seamlessly together. I grew such an incredible appreciate for Leigh-Anne and her new Social Enterprise, Make It Work, that focuses on restoring furniture with long-term unemployed people in an effort to build self-confidence and gain new skills. "This project aims to be based in a vibrant and inspiring workshop/retail space in the heart of Bristol, and will train and employ people to work alongside professional producers of high quality traditionally handcrafted goods within a positive working/ learning environment."

Like I said earlier, the workshop flowed seamlessly. On one side on the tables, you had the 'mixing of Websters' and painting of chairs. On the other side, you had the upholstery course. Everyone picked a chair, picked a colour of paint and matching (or not matching!) fabric and began repurposing their chairs!

Some painted first..


















...some reupholstered first.









Either way, everyone had a great time. It was such a satisfying workshop for the ladies as they gained the skills to reupholster and repurpose tired furniture. I also demonstrated different techniques for painting and ageing including: distressing, waxing, colour washing, and more!

All in all, it was a very successful trip to Bristol! All that nervousness for nothing! Leigh-Anne was a warm, welcoming, beautiful soul and I would love to work with her again in the future. For a really great upholstery course, be sure to check her out for a course near you!

Lots of love,

Devon

20 Things About Me, Not My Business!

Hello! My name is Devon and I am the American Ambassador for Websters Chalk Paint Powder in Europe. I was tagged by Lauren Aston of Lauren Aston Designs to post a blog called, "20 Things About Me". This 'blog-chain', well call it, was started by Katrina of Qtique as a way of opening up and humanising our businesses. Too often we find ourselves hiding behind our screen and, whilst we are communicating, we are not connecting. At least not on a personal basis. This is my chance to open up to you and give you a bit more of an insight to the girl behind the Websters Europe pages. 

This post is not to be taken seriously! If I were to tell you 20 (boring) Things About Me, I would start by talking about my childhood and finish with how I ended up living in the most beautiful village of Topsham, England working for my mothers company.. But that's for another blog, another day! ;) 

Well I best get on it then. Here are 20 random facts about me:

1. The love of my life is my sisters baby, Jude. He is my beautiful, happy, chunky money! I make a point to Facetime with him almost every day so he doesn't forget who I am.. I miss him every second of every day.

2. Nothing gets me more excited than shopping for office supplies. Stationary, filing systems, pens, you name it! Probably has something to do with my extreme need for organisation.  

3. I have an unhealthy obsession with candy. I have a candy bowl AND a candy drawer. If I've been to your home, you best know that I have asked/ searched for your candy stash! 

4. I use , " " / and ( ) religiously. Also, loads of :) ;) :/ :( I probably should have waited to share this towards the end as now it's all you'll notice.. (sorry!)

5. Whenever strange/random things happen around me, I think I'm on a hidden TV show so I always play it cool ;)

6. I am 1 of 7 kids. I have 1 younger sister, who is my best friend ever, and 5 crazy brothers. I know we have photos together, I just can't find them! I'll count them out for you instead: Jamie 26, Me 24, Gracie 22, Jon Jon 20, Will 19, Taylor 16, and Adam 15.

7. I LOVE painting! Not artistically, strangely enough, but painting furniture, frames, bottles, pretty much anything I can get my hands on. I am super passionate about Websters, the product I sell, and use it to paint everything! Seriously, nothing in my house is safe from being Webster-fied! Also, there is nothing more relaxing than painting with a glass of red wine and Norah Jones in the background.. Utter bliss.

8. I get overly grossed out by hotels. I never trust the sheets have been changed and highly doubt the toilets have been scrubbed to my standards.

9. I am currently reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and can say, without a doubt, it has changed my life dramatically! Never thought of myself as a 'Self-Help' kinda girl but I highly recommend it to everyone! (*It's a light-hearted book about how to become an even happier you.)

10. Charity Shop's are my newest obsession. There are 5 in my village and soon, my apartment will be the 6th! I kid you not, my house is cluttered with the most random charity shop finds.. most of which I just buy to paint with Websters. :)

11. I have a dog-like kitty called Velcro. I rescued him from the Cats Protection League where he was named Velcro for his unnatural clinginess. When he's not latched on to my neck, he likes to plays fetch and have his belly rubbed.

12. I love, love, LOVE candles! There is at least 1 candle on every surface in my apartment. You would think by now that I am used to them and wouldn't think my house is burning down for split second every time I catch one in the corner of my eye.

13. I'm always cold and never dress warm enough. This drives my boyfriend CRAZY!

14. In my final year of getting my Business Marketing degree at Auburn University, I turned down every offer of a social media job. I refused to sit behind a desk all day staring at a computer building virtual relationships.. funny how things work, hey?

15. Put lightly, I do not enjoy cinemas. The cushioned seats are (probably) never cleaned, you have to share an armrest (get your own armrest!), people get really annoyed when you put your feet up (c'mon I'm just trying to get comfy), there's never a good time during the movie to take a restroom break and they won't pause the movie for you, there is ALWAYS someone talking/ laughing at inappropriate times, can't you read it's says 'TURN YOUR PHONE OFF', I  get super uncomfortable if there are any PG-13 scenes, it get's unnecessarily cold about 45 min. into the movie (probably to keep from sweating into the cushioned seats)..  If I was ever asked out on a date, I always said "Dinner, NO movie!"

16. I am obsessed with my view out my kitchen window. There is nothing like the coast and country life of Topsham, Devon!

17. Which brings me to my next fact: I am a glutton, or nicely put, a 'foodie'. I love food and I'm always hungry. I'll eat anything and I'll eat all of it! (Except paté and black pudding, that just freaks me out!) My absolute 2 favourite foods are Pho and Wagamama's Prawn Itame.

