Painting Fabric with Chalk Paint® Decorative Paint by Annie Sloan

By now, most of you know about my obsession with Chalk Paint® Decorative Paint by Annie Sloan. You can paint almost anything with this wonder paint, and the best part there is no sanding or stripping involved. For my latest project, I was lucky enough to partner with the folks over at Annie Sloan Unfolded to makeover an amazing antique settee with my favorite paint.

This beauty came my way when Angel from Angel Michelle Photography contacted me to breathe some new life into this piece as she was wanting to use it as a photo prop. The shape and detail of this piece was gorgeous, but the current upholstery choice- not so much. Upholstery work and fabric costs can skyrocket pretty quickly, so I decided to give painting this bad boy a try. I had read about this technique in Annie Sloan's book Color Recipes for Painted Furniture and More. I am pretty impressed with the results.

Here are all the fabulous products that Annie Sloan Unfolded was gracious enough to send me for this transformation. I used Chalk Paint® Decorative Paint by Annie Sloan in the color Cream for the upholstery and French Linen for the frame. I finished the frame with both Clear Soft Wax and Dark Soft Wax, and I got to test out my first Annie Sloan brushes, the Annie Sloan Pure Bristle Brush and the Annie Sloan Wax Brush.

I started out by wetting all the fabric down with a spray bottle. You don't need to douse it, but it takes the paint better if you dampen it. You only need to do this on the first coat.

There are two ways to go about painting fabric. You can dip your brush in the paint and then in a cup of water or you can make a water/paint mix with a 1:1 ratio. The paint will be really thin like the consistency of skim milk. I found I liked using the watered-down paint better as the coverage was more consistent for me. 

The idea is to paint on several light layers of really diluted paint. You don't want to glob the paint on because it will be very hard when it dries and could crack your fabric. Think of it more like dying the fabric versus painting it. I did four coats total on my fabric, and I let them dry completely in between coats. The fabric can only take on so much paint when wet, so I waited a full 24 hours between coats. Also, don't worry about getting paint on your frame as long as you plan on painting it like I did. If not, tape it off.

After I was happy with the coverage of my fabric, I moved onto painting the frame which I used the Annie Sloan Pure Bristle Brush. This brush is great for making expressive movement with the paint, and the paint really grabs onto the brush which makes getting the perfect coverage even easier. 

Once the frame was painted, I roughed it up a bit with sandpaper then waxed it with Clear Soft Wax and Dark Soft Wax. I was able to try out my first Annie Sloan Wax Brush, and I am obsessed. If you are looking to invest in a good quality wax brush, this is it. The wax went on seamlessly without having to use much elbow grease. Other brushes I have used make the wax ball up and you really have to use some muscle to work it into the paint. Another awesome feature of the brush is its tapered edge that allowed me to get in all the cracks and crevices of the frame with ease. This is a great brush to have if you are working on a piece with a lot of detail and definitely worth the investment in my opinion.

Angel and I were both amazed by the transformation of this piece. I can't wait to see what she comes up with for her client shoots with this gem. I can just see a little newborn perched on it or a family shot in an open field. I am for sure getting a photo session with my family on it soon! 

Thanks again to my friends at Annie Sloan Unfolded for making this project possible. If you want to find your local Chalk Paint® Stockist, you can use their Stockist Locator. Anyone out there intrigued to try fabric painting for yourself? 

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