Mantel Redo - Adding Character and Old Charm

Welcome to my first post at "From the Old InkWell"! 

I played at a different blog a few years ago and now I'm at it again at the beginning of this brand new year with a brand new blog.  I've never stopped drooling over other "home" blogs.  I've enjoyed all your décor ideas, recipes, and DIY projects.  Now that I'm retired, I have more time to spend on the things I love; creating, decorating, baking, and simply making my home uniquely me. 

 

Of course, when you are retired, money is harder to come by so the challenge is to do what you love on a budget.  That's exactly what I'd like to do with this blog.  Having a blog to share my projects with other like-minds gives me incentive, makes me try harder, do a better job, and in the end makes me a happier person.  If you already have a blog, I don't have to tell you this, you know what I mean...which brings me to the subject of this post.  

 

While taking down Christmas decorations from my mantel and thinking about what to put there next, I had an impulse to paint my humdrum, builder's "spec home" mantel shown here.

Of course, the next decision is what to paint it.  I'd read about Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint and liked the look from some of your blogs like Kim's gorgeous work at Savvy Southern Style.  So after reading different sources and watching a few how-to videos, I took off, for better or worse. 

 

 First step was to tape off around the mantle with blue painters' tape.  Just to be honest I hate this step on any project and many times bypass it, but on this type of painting, I think it would be difficult to keep it off the walls.

 

 Since I was looking for an old distressed look with underlying wood tones, I painted the entire mantel two coats of Annie Sloan's Primer Red to cover the white existing paint.  This paint dries really fast which is one thing I love about it.  So by the time I had finished painting one coat of Primer Red, it had dried enough to allow me to start another coat.  Another plus is that you don't have to prime with this paint.

After allowing the second coat of Primer Red to dry, about an hour, I painted a third coat of Old Ochre.  (Love this color!) 

I wasn't too particular about totally covering since I wanted some of the red to show through.

Next, I have to be honest, I was prepared to rub the mantle with Annie Sloan's Clear and Dark Wax to age, but I had trouble getting the dark wax off to my satisfaction.  Luckily, I had Valspar Mocha Glaze in my paint supply from another project so I tried it and love it.

First, I tore up an old t-shirt into rags.  I rubbed the glaze on a small portion at a time with one of the rags and then wiped it off to my satisfaction with a clean tee shirt rag working each portion into the next blending it as I worked.  If you want more or less glaze left on your project, you simply redo that portion till you receive the results you want.  It's very forgiving, which is another thing I love!

After letting this dry, I waited till the next day to wax because I was tired.  (Let's just be real.)  Then I waxed with Annie Sloan's Clear Wax, putting the wax on with a brush that I already had and taking off with my clean t-shirt rags.

 

I used the following for this project:

 

Annie Sloan's Primer Red, Old Ochre, and Clear Soft Wax

Valspar's Translucent Color Glaze in Mocha

 

Here's my finished project. 

It consisted of a few steps, but I'm proud of the outcome. 

See my post on decorating the mantel, here.

 

Joining the following link parties:

Wow Us Wednesdays, Savvy Southern Style

Treasure Hunt Thursday, From My Front Porch to Yours

Home and Garden Thursday, A Delightsome Life

Feathered Nest Friday, French Country Cottage

Every Room in the House Party