Shop C'est Moi: CHALK PAINT® and Shellac

It's been a while since we've been able to paint a piece and show it off, so it's nice to finally be able to present this little bookcase to our readers and customers. It started out looking like this; it was just a plain wood finish with gold hardware, a look that we're sure all of you are familiar with!

We were happy to transform it, though, as usual with CHALK PAINT® by Annie Sloan. We're ready for spring to arrive, so we used light colors to brighten her up.

We actually used a 50-50 mix of Pure White and Old White to achieve the look of Original White, a color available only in England. It's a beautiful mixture and creates a perfect, soft neutral shade. For the back of the piece we used a 50-50 mix of Old White and Provence, for a lighter version of one of our favorite blues.

As we painted, however, we realized we had a problem. There was bleed through, and plenty of it. Bleed through occurs when water stains, wood grain, wood fillers, or any other substance shows through the paint. If not handled properly, you can add many layers of paint without being able to cover the stain up completely. It can look like this:

But here's our secret weapon! Shellac is a natural sealer made from the resin of the lac bug, which lives in the forests of India and Thailand. The most important aspect of shellac for us, however, is that it solves the bleed through problem. Most of the time, you won't realize there's bleed through until you've already painted the first coat. That isn't a problem. Simply apply the shellac over the paint, allow it to dry, and continue painting. We prefer to use a rag, which doesn't leave texture like a brush would.

If all of this paint talk has you itching to learn more, we have several workshops coming up! Whether you're a complete beginner and have never even seen CHALK PAINT® by Annie Sloan or would prefer to take an advanced course, we have plenty to offer!