18. I'm a super-scaredy cat. I am afraid of almost everything scary including, but not limited to: deep waters, heights, the dark, scary movies, etc. I haven't watched a scary movie since I was 13 years old and saw 'The Ring'.. I was scarred for life. 

19. I am a magpie. I love anything that sparkles! I live by the quote, "She who leaves a trail of glitter is never forgotten."

20. I try not to watch or read the news. It's not because I don't care or don't want to know what's happening around the world, it has just become so depressing that I find 'ignorance is bliss'. My mother's famous words, "Have you read the news this morning (sad face, teary eyes)" NO, WOMAN! PLEASE, I DON'T WANT TO KNOW!



So, there we have it! 20 of the most strange and random facts about me! This was actually a lot of fun and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Now that I have been given that extra push to blog, this will be the first of (hopefully) many blogs to come! Need some inspiration and insight as to why blogging for your business is so important? Read this!

Here's the best part, I now nominate Chris of Eco Chic Interiors, MJ of The Purple Finch, and Kara of Courtyard Creations! Good luck and enjoy!!!

Love,
Devon

Chalk Paint Your Furniture for Less Than £5

What is Chalk Paint, You Ask?

Chalk paint is a type of paint that requires little to no prep work, adheres to most surfaces, distresses beautifully, and dries quickly with a super-matt, extra durable finish.

And Why Would I Use Chalk Paint?

Chalk Paint is a much better alternative to your ordinary emulsion paint when ageing new pieces, updating antiques, crafting and decorating as it has an aged nature to it. The matt look, along with a bit of distressing and wax can make any 'ol piece look like a valuable heirloom.

So, What is Websters Chalk Paint Powder?

Websters is a fun, affordable, all natural powder you add to any brand, any colour of emulsion paint to create your own designer quality chalk style paint! Because it is an additive, you can simply make as much or as little chalk paint as needed for your project, ergo, no waste!

How Does Websters Work?

It's simple, really! I will take you through, step-by-step, and show how YOU can create this stunning look in under £5!

First, You've Got to Find the Right Piece!

I found this piece in a local charity shop for CHEAP! It was old, beat up, and in dyer need of some Websters and TLC.

Don't let this photo fool you, it was in bad shape!

Next, Pick Out Your Paint!

To me, this is the hardest part! The possibilities are endless! You can actually pick out 

ANY BRAND, ANY COLOUR YOU WANT!

Because it is a small piece of furniture, I only needed a 125 ml Sample Pot.

I went with Santuary's Soft Feather Matt. 

Believe it or not, I painted my entire piece with just 

ONE of these sample pots and it only cost me £2.29!

(I recommend you go with a flat or matt colour, as these tend to work better. If you are using a semi-gloss or satin, simply add a little bit more (1/2 Tbsp. or so) Websters to your mix to cut the sheen.)

Now For The Prepping, Or Lack There Of!

In most cases, your piece will just need a good wash! That's it! Because of the nature of Websters, your paint will stick to most any surface without the need of labor-intensive sanding! It's a beautiful thing, I know!

I recommend a scrubbing sponge to remove any dirt, grime, and impurities
that may be caked on from years of wear and tear.

While Your Piece is Drying, Mix Up That Websters!

Following the instructions on the bag, I mixed 1 Tbsp (15g.) of Websters 

with 1/2 Tbsp. (7 ml.) of water.

*I only used half of the Sample Bag of Websters (£4.99 per bag) 

which is enough for a 250 ml sample pot of paint.

Stir until it's smooth and there's no lumps!

*I've seen lots of people use empty baby-food jars. 

They add the Websters and water, close the lid and shake, shake, shake!

Finally, add the Websters and Water Mix to your pot of paint. Close the lid. 

Give it a good shake. Now you've made your very own designer quality chalk paint and you're ready to get painting!

First Coat Done!

Depending on the look you're going for, and depending on how dark your original piece compared to the colour you are painting it, you may need a second coat.

Because my piece was so dark originally and I decided to paint it an off-white, I will definitely need a second coat! Drying time is quick with Websters, so it won't be long before you're starting on your second coat!

On To The Next One! (Next Coat, That is!)

And there you have it! A perfectly painted, updated antique! 

Depending on your style, you may want to stop there 

and just seal it with a wax or polyurethane. 

Or, if you're like me, and love the distressed look, you can easily distress your piece. 

Distressing!

There are many different techniques to distressing your piece. I used a fine-grit sandpaper and gently rubbed along the edges and the high points of the piece.

*You can find our How-To Video and other distressing techniques here!

Waxing & Sealing Your Piece!

Last, but not least, you can wax your piece to seal it, but also to add a bit more age and dimension. First, and most importantly, use a clear wax to seal your piece. The wax acts as a barrier as chalk paint is very absorbent to anything it comes in contact with.

 Then you can accent your piece with a darker wax! I used Fiddes and Son's darkest wax- Jacobean. A lot of people are afraid of dark wax but I absolutely love the character it adds to my pieces!

 Using my Fiddes & Sons wax brush, I work in small areas and get the dark 

wax into every nook and cranny that I want defined. 

 Then I use an old rag with a bit of clear wax on it to take off the excess dark wax off. 

*The trick is to first seal your piece with clear wax. This allows for the dark wax to be more forgiving, as you can pretty much wipe it all off with more clear wax.

Before you use a dark wax, I recommend you watch our video here!

Ta-Da!

And there you have it, you're very own chalk painted piece of furniture and it didn't cost you a fortune!

 Thank you for taking the time to read my mini-blog. 

If you have any questions, our helpful staff would be happy to help you!

Email: websterschalkpaintpowderuk@gmail.com

Website: www.websterschalkpaintpowder.com

Buy Websters: www.websterschalkpaintpowderuk.bigcartel.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/websterseurope

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