My very own place...

Some know that I have my three little grandkidlets spending the whole summer with me here in Nova Scotia. They are veritable bundles of energy, with only two speeds..."Go nitro" (to quote the youngest) or stop! I'm having the most amazing time with these little guys...here are some pics (first one with their cousin) from our latest oceanside excursion:

Now you KNOW...with the three of them here, there are the inevitable little jealousies popping up all over the place. One of the most frequent has been their mutual coveting of a counter height stool as they watch/join in kitchen goings on.

Easy fix!

I scoured Kijiji here, found two more similar stools, and VOILA! They're tickled pink!!

I've used the last dribbles of my Annie Sloan Old White Chalk Paint; I had quarter of a can left, and this is what was left when I got to the end of this project:

I'm going into SERIOUS withdrawal here folks! I've been stalking the postman for my new paint on its way from House of Anne, but at least I had enough to finish this project.

So, here are the three stools before:

The one in the foreground was the cause of many boy-battles (lol), and the two in the background are my new acquisitions, a little worn and ready for a facelift.

Here's one after stage one with my trusty palm sander:

Now, I must tell you, these little stools make me SOOOO happy!! First of all, because I paid a whopping FIVE DOLLARS EACH for them, and secondly, because they were manufactured right here in Nova Scotia by Bass River Chairs, formerly known as the Dominion Chair Company, a 150 year old homegrown business. WOOT! They're branded with the logo underneath (which I did NOT paint over!), and the last factory burned down in 1989, so these little gems are staying with me FOREVER!

So, first I scrubbed everything down with TSP, let them bake in yesterday's hot sun, then got to work last night.

My grandchildren, like all kids, have unique little personalities, and I have "Grammie names" for each of them. Here's the youngest, Connor, helping me sand:

He's our "nitro boy," into EVERYTHING and always going a mile a minute! So HIS Grammie name is "My little Hurricane."

The middle boy, Avery, is quieter, contemplative, and loves being with Grammie (THANK YOU God!), doing anything at all. When he was tiny, he'd call me "Bubbie," so that eventually became my Grammie name for HIM..."My little Bubbie." That's him in the waves above too.

The oldest is Morgan...a "glass-half-empty" kind of boy (lol) who has to know where EVERYBODY is, EVERY minute of the day. When he was a wee toddler, he liked to actually be physically connected to one of his parents every waking moment, so he was quickly dubbed "My little Shadow."

Now I've seen decor bloggers transform stools and chairs with 1-2-3 and un-deux-trois, but my boys decided they wanted their Grammie names. When they're NOT here, they''ll make interesting conversation pieces (lol)

Okay, now that you've had a long-winded introduction to these precious children in my life, here are the completed stools:

"Peace y'all..."

"My job is to make Grammie laugh, so here I am hamming it up..."

...aaaand...my little Hurricane!

I stained the chair seats with Minwax Onyx Black (my FAVOURITE stain these days), painted the rest with my last dribbles of Annie Sloan Old White Chalk Paint, chipped up the paint, waxed all the white with Annie Sloan Clear Wax, then a TINY bit of Annie Sloan Dark Wax for a more vintage look.

This paint sands and chips SOOOO beautifully...and it dries so quickly that you can do that literally within minutes of the paint being applied!

When I reached the end of painting them, i had maybe three tablespoonsful of paint left over. I mixed that with a little ordinary black acrylic to get a soft gray, and hand painted their "Grammie names" on the seats. Finally, I finished everything with two coats of Minwax Polycrylic...knowing full well that these little things will get a great deal of wear (lol).

This is the project I've entered for the "House of Anne Chair Affair" and wicked awesome and very generous giveaway. Those of you living in California would be SOOOO LUCKY to be able to take classes with Anne! She's a faux finisher extraordinaire, and has been to England learning all about chalk paint directly from Annie Sloan! Siiiigh...I know I know...envy is a SIN, right?

Okay, today is August 8th., and I've just received news that I WON the Chair Affair sponsored by Anne Skougard of California!!!

I am absolutely positively FLABBERGASTED!!! This means that I receive one quart of my very favourite and utterly FABULOUS Annie Sloan Chalk Paint every month for a year!! Now, this might not seem like a big deal to some folks...but it sure IS to ME!! I have to order my paint online, and between shipping and customs, it ends up costing me well over fifty dollars a quart.

AAAAND...several NEW COLOURS have just been released.

Oh my oh my oh my...BE STILL MY HEART!!! Can you tell I'm EXCITED!?

If you haven't tried this paint yet, and if you enjoy upcycling furniture...you just HAVE to try it. I order mine directly through Anne...right here...fast shipping for the impatience in me (lol)

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Anne!!!

Okay...my little grandson is saying "Breathe Grammie, just breathe!"(lol)

I'm also partying here and here and here and with these wonderful decor bloggers this week.

THANK YOU for visiting, I feel blessed with every single comment you leave. Wishing you a day filled with the people you love most and things you love to do!

PS Giving a great big hearty Nova Scotian shout-out to Ms Tara for featuring these!

...and Mary at Redo 101 for the feature too!